SACRED LANDSCAPE - BOROBUDUR & the COMPLEXITIES of its CONSTRUCTION

Dr Uday Dokras

Check out- http://www.buddhanet.net/bt_conts.htm for 1,000 pics of the STUPA

The Borobudur was one of many things or all of them.

 It was a Vihara for the stay of monks and samaneras.
 It was an educational monument to teach them
 It was a Hostel
 It was an Institute
 It may have been a University on the lines of Nalanda
 Like the Byat Ul Hikma it could have been a place for the learned to meet and
discuss.
 Conference place
 It was an edifice to OUTLINE the glory of the |Buddha

Whatever it was the construction must have been a complex and intricate process
involving many participations ans contributions:
Architectural
Procedural
Royal consent
Royal scrutiny and approval
Discussions on the Project
Constructional
Raw material procurement
Human resources
Stores
Engineering
Quarrying & Mining
Procurement of skilled manpower
One can only speculate on how things were carried out.
Here is that story-

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There is a dearth of information of the technical sort on the internet.It
perhaps exists elsewhere in Indonesia. From whatever is available, one has
to create a path to direct this article

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3
Buddhist\
Western Major Events World Figures and Events
Calender
• Persian Empire founded by
• Life of Siddhartha Guatama, the historical
Cyrus the Great (550 B.C.E.)
6th Century Buddha: conventional dates: 566-486 B.C.E.
- 120* • Confucius (551-479)
B.C.E. * (According to more recent research, revised • Zarathustra (630-553)
dates are: 490-410 BCE). • Birth of Mahavira (550)
• First Buddhist Council at Rajagaha (486) after
• Socrates (469-399)
the Parinirvana*, under the patronage of King
• Plato (427-347)
Ajatasattu.
- 20 5th Century • Battle of Marathon (490)
• The Buddhist Canon as it exist today was • Greek-Persian Wars (490-479)
settled at this Council and preserved as an oral • Partheon Built (438)
tradition.
• Second Buddhist Council at Vesali (386) about
100 year after the Parinirvana. • Aristotle (384-322)
• First schism of the Sangha occurs in which the
144 4th Century Mahasanghika school parts ways with the
Sthaviravadins and the Theravadins. • Alexander the Great (356-323)
• Non-canonical Buddhist Council at Pataliputra invaded India (327)
(367)
• Reign of Indian Emperor Asoka (272-231) who
converts and establishes the Buddha's Dharma
on a national level for the first time. • Great Wall of China (250)
• Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra
(250) under the patronage of Emperor Asoka • Hadrian's Wall circa 3rd
244 3rd Century
about 200 years after the Parinirvana. • The Century AD
modern Pali Tipitaka now essentially complete.
• Asoka's son and • Hannibal Barca (247?-183?)
missionary Mahinda established Buddhism in Sri
Lanka (247)
344 2nd Century • Beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism (20O). • Buddhist monuments: Sanchi,
• Composition of Prajnaparamita literature. Amaravati, Bodhi Gaya, India.
• Historical record has it that two Buddhist (185-175)

4
 missionaries from India in 68 AD, arrived at the
court of Emperor Ming (58-75) of Han Dynasty.
They enjoyed imperial favour and stayed on to
translate various Buddhist Texts, one of which, • Han Dynasty in China
The 'Sutra of Forty-two Sections' continues to be (206-220)
popular even today.

• Entire scriptural canon of Theravada • 01BCE Mar 1, Start of the

School was committed to writing on palm leaves
in Pali at the Aloka Cave, near Matale, Sri Lanka
444 1st Century
(35-32)
• Milinda-pañha or Questions of King Milinda to
Venerble Nagasena.
• King Kaniska (78-101) convened the Fourth
Buddhist Council at Jalandhar or in Kashmir
around 100 C.E. (This is not recognized by the
Theravadins).
1st Century • Buddhism established in Cambodia 100 C.E
544
C.E.* and in Vietnam 150 C.E.
• Composition of Lotus Sutra and
other Mahayana Buddhist texts.
• Buddhism enters Central Asia and China.
• The Age of Indian Buddhist
644 2nd Century
philosopher Nargarjuna (150) founder of the
school of Madhyamika ('the Middle Way').
revised Julian calendar in Rome.
• Julius Caesar (100-44)
• Virgil, Latin poet (70-19)
• Jesus of Nazareth (0-33 C.E.)
• Destruction of Jerusalem and
the second Temple: (70 C.E.)
• The Buddha first represented in
art as human form.
• Roman Empire reaches the
height of its power.
• In 185 C.E, Shunga a Brahman
general became the ruler and
the Shunga dynasty ruled for
112 years in India.

