33 Facts About Borobudur

Borobudur, transcribed Barabudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, not far from the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indonesia.

Borobudur has one of the largest and most complete ensembles of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

Evidence suggests that Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and subsequently abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the Javanese conversion to Islam.

Borobudur remains popular for pilgrimage, with Buddhists in Indonesia celebrating Vesak Day at the monument.

The origins of the name Borobudur, is derived from Boro for big and Budur for Buddha The name Borobudur was first written in Raffles's book on Javan history.

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Borobudur suggested that the name might derive from boro, meaning "great" or "honourable" and Budur for Buddha.

Bernet Kempers suggests that Borobudur is a corrupted simplified local Javanese pronunciation of Biara Beduhur written in Sanskrit as Vihara Buddha Uhr.

Construction and inauguration of a sacred Buddhist building—possibly a reference to Borobudur—was mentioned in two inscriptions, both discovered in Kedu, Temanggung Regency.

Approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Yogyakarta and 86 kilometres west of Surakarta, Borobudur is located in an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

In 1931, a Dutch artist and scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W O J Nieuwenkamp, developed a hypothesis that the Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake.

The area surrounding Borobudur appears to have been surrounded by agricultural land and palm trees at the time of the monument's construction, as is still the case today.

The Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same period as the Hindu Shiva Prambanan temple compound.

Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth.

Borobudur collected Javanese antiques and made notes through contacts with local inhabitants during his tour throughout the island.

In 1873, the first monograph of the detailed study of Borobudur was published, followed by its French translation a year later.

In 1882, the chief inspector of cultural artifacts recommended that Borobudur be entirely disassembled with the relocation of reliefs into museums due to the unstable condition of the monument.

Borobudur was considered as the source of souvenirs, and parts of its sculptures were looted, some even with colonial-government consent.

Borobudur attracted attention in 1885, when the Dutch engineer Jan Willem IJzerman, Chairman of the Archaeological Society in Yogyakarta, made a discovery about the hidden foot.

Borobudur became a testing ground for new conservation techniques, including new procedures to battle the microorganisms attacking the stone.

In 2003, residents and small businesses around Borobudur organized several meetings and poetry protests, objecting to a provincial government plan to build a three-storey mall complex, dubbed the "Java World".

In June 2012, Borobudur was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest Buddhist archaeological site.

Borobudur was heavily affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi in October and November 2010.

Borobudur is built as a single large stupa and, when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind.

The punden berundak step pyramid is the basic design in Borobudur, believed to be the continuation of older megalithic tradition incorporated with Mahayana Buddhist ideas and symbolism.

Borobudur's name is recounted from Javanese folk tales rather than from written inscriptions.

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Borobudur is constructed in such a way that it reveals various levels of terraces, showing intricate architecture that goes from being heavily ornamented with bas-reliefs to being plain in Arupadhatu circular terraces.

Bas-reliefs in Borobudur depicted many scenes of daily life in 8th-century ancient Java, from the courtly palace life, hermit in the forest, to those of commoners in the village.

Borobudur reliefs pay close attention to Indian aesthetic discipline, such as pose and gesture that contain certain meanings and aesthetic value.

The encasement base of the Borobudur temple was disassembled to reveal the hidden foot, and the reliefs were photographed by Casijan Chepas in 1890.

Borobudur's stood under a sal tree, holding one branch with her right hand, and she gave birth to a son, Prince Siddhartha, from her side.

Just like Angkor Wat for Cambodia, Borobudur has become a powerful symbol for Indonesia — to testify for its past greatness.

Rediscovery and reconstruction of Borobudur has been hailed by Indonesian Buddhists as the sign of the Buddhist revival in Indonesia.

Borobudur has appeared on Rupiah banknotes and stamps and in numbers of books, publications, documentaries and Indonesian tourism promotion materials.