Iconic: A statue of Buddha at the ancient Borobudur temple in Magelang. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin)

The Borobudur temple is an undisputed masterpiece and continues to baffle researchers with its sophisticated architecture.

Way ahead of its time, the Borobudur temple, the mammoth Buddhist monument in Central Java, was built during the reign of the Syailendra dynasty from the eighth to ninth century.

The temple was abandoned by the 10th century, possibly because of the eruption of Mount Merapi around that time. This led to the Javanese ruler Mpu Sindok’s decision to move the kingdom’s capital to eastern Java.

Even though the local people were aware of Borobudur’s existence, for centuries the temple lay covered by volcanic ash and forest. It was only in the 19th century that it was “rediscovered” by Europeans.

Today, Borobudur is a World Heritage Site and was restored with the help of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the 1970s.

According to UNESCO, 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 the universe is divided into three superimposed spheres — kamadhatu, rupadhatu and arupadhatu. At the temple, the kamadhatu is represented by the base, the rupadhatu by the five square terraces and the arupadhatu by the three circular platforms and the big stupa.

When viewed from above, the temple looks like a mandala, a Buddhist symbol representing the universe.

“There are at least two inscriptions that mention Borobudur [but under different names] — Kayumwungan [from the year 824] and Sri Kahulunan [842]. Most assumptions on the purpose of the temple are based on these inscriptions,” explained Panggah Ardiyansyah, an educator at the Borobudur Conservation Office.

The temple has been much speculated about. As the temple is laid out like Buddha’s sacred flower, the lotus, many believed the temple was probably surrounded by a lake. However, studies conducted by experts revealed that this may not be true.

The famous American television series Ancient Aliens of the History channel even wondered if the mind-boggling temple had “extraterrestrial” links.

Nevertheless, what is absolutely true is that Borobudur showcases the apogee of human intelligence of its era. As research continues on the monument, many thought-provoking details and questions, such as whether the temple was used as an enormous sundial, of this engineering marvel have emerged.

Historic: Borobudur temple is seen before restoration in this photo. Hidden under layers of volcanic ash for centuries, much of the temple has since been returned into its former glory. (Anonymous, 1850-1900, Rijksmuseum)

Based on an assumption that the Arupadhatu configuration is to serve the purpose of a chronometer, with the main stupa as the gnomon, a study was recently conducted by scholars of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

“The depiction in reliefs of celestial objects, such as the Sun, Moon, the circles and the eye-catching relief of a ship sailing the ocean, led researchers to believe that the builders of Borobudur temple certainly had knowledge about astronomy to a certain degree,” explained Emanuel Sungging Mumpuni, a member of the study team from LAPAN’s Space Science Center (Pussainsa).

Speaking about the ship relief, Panggah added that in the panel there was a wooden construction of a house opposite the ship.

“The house architecture is similar to those found in Micronesia at around the same time of Borobudur’s construction. This shows the vastness of the Javanese maritime network,” he said.

The sailors must have navigated the oceans by employing celestial objects as guides.

Elaborating on the study, Sungging said they also looked into the significance of the “seven circles” seen on a relief of the temple.

“We considered that it might be related to Pleiades [a star cluster commonly known as Seven Sisters]. Pleiades had played an important role in ‘Pranata Mangsa’, a traditional Javanese calendar system based on solar movement,” he said.

While the study has yet to establish whether the main stupa works as a simple gnomon, the team did find that Borobudur is mathematically precise related to the cardinal directions.

“The builders of the temple are likely to have considered the celestial motion as the guidance for building the temple,” Sungging said.

Another notable study on astronomical phenomena above the Borobudur temple was done by ITB. This study also tried to ascertain the reasons behind the decision to choose the specific place for the temple construction.

Quoting the paper, it cited that “Indonesia has a large area; the selected area with geographic coordinates of South [– 7° 36’] may be to fulfill all spiritual and scientific reasons [...]”

Standing tall: Buddhist stupas are seen at the ancient Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin)

Moedji Raharto, a coauthor of the paper who teaches at ITB, said it was possible the position of the Borobudur temple, theoretically speaking, accorded with the earlier solar calendar.

A question frequently asked is about the construction style of the Borobudur temple.

“Borobudur temple is uniquely Indonesian. The foundation of the temple is unlike the Hindu or the Buddhist temples in India,” said an archaeologist and expert on Borobudur, Agus Aris Munandar of the University of Indonesia.

The temple is a single stupa and built like a step pyramid. This kind of construction was part of the megalithic culture of Indonesia.”

Agus also pointed out that the peak of India’s Gupta dynasty’s art appears in Borobudur even though the Gupta Empire had collapsed by the sixth century.

Another subject of research is the purpose of the two smaller temples — Mendut and Pawon — east of Borobudur. Archaeologists believe Mendut, Pawon and Borobudur were related because they are on an imaginary straight axis.

In addition, the inscriptions and artistic styles of Mendut and Pawon indicate they might have been built around the same time with Borobudur. 

Indonesian archaeologist and historian Soekmono had argued that in ancient times, Buddhist pilgrimage would start their holy journey from Mendut, then walk to the West, take rest in Pawon, before reaching their final destination, Borobudur.

However, Panggah said archaeological investigations had yet to determine if there was any ancient walkway connecting the three temples.

In his book Hitawasana: Studies on Indonesian Archaeology, Agus discusses an exciting aspect of Borobudur. “The builders of the temple seemed to have used the principle of proxemics,” he said. 

Proxemics, in communication science, is the study of human use of space while communicating with one another. The study of proxemics in Borobudur is concerned with the most comfortable distance for reading the narrative relief panels. The author’s research led him to conclude that the reliefs are most comfortably visible when standing near the terrace wall in the hallways.

Explaining the importance of this discovery, Agus said, “It is certain that Buddhist pilgrims visited Borobudur to achieve the Bodhisattva level. To attain this level they had to read the reliefs intensively and in a correct way according to the dharma perspective.”

Borobudur has a long list of mysteries, some have been solved and some cannot be explained yet. It is truly a wonder of the world. (ste)