Monday 21 March 2016

AGATHIYAR IN INDONESIA

Surendaren Selvaratnam who is in Indonesia currently visited the following spots: Prambanan, an ancient Hindu temple complex in Central Java, Indonesia and the Candi Sambisari, in Yogyakarta and sent in these photos.

Prambanan

"Following the Anglo-Dutch Java War, Java was briefly under British administration from 1811 to 1816. In 1811, a surveyor working for Thomas Stamford Raffles came upon the ruins of Prambanan by pure chance. The British and Raffles were not in power in Java long enough to really do much about Prambanan though and looting became rife with Dutch residents adorning their gardens with priceless statues and local people taking foundation stones and using them as construction material. Proper restoration began only in 1930 and still continues today."
"In the wake of the May 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, some parts of Prambanan sustained significant damage. The site is open again, but some damage remains. As of February 2013, posted signs state "the structure of the Shiva temple is relatively stable." Entry into the main Shiva temple is restricted, with a fenced-off region requiring hard hats and limited to 50 visitors for 15 minutes at a time. The chambers of Agastya and Durga are open to the public, but others are closed."















Candi Sambisari

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambisari, the temple was located buried about five meters underground and parts of this temple has since been excavated. The temple ruins was discovered by a farmer in 1966.
"The temple emerged in July 1966 by a farmer when working on land that belongs to Karyowinangun. His hoe hit the carved stone which was a part of the buried temple ruins. The news of discovery reached the Archaeology office in Prambanan and the area was secured. The excavation and reconstruction works was completed in March 1987. The temple is thought to have been buried by an eruption of volcanic ash from the nearby Mount Merapi."
"... Historians have concluded that Sambisari was a Shivaite Hindu temple built around the first or second decade of the 9th century (circa 812-838). This conclusion was supported by the findings of a gold plate in the vicinity engraved with letters that according to paleography were used in early 9th century ancient Java."
"Around the temple walls are niches containing statues of Hindu gods, topped by Kala's head. In the northern niche, there is a Durga statue, in the eastern niche, a Ganesha statue, and in the southern niche, a Agastya statue."