Sojiwan (
Javanese orthography: Såjiwan, or sometimes spelled Sajiwan) is a 9th-century
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
located in Kebon Dalem Kidul village, Prambanan,
Klaten Regency,
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
. The temple is located nearly two kilometres southeast of
Prambanan temple. This temple is among numbers of temples scattered in
Prambanan Plain.
History
The
Rukam inscription dated 829 Saka (907 CE) currently stored in
National Museum of Indonesia mentioned about the inauguration of Rukam village restoration by Nini Haji Rakryan Sanjiwana, previously the village was being devastated by volcanic eruption. In return, the inhabitant of Rukam village was obliged to take care of a sacred building located in Limwung. This sacred building was identified as Sojiwan temple, while the name of the royal patron mentioned in this inscription: Nini Haji Rakryan Sanjiwana, was identified as
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
Pramodhawardhani
Pramodhawardhani (also known as Çrī Kahulunnan or Çrī Sanjiwana) was the queen consort of king Rakai Pikatan (r. 838-850) of Medang Kingdom in 9th century Central Java. She was the daughter of Sailendran king Samaratungga (r. 812—833). Her ...
, the temple bears her name Sajiwan and believed to be dedicated for her. The temple was built between 842 and 850 CE, approximately built in the same era with
Plaosan
Candi Plaosan, also known as the 'Plaosan Complex', is one of the Buddhist temples located in Bugisan village, Prambanan district, Klaten Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, about to the northeast of the renowned Hindu Prambanan Temple.
Candi Pla ...
temple nearby.
Sojiwan temple was rediscovered in 1813 by Colonel
Colin Mackenzie, a subordinate of
Sir Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
. He examined the archaeological remains around Prambanan plain and rediscovered the ruins of wall surrounding the temple. The temple was left in ruins for decades until the government launched the reconstruction effort started in 1996. Since 1999 the temple become the training and education center for temple reconstruction project. During the reconstruction the excavation discovered wall structure surrounding the temple and also stone paved causeway in front of the temple. In 2006 the reconstruction project was halted and took a major blow because of
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
, caused the reconstructed building parts and scaffolding collapsed. The reconstruction project completed in December 2011, inaugurated by
Mari Pangestu, Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy. The reconstruction took 15 years and 8.27 billion rupiah cost.
Architecture
The temple was made of andesite stone, its size, style and form is similar to those of
Mendut temple near
Borobudur. The temple complex measures 8,140 square meters, with main building measures 401.3 square meters and 27 meters high. The base of the temple contains 20
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s connected to the Buddhist stories of ''
Pancatantra
The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. '' or
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
s from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. From these 20 reliefs 19 remain. The stairway is flanked with two large
makaras. The inner chamber of the temple contains two niches and lotus pedestals, originally host Buddha and Bodhisattva statues. However currently the chamber is empty. The temples roof took form of stepped pyramid crowned with
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
s.
During restoration project the excavation works discovered two rows of walls surrounding the temple, located 14 meters and 30 meters from the main temple. Other discovery includes paved pathways, stairs and temple stone block fragments surrounding main temple, suggested that Sojiwan was a temple complex, there were perwara temples (lesser complementary temples) once stood within the temple complex.
References
* Jan Rambout van Blom, 1935, ''Tjandi Sadjiwan''.
Leiden-Amsterdam: Stenfert Kroese.
* Marijke Klokke, 1993, ''The Tantri Reliefs on Ancient Javanese Candi''.
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
: KITLV Press. .
Location
from wikimapia
References
See also
*
Candi of Indonesia
*
Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism
Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism or Esoteric Buddhism in Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the traditions of Esoteric Buddhism found in Maritime Southeast Asia which emerged in the 7th century along the maritime trade routes and port cities of the In ...
*
Plaosan
Candi Plaosan, also known as the 'Plaosan Complex', is one of the Buddhist temples located in Bugisan village, Prambanan district, Klaten Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, about to the northeast of the renowned Hindu Prambanan Temple.
Candi Pla ...
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhist temples in Indonesia
Archaeological sites in Indonesia
Prambanan
Mataram Kingdom
Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Central Java
Religious buildings and structures in Central Java
9th-century Buddhist temples