• Expansion of Buddhism to Burma, Cambodia, • Three Kingdoms dynasty (220–

Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
The Yogacara (meditation) school was founded
744 3rd Century
by Maitreyanatha (3rd century).
• Buddhist influence in Persia spreads through
trade.
265) Division into three states:
Wei, Shu, Wu. Many scientific
advances adopted from India.
• The Emperor Constantine
converts to Christianity (312)

• Asanga (310-390) and his

• Gupta dynasty exemplified by
brother Vasubandhu (420-500) prominent
Chandra Gupta II (375-415)
teachers of the Yogacara school of Buddhism.
dominated North Central India.
• Development of Vajrayana Buddhism in India.
844 4th Century
• Translation of Buddhist texts into Chinese
• Saint Augustine (354-430)
by Kumarajiva (344-413) and Hui-yüan (334-
416).
• Buddhism enters Korea (372).

5
 • Buddhist monastic university founded at
Nalanda, India.
• Buddhaghosa composes the Visuddhimagga • 5th Century Anglo-Saxon
and major commentaries in Sri Lanka. Invasion of England
• Buddhism established in Burma and Korea.
• Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien visits India (399- • Earliest hospital in Sri Lanka
944 5th Century 414). (437)
• Amitabha (Amida) Pure Land sect emerges in
China. • Fall of the Western Roman
• Sri lankan Theravadin nuns introduce full Empire (476)
ordination lineage into China (433).
• Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into Java,
Sumatra, Borneo, mainly by Indian immigrants.

• Bodhidharma founder of Ch'an (Zen) arrives in

China from India. (526)
• Sui Dynasty in Chinese History (589- • Prophet Mohammed (570-632)
617) beginning of Golden Age of Chinese
Buddhism.
• The Age of Islamic Expansion
• Development of T'ien-tai, Hua-yen, Pure Land,
1044 6th Century (630-725)
and Ch'an schools of Chinese Buddhism.
• Buddhism enters Japan (538) becomes state
religion (594). • First pagoda built in China
• Buddhism flourishing in Indonesia. (600)
• Jataka Tales translated into Persian by King
Khusru (531-579).
• Construction of Potala Palace, Jokang and
Ramoche temples to house Buddha images
(641-650) • Islam sweeps across North
• Harsa-vardhana ruler of a large empire in Africa (700-800)
1144 7th Century
northern India from 606 to 647. He was a
Buddhist convert in a Hindu era. • Tang dynasty, China (618-906)
• Chinese pilgrim Hsuan-Tsang (602-664) visits
India.
• Academic schools (Jöjitsu, Kusha, Sanron, • Nara Period in Japanese
Hossö, Ritsu, and Kegon) proliferate in history (710-784)
Japan.
• Great debate between Tibetan and Chinese • First monastery built in Tibet
Buddhist schools. (Sam-ye) (749)
1244 8th Century • Ch'an declared heretical in Tibet.
• Nyingma School of Tibet Buddhism • Moslem invasion of Central
established. Asia (760)
• Borobudur Temple complex built in Java.
• Jataka Tales translated into Syrian and • Charlemagne (742-814)
Arabic under title: Kalilag and Damnag.
• Khmer kings build Angkor Wat, the world's
largest religious monument.

• Tendai School (founded by Saichö (767- • Heian Period in Japanese

822) and Shingon School (founded by Kukai: history (794-1185)
1344 9th Century (774-835) appear in Japan.
• Great Buddhist persecution in China (845) • First printed book, Diamond
Sutra, China (868)
• Biography of Buddha translated into Greek by
Saint John of Damascus and distributed in
Christianity as "Balaam" and "Josaphat".

