Intricate architecture of Borobudur

This post response to Weekly Photo Challenge: Intricate

Borobudur Temple, near Magelang, Central Java

The Stupa of Borobudur Temple

One of design wall relief, Borobudur Temple

Buddha statues, Borobudur Temple

Another design of wall relief, Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms. It’s decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.

A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues each of which is seated inside a perforated stupa. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.

Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple was designed in Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous cult of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage.

The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kamadhatu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year, Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia’s single most visited tourist attraction.

Borobudur is approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Jogjakarta. It’s located in an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi; and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

Have a wonderful weekend…. !!!