This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is
located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base
with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three
circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and
balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total
surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are
72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument
was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.
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.
The main temple is a stupa built in
three tiers around a hill which was a natural centre: a pyramidal base
with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three
circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and
balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total
surface area of 2,520 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.
The vertical division of Borobudur
Temple into base, body, and superstructure perfectly accords with the
conception of the Universe in Buddhist cosmology. It is believed that
the universe is divided into three superimposing spheres, kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, representing respectively the sphere of desires where we are bound to our desires, the sphere of forms where we abandon our desires but are still bound to name and form, and the sphere of formlessness where there is no longer either name or form. At Borobudur Temple, the kamadhatu is represented by the base, the rupadhatu by the five square terraces, and the arupadhatu
by the three circular platforms as well as the big stupa. The whole
structure shows a unique blending of the very central ideas of ancestor
worship, related to the idea of a terraced mountain, combined with the
Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana.
The Temple should also be seen as an
outstanding dynastic monument of the Syailendra Dynasty that ruled Java
for around five centuries until the 10th century.
The Borobudur Temple Compounds consists
of three monuments: namely the Borobudur Temple and two smaller temples
situatued to the east on a straight axis to Borobudur. The two temples
are Mendut Temple, whose depiction of Buddha is represented by a
formidable monolith accompanied by two Bodhisattvas, and Pawon Temple, a
smaller temple whose inner space does not reveal which deity might have
been the object of worship. Those three monuments represent phases in
the attainment of Nirvana.
The temple was used as a Buddhist temple
from its construction until sometime between the 10th and 15th
centuries when it was abandoned. Since its re-discovery in the 19th
century and restoration in the 20th century, it has been brought back
into a Buddhist archaeological site.
Criterion (i): Borobudur
Temple Compounds with its stepped, unroofed pyramid consisting of ten
superimposing terraces, crowned by a large bell-shaped dome is a
harmonious marriage of stupas, temple and mountain that is a masterpiece
of Buddhist architecture and monumental arts.
Criterion (ii): Borobudur
Temple Compounds is an outstanding example of Indonesia’s art and
architecture from between the early 8th and late 9th centuries that
exerted considerable influence on an architectural revival between the
mid-13th and early 16th centuries.
Criterion (vi): Laid
out in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha, Borobudur
Temple Compounds is an exceptional reflection of a blending of the very
central idea of indigenous ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of
attaining Nirvana. The ten mounting terraces of the entire structure
correspond to the successive stages that the Bodhisattva has to achieve
before attaining to Buddhahood.
Integrity
The boundaries contain the three temples
that include the imaginary axis between them. Although the visual links
are no longer open, the dynamic function between the three monuments,
Borobudur Temple, Mendut Temple, and Pawon Temple is maintained.
The main threat to the ensemble is from
development that could compromise the extraordinary relationship between
the main monument and its wider setting and could also affect the
Outstanding Universal Value of the property. The approach to the
property has to a degree already been compromised by weak developmental
regulations.
Tourism also exerts considerable pressure on the property and its hinterland.
There is a growing rate of deterioration
of the building stone, the cause of which needs further research. There
is also a small degree of damage caused by unsupervised visitors.
The eruption of Mount Merapi is also
considered as one of the potential threats because of its deposit acidic
ash as happened in 2010.
Authenticity
The original materials were used to
reconstruct the temple in two phases in the 20th century: after the turn
of the century and more recently (1973-1983). Mostly original materials
were used with some additions to consolidate the monument and ensure
proper drainage which has not had any significant adverse impact on the
value of the property. Though the present state of Borobudur Temple is
the result of restorations, it retained more than enough original
material when re-discovered to make a reconstruction possible.
Nowadays the property could be used as a
Buddhist pilgrimage site. Its overall atmosphere is, however, to a
certain degree compromised by the lack of control of commercial
activities and the pressure resulting from the lack of an adequate
tourism management strategy.
Protection and management requirements
The protection of the property is
performed under Indonesian Law No. 11/2010 concerning Cultural Heritage
and its surrounding cultural landscape. It is executed under a National
Strategic Area and the Spatial Management Plan by the Ministry of Public
Works in accordance with the Law concerning Spatial Management No.
26/2007 and Governmental Regulation No. 26/2008 concerning National
Spatial Planning and will be enforced further by another presidential
regulation regarding the Management for the Borobudur National Strategic
Area that is still being drafted by the Ministry of Public Works.