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 • First complete printing of Chinese Buddhist
Canon (983), known as the Szechuan edition. • Sung Dynasty in Chinese
History (960-1279)
1444 10th Century • Buddhism in Thailand (900-1000)
• 1000 C.E The population at this
time was about 200 million
• Islam replaces Buddhism in Central Asia (900-
people in the world.
1000).
• Conversion of King Anawrahta of Pagan
(Burma) (1044-1077) by Shin Arahan.

• Atisha (982-1054) arrives in Tibet from India

(1042). • 1000-1100 There was a
Confucian revival in China.
• Marpa (1012-1097) begins Kargyu School of
Tibetan Buddhism.
• Edward the Confessor, English
• Milarepa (1040-1123) becomes greatest poet
king (1042-1066)
and most popular saint in Tibetan Buddhism.
1544 11th Century
• Great Schism between
•The bhikkhu and bhikkhuni (monk and nun)
Orthodox and Roman Catholic
communities at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, die out
Churches (1054)
following invasions from South India.
• 1st Crusades (1096-1099)
• Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism
established.
• Revival of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka
and Burma. • Decline of Buddhism in India.
• Theravada Buddhism established in Burma.

• Hönen (1133-1212) founded the Pure Land

School of Japanese Buddhism.
• Eisai (1141-1215) founds the Rinzai Zen
School of Japanese Buddhism.
1644 12th Century
• In 1193 the Moslems attacked and conquered
Magadha, the heartland of Buddhism in India,
and with the destruction of the Buddhist
Monasteries and Universities (Valabhi and
Nalanda) - in that area Buddhism was wiped out.
• Omar Khayyam, Persian poet
and mathematician (1044-1123)
• 1119 Bologna University
founded in Italy; Paris University,
in France, is founded in 1150.
• Kamakura Period in Japanese
history (1192-1338)

• Buddhism in Korea flourishes under the Koryo

dynasty (1140-1390).
• Shinran (1173-1263 ) founds True Pure Land
School of Japanese Buddhism.
• Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
• Dogen (1200-1253) founds Soto Zen School of
• Magna Carta (1215)
Japanese Buddhism.
• Genghis Khan invades
• Nichiren (1222-1282) founds school of
1744 13th Century China (1215)
Japanese Buddhism named after him.
• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Mongols converted to Vajrayana Buddhism.
• Mongol conquest of China
• Theravada Buddhism spreads to Laos.
complete (1279)
• Some Buddhist texts still being translated into
Arabic, in Persia.
1844 14th Century • Bu-ston collects and edits Tibetan Buddhist • John Wycliffe (1328-1384)
Canon. English theologian and biblical
• Rulers of the north (Chieng-mai) and northeast translator.

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 (Sukhothai) Thailand adopt Theravada
Buddhism (becomes state religion in 1360).
• Theravada Buddhism adopted in Cambodia
and Laos.
• Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419) Tibetan Buddhist
reformer and founder of Dge-lugs-pa
(or Gelugpa, or 'Yellow Hat') order.
• Beginning of Dalai Lama lineage in Tibetan
1944 15th Century Buddhism. • In Cambodia, the Vishnuite
temple, Angkor Wat, founded in the 12th
century, becomes a Buddhist centre.
• Tibet's Gelugpa leader receives the title of
2044 16th Century "Dalai" from Altan Khan (1578).
• "Great Fifth" Dalai Lama meets Qing Emperor
Shunzhi near Beijing.
• China regains its independence
from the Mongols under the Ming
dynasty (1368)
• Development of printing in
Europe
• Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519)
• Columbus "finds" the new world
(1492)
• Martin Luther (1483-1546)
• Protestant Reformation
• Shakespeare, (1564-1616)
• Galileo (1564-1642)

• Control of Japanese Buddhism by

Tokugawa Shögunate (the ruling feudal
2144 17th Century government) (I603-1867)
• Hakuin (1686-1769) monk, writer and artist
who helped revive the Rinzai Zen Sect in
Japanese Buddhism.
• Colonial occupation of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos,
Cambodia, and Vietnam.
2244 18th Century • King Kirti Sri Rajasinha obtains bhikkhus from
the Thai court to reinstate the bhikkhu ordination
line which has died out in Sri Lanka.
• Japan closes the door to
foreigners (1639)
• Pilgrims reach America (1620)
• Galileo recants (1633)
• English Civil War (1642)
• 1700s Age of Enlightenment
introduces revolutionary new
ideas to Europe.
• American independence (1776)
• French revolution (1789-1802)

