Prambanan Temple is a Hindu temple in Central Java and
famous for its beauty. Even, many consider the temple to be the most beautiful
Hindu Temple in the world. It was built in the 8th century when two
Mataram’s kings, by the name of Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Balitung, ruled Central
Java. The height of the temple is 47metres and it symbolizes the historical
event where Hindu kingdoms used to dominate Java in the past.
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The temple is 17 kilometers from the downtown of
Yogyakarta. The exact location is in Kecamatan Prambanan, Kabupaten Klaten,
Central Java. To reach the place, you can either go by taxi or by bus. Because
it’s quite far from Yogyakarta, be prepared to spend extra money if you decide
to go by taxi. Or, you can also rent a car if you are with your family as it’s
also a good choice to spend the family holiday. The admission price of
Prambanan Temple is twenty five thousand rupiahs (About 2.5 dollars) for local
tourist and a hundred and seventeen thousand rupiahs (About 12 dollars) for
foreigners. Although the ticket is relatively more expensive than other tourism
spots in Yogyakarta, it’s definitely worth every rupiah.
Prambanan temple is also very famous for its mythology.
According to the legend, the temple was built upon the request of a beautiful
lady named Roro Jonggrang as the requirement for Bandung Bondowoso if he wanted
to marry her. Roro Jonggrang asked Bandung Bondowoso to build her a thousand
temples overnight and Bandung Bondowoso then asked for the help of genies to help
him. When there was only one temple left to build, Roro Jonggrang interrupted
the construction as she didn’t really want to marry him in the first place. She
made the rooster to crow and caused the genies to stop the construction because
they thought that it was dawn already and they only worked in the dark. Knowing
that Roro Jonggrang was the one who screwed the construction, Bandung Bondowoso
was furious and then cursed Roro Jonggrang to be one of the temples to complete
the construction. Thus, the temple is also known as Roro Jonggrang Temple.
The temple itself is divided into three main
buildings. They are Siva Temple, Brahma Temple, and Vishnu Temple. Inside the
temple, there are also three arca or
statues of Siva Mahaguru, Siva Mahadewa, and Siva Ganesha. Since the main
chamber of the temple is inhabited by Siva as Mahadewa (the greatest god),
Prambanan Temple is also called Siva Temple. The edge of the temple is bordered
by balustrade decorated by Ramayana relief that we can see when we pass the temple.
The relief is still continued on Brahma Temple balustrade on the left. However,
on Vishnu Temple Balustrade on the right, the relief is about the childhood of
Kresnadipayana who was thought as the reincarnation of Vishnu.
Just like any other temple, most people enjoy
sightseeing while in Prambanan Temple. Since the place is taken care by the
government, the beauty is still well-maintained. Besides, you can also join a
tour to enjoy the scenery of Prambanan Temple as there are many travel agencies
that offer their service to ensure that you’re enjoying your trip. However, if
you want to go there by yourself, it is also okay because the local people are
mostly nice and will be more than happy to give a hand to you. The admission
price is also reasonable, for local tourist is twenty-five thousand rupiahs
(About 3 dollars) and for foreigner is a hundred and seventeen thousand (About
12 dollars). It is open all week from 6AM to 5PM.
In Prambanan Temple, there is also a very
famous dance performance called Sendatari Ramayana. It is held all year round
but the location of the performance is different according to the month. In May
to October, the dance is held at Ramayana open stage and in November to April
it is held at Trimurti Close Stage. The reason is in those month are rainy
season. The dance is also known as Ramayana Ballet and it combines drama and
traditional dance that tells the story of Ramayana. The story itself is also
carved on the wall of Siva Temple which can be seen if you go around the temple
in clockwise.
The main theme of the dance is to portray the
attempt of Rama to save Shinta who is kidnapped by the King of Alengka named
Rahwana. It is a long play divided into four parts: the abduction of Shinta, Anoman’s
mission to Alengka, the death of Kumbakarna and Rahwana, and the reunification
of Rama and Shinta. The play is performed by hundreds of talented dancers which
will provide us with a world-class show. There is no dialogue as the story is
told by the Javanese singer called sinden
through Javanese traditional way of singing or nembang. However, because the show is aimed to reach both local and
foreign tourists, there you see the narration in Bahasa and English. The ticket
prices for the show range from fifty thousand rupiahs (about 6 dollars) to a
hundred and twenty five thousand rupiahs (about 13 dollars).
As the conclusion, Prambanan temple should be
on the top of your list to visit while in Yogyakarta. The historical values and
the beauty of the temple surely will make your holiday more meaningful and
memorable. All in all, be sure to spare some time visiting Prambanan Temple as
the scenery is amazing and there are many activities that you can enjoy doing while
in there.