The legal and institutional framework
for the effective management of the property is regulated by a
Presidential Decree Number 1 Year 1992. The established zones within the
World Heritage property are respectively under the responsibility of
the Borobudur Heritage Conservation Office under Ministry of Education
and Culture, of state-owned institute PT. Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur
under the Ministry of Enterprises, and of the local governments
(Magelang Regency and Central Java Province). A study on the integrated
management of Borobudur Temple Compounds has been conducted, including
attention for the ecosystem, social and cultural aspects, ecotourism,
public and private partnership and organisational feasibility study.
This study is the basis of the still to be developed visitor management
approach.
In order to ensure consistency between
the 1992 Presidential Decree and the 1972 JICA Master Plan zone-system
indicated in the World Heritage nomination dossier and to strengthen the
regulations regarding development, a New Presidential Regulation is
still being formulated by a Coordinating Board (14 Ministries and local
authorities as well as representatives of local communities) and by
formalizing the role of the proposed Management Board into the wider
zones. In addition, the protection of the property has been ensured by
the regular financial contribution by the national budget.
Monitoring programs has been effectively
executed to monitor the growing rate of deterioration of building stone
and also damage by unsupervised visitors. A research is being conducted
to determine the long- term impact of deposit acidic ash of eruption of
Mount Merapi to set further protection and conservation management of
the property. Furthermore, a risk preparedness plan will be formulated
in 2012.
The Borobudur Heritage Conservation
Office has conducted community development programs targeting especially
at the youth to raise their awareness. In improving and empowering
local community as specialist guide for Borobudur Temple Compounds,
several training programs have been conducted. The community development
related to economical sector (small enterprises that produce
traditional handicrafts, culinaries, etc) have already being conducted
by the municipalities of Magelang Regency and Central Java Province.
Long Description
Borobudur is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.
Founded by a king of the Saliendra dynasty, it was built to honour the
glory of both the Buddha and its founder, a true king Bodhisattva. The
name Borobudur is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit words vihara Buddha uhr,
meaning the Buddhist monastery on the hill. Borobudur temple is located
in Muntilan, Magelang, and is about 42 km from Yogyakarta city.
This colossal temple was built between AD 750 and 842: 300 years
before Cambodia's Angkor Wat, 400 years before work had begun on the
great European cathedrals. Little is known about its early history
except that a huge army of workers worked in the tropical heat to shift
and carve the 60,000 m3 of stone. At the beginning of the
11th century AD, because of the political situation in Central Java,
divine monuments in that area, including the Borobudur Temple became
completely neglected and given over to decay. The Sanctuary was exposed
to volcanic eruption and other ravages of nature. The temple was not
rediscovered until the 19th century. A first restoration campaign,
supervised by Theodor van Erp, was undertaken shortly after the turn of
the century. A second one was led more recently (1973-82).
A harmonious marriage of stupas, temple-mountain and the ritual
diagram, this temple complex was built on several levels around a hill
which forms a natural centre. The first level above the base comprises
five square terraces, graduated in size and forming the base of a
pyramid. Above this level are three concentric circular platforms
crowned by the main stupa. Stairways provide access to this monumental
stupa. The base and the balustrades enclosing the square terraces are
decorated in reliefs sculpted in the stone. They illustrate the
different phases of the soul's progression towards redemption and
episodes from the life of Buddha. The circular terraces are decorated
with no fewer than 72 openwork stupas each containing a statue of
Buddha.
Stylistically the art of Borobudur is a tributary of Indian
influences (Gupta and post-Gupta styles). The walls of Borobudur are
sculptured in bas-reliefs, extending over a total length of 6 km. It has
been hailed as the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist
reliefs in the world, unsurpassed in artistic merit, each scene an
individual masterpiece. The narratives reliefs on the main walls read
from the right to left, those on the balustrade from left to right. This
was done for the purpose of the Pradaksina, the ritual circumambulation
which the pilgrims make moving on the clockwise and keeping the
sanctuary to the right.
The Karmawibangga reliefs on the hidden foot are devoted to the law
of karma. The Lalitavistara series do not provide a complete biography
of the Buddha, from the Hushita heaven and end his sermon in the Deer
Park near the Benares. Jataka are stories about the Buddha
before he was born as Prince Sidharta. Awadana are similar to Jataka,
but the main figure is not the Boddhisatva, and the saintly deeds are
attributed to other legendary persons.
The stories are compiled in the Dvijavadana (Glorious Heavenly Acts) and the Awadana Sataka
(Hundred Awadanas). The first twenty panels in the lower series of the
first gallery depict, the Sudhanakumaravadana. The series of reliefs
covering the wall of the second gallery is devoted to Sudhana's tireless
wanderings in search of the Highest Perfect Wisdom. The story is
continued on the wall and balustrade of the third and fourth galleries.
Its depiction in most of the 460 panels is based on the holy Nahayana
text Gandavyuha, the concluding scenes being derived from another text, the Badracari.
