Description
Built right in the heart of the beautiful Island of Java, Indonesia is the Borobudur temple. The name ‘Borobudur’ is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit words ‘vihara Buddha uhr’, meaning the Buddhist monastery on the Hill. This great temple was built 750- 842 AD, 300 years before the Angkor Wat, Cambodia, was built, and 400 years before any work was started on the great European Cathedrals. The complex of this temple was built in several levels. The first layer built above the base consists of five square terraces, slowly getting bigger in size, therefore creating a pyramid. Above this level are three concentric circular platforms crowned by the main stupa, which have stairways leading to it. The base and the balustrades tat are located inside the temple grounds 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 more than 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of Buddha. The walls of the temple extend to over 6 km of space. The temple is known to be the biggest and most complete group of Buddhist reliefs in the world.