Building Temples for the Gods

On his father's orders, Bandung Bondowoso set out for Prambanan along with the Pengging army. After going through a great battle, he defeated the Prambanan army, even killing Prabu Baka, the king of Prambanan.

With his father's permission, he intended to establish a new government in Prambanan. When he was about to enter the palace, he met Rara Jonggrang, the beautiful daughter of Prabu Baka. He was captivated and immediately proposed to her.

Terrified to openly reject the proposal of the young man who just killed her father, Rara Jonggrang put forward a condition: to marry her, he must build a thousand temples for her in one night.

Bandung Bondowoso agreed. As soon as the sun set, he went to a field and meditated. With his magic, he summoned the jinns and ordered them to build the temples.

After midnight, knowing that the temples were almost complete, Rara Jonggrang woke the village girls to pound rice and burn the remains. It made the rooster wake up and crow.

Thinking the morning had come, the jinns left work and vanished. A thousand temples failed to exist. Bandung Bondowoso was enraged and cursed Rara Jonggrang to become a statue.

This story is just a legend that lives in the community, but until now the statue of Rara Jonggrang still exists in the Prambanan Temple complex, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia which is estimated to have been built in the mid-9th century. In reality, building a temple is impossible to do overnight. Furthermore, there are also a number of guidelines that must be followed.

Book of Guidelines

In the past, temples had various functions, but it was generally used for religious activities, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Their existence is closely related to the history of the kingdoms and the development of Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia, from the 5th to the 14th century. Since Hinduism and Buddhism originated in India, temple buildings have many Indian influences.

According to UGM Archaeology Professor Timbul Haryono in “Principles of Temple Construction According to the Book of Śilpa Prakāśa”, published in Narasimha Bulletin No. 4 in 2011, the temple is a symbol of the cosmos as well as a symbol of Mount Mahameru. In Hindu-Buddhist mythology, Mount Meru is a sacred mountain that becomes the axis of the world. Hence, the temple building structure consists of three parts or triloka. In Hindu temples, it consists of bhurloka, bhuvaloka, and svarloka. Meanwhile in Buddhist temples, they are called kamadhatu, rupadhatu, dan arupadhatu.

“Temple buildings have a hierarchical structure similar to the universe. The foundation embedded in the ground is called bhu, the earth. The upper body is bhuvar or the intermediate world. Meanwhile, the roof symbolizes svar or heaven,” Timbul wrote.

Because it is sacred, the determination of the location and the making of ornaments must be carefully considered. “Guidelines and rules for temple construction generally refer to the Manasara-Silpasastra Book from India,” said Agus Aris Munandar, professor of archaeology at the University of Indonesia.

According to the Silpasastra book, the person who has the power to build temples is a silpin, an artist who is also a brahmin. Silpins are divided into four according to their scope of work: sthapati work as architects and planners, sutragrahin as civil engineers who lead the construction, takshaka as carvers, and vardhakin as ornament carvers. These four, assisted by other experts, search for a location to build the temple.

“The good one is a fertile land on the banks of a river, at the confluence of two rivers, at the edge of a lake, or the edge of a mountainside. Not at the top because that is svarloka,” said Agus.

Land near springs is believed to be a place where gods reside and is important for meeting water needs during religious ceremonies and temple cleaning. Funeral pyres, swamps, and rocky areas are avoided as they are considered unholy and believed to bring bad luck.  

Once the site is chosen, soil testing or bhupariksa is done to determine soil density (with water), harmful gases (with fire), soil fertility (with plant seeds), and color and smell. For the latter, there are particularly four types of soil to be considered: brahmin soil (shiny pearl-colored and smells good), ksatria (red like blood and smells sour), waisya (yellow and smells bad), and sudra (dark and gray and smells foul). Brahmin and ksatria land are suitable for temple sites because it contains sand, which is proven to be good for building structures.  

“Rocky and charcoal land are not allowed. So, it must be very clean,” said Agus.

If the test results are positive, construction preparations might begin. Siplin sits in the center of the human circle while reciting sacred chants or mantras. He then sticks a piece of wood to determine the center point or brahmastana. The shadow of the wood at sunrise and sunset became the benchmark for the size of the temple. After that, a grid system called vastupurasa mandala was made, which serves as a barrier to place the first stones neatly.

