Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkarta ("the perfect divine nature") or often referred to simply as Pura Parahyangan is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

of Nusantara located in Ciapus village, Tamansari subdistrict, Bogor Regency,

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The temple complex is a sacred place of worship, serving as a ''Pura Kahyangan Jagad'', a type of pura located in a mountainous region, for

Hindu Dharma Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global pop ...

devotees in the

Greater Jakarta The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regency) ...

area. It is also considered as a sacred place to honor the ''

hyang ''Hyang'' ( Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology. This spiritual entity can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found ...

'' (deified ancestral spirits) identified as

King Siliwangi King Siliwangi was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pajajaran in West Java from 1482 to 1521. He was a member of the Sunda royal family and was the son of King Jayabaya and Queen Tribuana Tungga Dewi. Siliwangi was a skilled military leader and under ...

of Pakuan Pajajaran kingdom, an ancient Hindu kingdom which once stood in the Parahyangan area.

Layout

Pura Jagatkarta is located on the northern slope of Mount Salak, in Ciapus, Tamansari Subdistrict in Bogor Regency. The temple is built on a sacred location in Mount Salak where it is believed the Sunda Kingdom's Pakuan Pajajaran once stood. Historically, Pakuan Pajajaran (now

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Sunda Kingdom, which was one of the last Hindu kingdom in Java (along with

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...

) which experienced its golden age under the rule of

, before being conquered by Javanese Muslims in the 16th century. The location of Pura Jagatkarta was also selected based on the legend that the area is the place where Prabu Siliwangi reached moksa with his soldiers. Before the temple compound was built, a ''candi'' temple with a black and white tiger statue (believed to be the symbol of Prabu Siliwangi) was constructed as a tribute to the Pajajaran Kingdom, the last Hindu kingdom in the land of Parahyangan. The access road from the foot of Mount Salak to Pura Jagatkarta has been widened since its construction started in 1995, so vehicles can reach the temple easily. However, due to an increasing large influx of visitors, parking is located far from the temple area.

Development

The construction of Pura Jagatkarta started in 1995 and was initiated by a mutual cooperation of the Hindu Nusantara community to provide a '' Pura Kahyangan Jagad'' temple for the Balinese Hindu community resident in the

area. This is to enable them to complete whole rituals required in the

religion. At present, the temple compound has not been completed. However, the main temple buildings in the ''Mandala Utama,'' such as the Padmasana, Balai Pasamuan Agung, and

Paduraksa Paduraksa, also known as kori is a type of gateway covered with towering roof that can be found in the island of Java and Bali, Indonesia. This architectural feature is commonly found in buildings from the classical Hindu-Buddhist period of Indone ...

Gates have been completed. Before entering the main area of Pura Jagatkarta there is also the Pura Melanting and Pura Pasar Agung which is used specially for praying, perfecting, and sanctifying the offerings to be presented at Pura Jagatkarta as a form of gratitude. Tourists are generally prohibited from entering the main temple, except for those who want to perform ritual praying, for access is only otherwise available to the outer court temple.

References

External links

Laman Pura di Situs Pemerintah Kabupaten Bogor

"Pura Gunung Salak, Pengakuan Riwayat Padjadjaran" di situs Kasundaan.org

CNN Indonesia: "''Suasana Khidmat di Pura Terbesar se-Jawa Barat'' (Solemn Atmosphere at the Largest Temple in West Java)"
{{Hindu temples in Indonesia Hindu temples in Indonesia Religious buildings and structures in West Java Tourist attractions in West Java Bogor

Layout

Development

See also

References

External links