• New sects begin to emerge in Japanese

Buddhism.
• Sri Lankan forest monks go to Burma for • Meiji Restoration in Japanese
reordination (1862). history 1868, marking end of
• First Western translation of the Dhammapada. military rule.
(German-1862).
• German translation of Lotus Sutra, 1852 and
2344 19th Century • 1833 Abolition of slavery in
pioneer Buddhist scholars: - Neumann and
British empire.
Odlenburg, first German monk, Nyanatiloka.
• First Chinese Temple in USA (San Francisco)
(1853) • American Civil War (1861-
• 5th Buddhist Council in Mandalay, Burma 1865)
(1868-1871) where the text of the Pali Canon
was revised and inscribed on 729 marble slabs.

2444-2544 20th Century • Buddhist Society of Great Britain, founded • Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
(1907).
• Buddhist Mission Society in Germany, founded • WW I (1914-1918)
(1903).
• Taishö Shinshü Daizokyö edition of Chinese • Russian revolution (1917-1922)
Buddhist Canon printed in Tokyo (1924-1929).
• Chinese control of Tibetan Buddhism (1950).
• Founding of World Fellowship of Buddhists • 1919 Ernest Rutherford splits
(1952). atom for first time.
• Buddha Jayanti Year, commemorating 2,500
years of Buddhism (1956). • WW II (1939-1945)
• 6th Buddhist Council held at Rangoon,
Myanmar (Burma) (1954-1956). • Cultural Revolution (China)
• Dalai Lama fleesTibet to India (1959).

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 • Tibetan Buddhism spreads to western
countries. (1966)
• First Theravada Monastery established in USA
(1966). • Pope John Paul II pardons
• First Tibetan (Sakya) Centre founded in USA Galileo (1995)
(1971).
• Tibetan texts collected, translated and • The Fall of the Berlin Wall, the
disseminated by Buddhist publishers 1960's. Cold War ends. (1989)
• H.H. Dalai Lama receives Nobel Peace Prize
(1989).

* The Buddhist calendar starts (year 1) from the Buddha's Parinirvana (death and final release) which
occured in his eightieth year.
* B.C.E. = Before Common Era (Equivalent to B.C.) * C.E. = Common Era (Equivalent to A.D.)

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The world-famous Javanese temple of Borobudur is located at the westernmost end of a

straight line which includes two “satellite” temples, Mendut and Pawon. Originally, the three
buildings were probably connected by a processional path running along this line. It is shown
here that the alignment points, at the horizon, where the sun sets in the days of the zenith
passages. This orientation is likely intentional and related to a ritual procession which
connected the three temples, mimicking the path of the sun in the sky