At the center point brahmastana, garbhapatra, a container containing objects symbolizing the panca maha bhuta (five elements of nature): air, earth, water, fire, and ether, is inserted. These can be seeds, threads, gold paper (inscribed with hymns, mantras, or names of deities), bronze mirrors, ashes, or animal bones. On top of the center point, the main temple is built.

Egg White as Temple Glue

The construction process finally begins. First, the foundation is built, which covers the entire lower part of the building. When it comes to materials, temple buildings in Sumatra, Java and Bali tend to use three types: stone, brick, and a mixture of stone and brick. However, availability also affects the choice of materials. That explains why some temples also use a mixture of stone, brick, palm fiber, and wood.

“Well, the Majapahit period used three types of materials. They used even more, such as wood, bamboo, palm fiber, stone, and brick,” said Agus.

Temples in Central Java generally use stones. Bricks are used simply to fulfill the requirements related to religious concepts. They must be present in every temple because they represent the concept of panca maha bhuta.

“Bricks are in the temple, but they do not function as construction. They are invisible. It becomes visible only when the temple is restored. The bricks consist of soil that was previously molded with water, while air, part of the ether, was present in the burning process. So, everything is there,” said Agus.

Interestingly, many people still believe that temple rocks are glued together with egg whites. Agus argued that this comes from people's habit of gluing stained glass with egg white. In reality, adhesives on temples have never been found.

For temples made of bricks, its “adhesive” is produced from falling bricks that are rubbed together and then given water. Meanwhile in stone temples, “gluing” is done with a joint technique, where the stones are chiseled in such a way as to fill and lock each other. “That's why when there is an earthquake, temples are not easily damaged. The Dutch used to restore them with cement, so when an earthquake happens, the rocks crack,” said Agus.

Local Wisdom

Besides Manasara Silpasastra, there are other books that serve as references for temple construction such as Kashyapasilpa, Vastusastra, and Śipa Prakśa. According to Ari Styastuti, in “Belajar dari Kearifan Lokal Nenek Moyang dalam Rekayasan Lahan dan Pembangunan Candi Prambanan" (Learning from the Local Wisdom of the Ancestors in the Land Engineering and Construction of Prambanan Temple), published in Buletin Narashima No. 04 in 2011, although the books from India remain a reference, local wisdom and the implementation of traditional technical knowledge still play an important role.

Agus said that there's no proof showing whether the Indian books are also known in Indonesia. The reason is because not all elements in the temple can be referred to as guidelines mentioned in the books from India. “What our ancestors refer to may be religious books like that, but not necessarily the Manasara Silpasastra,” he said.

He pointed out that in Bali, there are the Asta Kosala-Kosali and Asta-Bumi books, written developed around the 15th century that contain postulates of building temples. These books remain references in the construction and repair of temples, even the construction of houses in accordance with custom.

“Did such books exist during the Old Mataram or Majapahit periods? They certainly did. Unfortunately, because the material was made of palm leaves, they didn't survive,” said Agus.

Even so, it is certain that temples in Indonesia were built based on guidelines. For example, the selection of land close to water sources can be said to be similar to the guidelines from India. However, the ornaments are clearly different. The statues are also distinctive in terms of body depiction. While Indian statues emphasize the chest, waist, and hips, these characteristics are not found in the statue art in temples in Nusantara.

“The form of our statues tends to be more flexible, depicting the attitude of Javanese people. Each region has its local adaptation,” said Agus.  

In Java, after the 10th century, the Indian influence gradually disappeared. The temple builders developed their own building art. “For example, they mixed the roof with palm fiber. Some are also built in the form of stepped pyramids. The closer to Majapahit, the smaller the influence of Indian culture is,” said Agus.

Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian philosopher, was confused when he visited Borobudur Temple for the first time. Tagore could feel the presence of Indian influence in Java but couldn't surely pinpoint what that influence was.

“Because everything has changed. There is a touch of India there, but where its precise embodiment is, is unclear,” Agus said.

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