Comparison between the Stupa of the Borobudur and the Prambanan temples of Java

1. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
COMPARISON between PRAMBANAN & BOROBUDUR
Distance between Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple is 54 kms or 33.6 miles
or 29.2 nautical miles
Origin Borobudur Temple, Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia
Destination Prambanan Temple, Sleman, Special District Of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Driving Distance 54 kms or 33.6 miles or 29.2 nautical miles
Driving Time 1 hours, 4 minutes
What is the difference between Borobudur and Prambanan temple?
While Borobudur is a Buddhist temple, Prambanan is a Hindu temple. Furthermore, the
temple of Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the World and the largest temple
in Indonesia, while the temple of Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia.
Set in the fertile Prambanan Plain, Prambanan is but one of 30 temples built
between c. 750-950 CE in a 30 square km (11.5 square miles) area.Whereas The
Borobudur Temple Compounds is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the
world, and was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD during the reign of the Syailendra
Dynasty. The monument is located in the Kedu Valley, in the southern part of Central
Java, at the centre of the island of Java, Indonesia. Borobudur is situated very close to
two other Buddhist temples in the Kedu Plain: Pawon and Mendut. Scholars and
archaeologists surmise that some sort of relationship must have existed between the
temples as all three are positioned along a straight line. Borobudur and Prambanan are
UNESCO heritage sites located in central Java, Indonesia with monument size of
123x123x47 meters (Borobudur) and 34x34x47 meters (Prambanan on Shiva shrine).

2. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
Based on Guinness World Records, Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist temple in the
world and entirely made from massive and solid volcanic stones. These two ancient
monuments have abundant bas-reliefs on their walls which illustrate teaching
manuscript of Buddhist and Hinduism religions, and represent the life of Buddha
(Buddhist texts) and Ramayana documents each.
Both temples are considered and used as Buddhist and Hinduism pilgrimage center for
almost one hundred years of their existence. With the fall of old Mataram kingdom
around 930 CE, this religious and cultural life was forgotten for almost 1 millennium, due
to Mount Merapi volcanic eruption and the kingdom was moved to east part of Java.
Specifications of Candi Prambanan Complex with main 16 Temples
1. Monument size of Shiva temple (the biggest one) 34x34x47 m
2. Monument size of Brahma temple 20x20x33 m
3. Monument size of Vishnu temple 20x20x33 m
4. Narrative reliefs (Ramayana and Kresnayana) 54 & 30 panels
5. Decorative reliefs (in 6 main temples) 135 panels
6. Size of each panel/relief (in Shiva temple) 187 x 94.5 cm
7. Total number of ruined Pervara temples in the outer area 224 Area in which these
240 temples are located 390x390 m
Monument Specifications of Borobudur Temple Monument 9 terraces
1. size of 9 terraces/floors 123x123x47 m
2. Narrative reliefs 1460 panels
3. Decorative reliefs 1212 panels
4. Total lengths of both visual panels 2500 m
5. Total number of Buddha statues in open niches & top terraces 504
TOTAL TEMPLES RELIGION WISE
HINDU TEMPLES
1. Candi Prambanan complex &
2. Candi Barong,
3. Gebang,
4. Ijo,
5. Kedulan,
6. Sambisari,
7. Ratuboko temples (all are at 3 km
BUDDHIST STUPAS/Temples
1. Candi Bubrah,
2. Banyunibo,
3. Dawangsari,
4. Kalasan,
5. Lumbung,
6. Plaosan,
7. Candi Sari,

3. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
radius from main Prambanan temple)
8. Candi Arjuna,
9. Candi Bima,
10. Candi Gatotkaca and others in the
Dieng plateau about 80 km on the
north side.
8. Candi Sewu, and
9. Candi Sojiwan (around 3 km radius of
Hinduism Candi Prambanan).
10. Candi Borobudur &
11. Candi Mendut &
12. Candi Pawon (2 km east of Borobudur)
Hary Gunarto in hispaperBorobudurand PrambananTemples:UNESCOCulturalHeritages
and Symbolof Indonesian Peaceand ReligiousHarmony believesthatfroma philosophical
side,Prambanantemple depictsamixture betweenHindudoctrineandBuddhistprinciple
whereasPrambananisbasicallyHindutemple withfamousstatuesof Shiva,Brahma,Vishnu,
and Durga
However,itsKrishnayananarrative reliefscitedBuddhaasone of Hindu’sprinciplesinwhich,
Krishnaas reincarnationof VishnuGodcome toearthin 10 differentavatars(Dashavatara),
namely:
1. Matsya (fish),
2. Kurma (turtle),
3. Varaha (swine),
4. Narasimha(humanwithlion head),
5. Vamana (dwarft),
6. Parashurama (Ramawithan axe),
7. Rama (RamainRamayana narrative story),
8. Krishna(maincharacterinMahabarata epicstory),
9. Gautama Buddha (Buddhistgreatteacherandfounder),
10. and Kalki (avatarthatwill appearinthe future).
Hinduism and Buddhism side by side
Buddhist textin Borobudur temple also mentionedthat inJataka story HinduismRama is
viewedaspreviousincarnationof Buddha.He thinksthatall thisevidencedrawsanimage
that Javanese people inthe pastwere alreadyinreligiousplurality.Howeverhe forgetsthat
the “temples”were builtbyKingsandexpresstheirvisionof religiousdualityorrespectto
bothreligions.

4. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
Both temples are remarkable holy places of worship, architectural masterpieces, and
famous World Heritage monuments. Both temples were built in the 9th century and
both got covered by ash after the eruption of nearby Mount Merapi volcano in the
late 10th century.
First was built Borobudur by followers of Mahayana Buddhism during the rule of the
Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty in Java. Later on, in the same century, the Prambanan
temple was built after the rise of the Hinduism and Hindu Sanjaya dynasty in Java.
Regardless of the volcano eruption, no one knows for sure why both of the temples
were completely abandoned around the 14th and the 15th century. Later in the 15th
Javanese people converted to Islam and the temples got forgotten. However, both of
the temples were rediscovered in the Javanese jungle. The temple of Prambanan was
rediscovered first in the 18th century and later the temple of Barabudur in the 19th
century. History of Borobudur and the history of Prambanan are known a little, while
the mystery of Borobudur and the mystery of Prambanan live on

5. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
Today modern Indonesia with about 225 million followers of Islam is the largest
country with the Muslim population in the World. But Borobudur temple remains
a Buddhist pilgrimage site in Indonesia and the Prambanan temple remains a place of
Hindu worship.
‘Buddhist Monastery on a Hill’: Borobudur, also called Barabadur, is an architectural
masterpiece designed in the shape of a pyramid, stupa, sacred mountain, and a
mandala. Name Borobudur is believed to mean ‘Buddhist Monastery on a Hill’. While
three-dimensional mandala symbolizes Buddhist cosmology, Borobudur also
symbolically lies between two volcanos (Mt Sumbing and Mt Merapi) and two rivers
(Progo and Elo).Borobudur temple stands as a single building on the top of a
mountain, but Borobudur temple compounds consist of three temples aligned on the
same axis. The architecture of Borobudur portrays the Buddhist path to
Enlightenment. Three levels of Borobudur stupa represent a spiritual journey from the
World of Desire (Kamadhatu) – the 1st level, the World of Form (Rupadhatu) – the
2nd level to the World of Formless (Arupadhatu) – the 3rd level.

6. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
The top level

7. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
Borobudur is a unique Buddhist temple on the area of 2.500 m2 built of six square
terraces, three circular platforms, and central dome (stupa) on the top dedicated to
the ‘Great Sun Buddha’. There are 504 Buddha statues in total and about 2.670
narrative reliefs picturing Buddha’s teachings (the Dharma), Buddha’s past lives (Jataka
tales), and stories from important Buddhist scriptures (sutras).
Stone carvings
Barabudur temple holds the largest number of Buddhist sculptures on one site in the
World. Just to mention, in case you are wondering, Borobudur was built 300 years
before Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 1991. Borobodur was listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage site in Indonesia. Today Borobudur is a Buddhist pilgrimage site where
Buddhists commemorate Vesak Trisuci (Vesak Day, or the Buddha’s Birthday).
Borobudur temple is a main Yogyakarta tourist attraction, and a top tourist attraction
in Indonesia by visitors a year. The Prambanan temple complex consists of hundreds
of shrines surrounding the central temple. The main temple of Prambanan is
dedicated to the Trimurti – the Hindu Trinity (‘three forms‘ or ‘three Gods‘): Brahma –
the God Creator, Vishnu – the God Preserver and Shiva – the God Destroyer.
The tallest temple of Prambanan temple complex is the Shiva temple, or also called
Candi Shiva Mahadeva temple dedicated to God Shiva. It is the central temple of
Prambanan. The Vishnu temple stands on the north side to the Shiva temple, and the
Brahma temple stands on the south to the Shiva temple. There are 3 smaller Hindu
shrines in front of the Shiva temple: a Nandi temple – dedicated to Nandi, the sacred

8. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR
bull of Shiva, a Hamsa temple – dedicated to Hamsa, the sacred swan of Brahma and a
Garuda temple – dedicated to Garuda, the sacred bird Garuda of Vishnu.
Reliefs of Prambanan temples feature stories of Ramayana epic. Stone carvings of the
Vishnu temple illustrate the story of Lord Krishna from the Mahabharata story. Reliefs
of the Brahma temple depict final scenes of the Ramayana story.

9. DrUdayDokras AUTHOR