These three temples at Borobodur belong to the Mahayana Buddhism. The details of the cults
practised are unsure, but a relationship certainly existed between the temples and the
proclaimed divine nature of the kings who ordered their construction. In this connection, a
possible, symbolic relationship between the three monuments was investigated in details by.
In this controversial but anyhow scholarly work, the idea is that the temples were connected
by a “magical birth” ritual, in which the monarch’s consecration occurred both as the Buddha
and as King. Moens proposed a ritual based on an analogy with the sun path in the sky in one
day, and thus endowed with three main “stations”: east, zenith, and west. To these steps
corresponded for the west, the beginning of the western staircase at Borobudur; for the east,
Mendut; and for the zenith, Pawon. Although this interpretation is well known, it has never
been referred explicitly to the specific days of the zenith passages, a connection which
instead looks natural: if the “solar path” ritual had to be referenced into in the architecture of
the temples, and if the zenith culmination of the sun was, as it seems, a fundamental
ingredient of the ritual, then we would expect the procession to go in the direction from
sunrise to sunset, and the processional path to be oriented in such a way as to indicate the
zenith sunset, as it actually occurs. Finding comparison belonging to the same cultural
context would also be of help, but one the problems is that Borobodur architectural
conception is almost unique. Besides the already mentioned Bayon, as far as the present
author is aware the unique, vaguely reasonable comparison is the so-called 108 stupas
monument, located on a hillside directly on the western bank of the Yellow River at
Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China. The monument is slightly later than Borobodur, as it was
constructed during the Western Xia dynasty (1038–1227 AD), as part of a greater Buddhist
temple complex. It is composed by 108 stupas of sun-dried mud bricks, arranged in rows
disposed in a triangular formation which narrows with height, from 19 stupas on the first row
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to the uppermost single one. A front view of this monument is actually quite reminiscent of
one side of Borobodur. As far as the present author is aware, the orientation of the 108 stupas
monument has never been studied. The azimuth is 120° which, with an horizon height close
to zero, gives a impressive declination -24° that is, very close to the winter solstice sunrise.
The monument is therefore, with hardly any doubt, astronomically oriented although not to
the same solar phenomenon of the Borobodur axis; of course however, at the latitude of
Ningxia about 37° north, zenith passages do not occur.

Thus presumably the said triad owes its existence as a sacred unity thanks to the circumstance
that in the process of its enlargement and embellishment Barabudur — originally a modest
stupa sanctuary on the mount [= hillock] — gradually was given the character of a dynastic
temple. For the sake of a grand ritual to secure dynastic continuity — a magical ritual that
would have included Mendut’s pre-eminently favorable location — the need would have
been felt for adding a third temple to the pair. This temple, Pawon, was, according to Van
Erp, both “in ground plan and profiling a reduced copy in many respects” of Mendut. The
new temple was also situated close to the confluence of two large rivers (the Elo and Progo),
a locality that is considered sacred in classical (also in the Central Javanese) literature since
“the sacred nature of each river is doubled by means of contact with the other.”

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 m 2.
Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the
Buddha.

Interesting facts about Borobudur

1. Borobudur is a magnificent Buddhist temple located near Magelang in Java, Indonesia.
2. Borobudur is a Buddhist stupa in the Mahayana tradition and it is the largest Buddhist
monument in the world.
3. It is one of the world’s most complex buildings.
4. There is no written record of who built Borobudur or of its intended purpose.
5. The construction time has been estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on the
temple’s hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during
the 8th and 9th centuries. Borobudur was likely founded around 750 AD.
6. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been completed during
the reign of Samaratungga in 825 AD.
7. The monument consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped
by a central dome.
8. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area
of 2,520 m2.
9. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
10. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated
stupa.
11. The vertical division of Borobudur Temple into base, body, and superstructure perfectly
accords with the conception of the Universe in Buddhist cosmology.
12. It is believed that the Universe is divided into three superimposing
spheres, kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, representing respectively the sphere of
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 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. This extraordinary structure is built as a single large stupa. An aerial view of Borobudur
shows the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala.
16. Borobudur is a unique temple located in an elevated area between two
twin volcanoes and two rivers.
17. Enormous amount of stones, approximately 55,000 cubic meters, used in the construction
of Borobudur were taken from neighboring rivers. The stone was cut to size, transported
to the site and laid without mortar.
18. Most temples were built on a flat surface while Borobudur was built on a bedrock
hill located 265 m above sea level and 15 m above the floor of a dried-out paleolake.
19. It was built during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty.
20. It was only in 1814 that Borobudur started to gained worldwide attention and fame
through the efforts of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles when Java was under British rule.
21. The first photograph and the first monograph of the detailed study of Borobudur were
published in 1873.
22. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian
government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
23. Borobodor, Indonesia’s single most visited tourist attraction is visited by 2.5 million
visitors annually.

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 Sacred Landscape

Sacred landscapes in Asia have generally been studied in terms of the architecture and
imagery of the monuments or with regard to chronology and patronage and more recently
within debates of generation of colonial knowledge. Colonial rule after centuries in South
and Southeast Asia, not only altered the nature of linkages that had existed across Asia from
at least the middle of thef irst millennium BC onwards, but more significantly redefined our
understanding of monuments such as Borobudur which were considered as essentially
religious structures have traversed to objects of artistic and aesthetic appreciation. This had
far-reaching implications for their study and understanding of the nature of Indic religions.

Paul Mus (1902–1969) was a French writer and scholar. His studies focused on Viet
Nam and other South-East Asian cultures. He was born in Bourges to an academic family,
and grew up in northern Viet Nam (Tonkin). In 1907 his father opened the College de
Protectorate in Hanoi and he would graduate from the college some 12 years later. His work
Barabuḍur: sketch of a history of Buddhism based on archaeological criticism of the texts
represents a profound and far-reaching analysis of the ideas, religious aspirations and
building techniques which contributed to the creation of one of the largest Buddhist edifices
in the world. Published at Hanoi in french in 1935, it is a survey of the Buddhist religious and
philosophical concepts in the background of earlier religious and metaphysical traditon in
India, as revealed in the Vedic and Upanishads texts.In his study of Borobudur published in

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1935, Paul Mus emphasised the role of architecture as a material representation of religious
doctrines of Buddhism.

Borobudur temple holds a mystery that raises questions for the people who see through.
Researchers, archaeologists, to visitors brought deeper into the mystery and the various
questions contained in it when climbing this monument. One simple question that has not
been answered until now is: whether the name Borobudur is the real name or not. It
seems that the name Borobudur is indeed the real name, but this statement has no solid
evidence that can be used to support it.

Congregational worship in Borobudur is performed in a walking pilgrimage. Pilgrims are

guided by the system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform. Each platform
represents one stage of enlightenment. The path that guides pilgrims was designed to
symbolize Buddhist cosmology.

In 1885, a hidden structure under the base was accidentally discovered. The "hidden footing"
contains reliefs, 160 of which are narratives describing the real Kāmadhātu. The remaining
reliefs are panels with short inscriptions that apparently provide instructions for the sculptors,
illustrating the scenes to be carved. The real base is hidden by an encasement base, the
purpose of which remains a mystery. It was first thought that the real base had to be covered
to prevent a disastrous subsidence of the monument into the hill. There is another theory that
the encasement base was added because the original hidden footing was incorrectly designed,
according to Vastu Shastra, the Indian ancient book about architecture and town planning.
Regardless of why it was commissioned, the encasement base was built with detailed and
meticulous design and with aesthetic and religious consideration.

Building structure
Approximately 55,000 cubic metres (72,000 cu yd) of andesite stones were taken from
neighbouring stone quarries to build the monument. The stone was cut to size, transported to
the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints
between stones. The roof of stupas, niches and arched gateways were constructed
in corbelling method. Reliefs were created in situ after the building had been completed.
The monument is equipped with a good drainage system to cater to the area's
high stormwater run-off. To prevent flooding, 100 spouts are installed at each corner, each
with a unique carved gargoyle in the shape of a giant or makara.

Hilly Construction: Borobudur differs markedly from the general design of other structures
built for this purpose. Instead of being built on a flat surface, Borobudur is built on a natural
hill. However, construction technique is similar to other temples in Java. Without the inner
spaces seen in other temples, and with a general design similar to the shape of pyramid,
Borobudur was first thought more likely to have served as a stupa, instead of a
temple. A stupa is intended as a shrine for the Buddha. Sometimes stupas were built only as
devotional symbols of Buddhism. A temple, on the other hand, is used as a house of worship.
The meticulous complexity of the monument's design suggests that Borobudur is in fact a
temple.

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The basic unit of measurement used during construction was the tala, defined as the length of
a human face from the forehead's hairline to the tip of the chin or the distance from the tip of
the thumb to the tip of the middle finger when both fingers are stretched at their maximum
distance. The unit is thus relative from one individual to the next, but the monument has exact
measurements. A survey conducted in 1977 revealed frequent findings of a ratio of 4:6:9 around
the monument. The architect had used the formula to lay out the precise dimensions of
the fractal and self-similar geometry in Borobudur's design. This ratio is also found in the
designs of Pawon and Mendut, nearby Buddhist temples. Archeologists have conjectured that
the 4:6:9 ratio and the tala have calendrical, astronomical and cosmological significance, as
is the case with the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.The main structure can be divided
into three components: base, body, and top. The base is 123 m × 123 m (404 ft × 404 ft) in
size with 4 metres (13 ft) walls.] The body is composed of five square platforms, each of
diminishing height. The first terrace is set back 7 metres (23 ft) from the edge of the base.
Each subsequent terrace is set back 2 metres (6.6 ft), leaving a narrow corridor at each stage.
The top consists of three circular platforms, with each stage supporting a row of
perforated stupas, arranged in concentric circles. There is one main dome at the center, the
top of which is the highest point of the monument, 35 metres (115 ft) above ground level.
Stairways at the center of each of the four sides give access to the top, with a number of
arched gates overlooked by 32 lion statues. The gates are adorned with Kala's head carved on
top of each and Makaras projecting from each side. This Kala-Makara motif is commonly
found on the gates of Javanese temples. The main entrance is on the eastern side, the location
of the first narrative reliefs. Stairways on the slopes of the hill also link the monument to the
low-lying plain. This is a basic description of the temple. The Stugas and the reliefs on the
walls are subject matter of successive papers.
Much effort has been made to investigate this question, but no single interpretation has
been proven. So far, the way to find out the real name of Borobudur is to look at the two
parts that make up his name, Boro and Budur. This theory was initiated by Poerbatjaraka.
He revealed that “boro” can be interpreted as a monastery, which today can be regarded
as a vihara. While “budur” itself is the name of a place. Thus, Borobudur can be
interpreted as “Vihara in Budur”.

A bit of a relic from a monastery was discovered in 1952 when excavations were made in
the western courtyard of Borobudur. Found an ancient manuscript named
Nagarakrtagama from 1365 which contains the name Budur in it. In the manuscript,
budur is a sacred place of.Mahayana.Buddhism.

Dutch orientalist and indologist Johannes Gijsbertus de Casparis (31 May 1916, – 19 June 2002)
succeeded in describing the obsolete portion of the stone charter found in 842 in his
seminal book Prasasti Indonesia II: Selected Inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th century A.D., (1956) as
readings as “bhumisambharabhudura”, meaning “The Mountain of Virtue from the Ten
Phases of Bodhisattva”.

The word “Bharabhudura” was taken and converted into Borobudur. The changes used
are simplifications that occur due to the pronunciation of the lisa language. On the other
hand, the first part of the word sounds similar to “Bumisegoro”, which is the name of the
village south of Borobudur.

14
It is interesting to note that before the word is found, there is another word found, that is
“kamulan”. This word means “The Holy Place of the Patriarch”. Therefore, it is clearly
seen the connection of Borobudur and the temple for ancestor worship.
Another simple but difficult question to answer is: how long Borobudur temple is
actively used? When did it stop functioning as a monument to glorify the ruling dynasty,
or as a Buddhist pilgrimage center?

The general assumption is that this temple began not to be used when people converted
to Islam in the fifteenth century. Borobudur Temple may have been abandoned when the
center of political and cultural activities moved to East Java in the 10th century.

It is also spelled Barabuḍur or Baraboedoer and combines the 3 symbolic forms of

1. the stupa (a Buddhist commemorative mound usually containing holy relics),
2. the temple mountain (based on Mount Meru of Hindu mythology), and
3. the mandala (a mystic Buddhist symbol of the universe, combining the square as earth and
the circle as heaven).

The style of Borobudur was influenced by Indian Gupta and post-Gupta art. The monument
was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.

15
 Enig
matic Construction

Borobudur was constructed between about 778 and 850 CE, under the Shailendra dynasty. :

A painting by G.B. Hooijer (c. 1916—1919) reconstructing the scene of Borobudur during its heyday

Borobudur was likely founded around 800 CE. But there is no written record of who built it
or of its intended purpose. The construction time has been estimated by comparison between
carved reliefs on the temple’s hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal
charters during the 8th and 9th centuries. This corresponds to the period between 760 and
830 CE, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in central Java, when it was under the influence of
the Srivijayan Empire. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and been
completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825.

16
There is confusion between Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The
Sailendras were known as ardent followers of Buddhism, though stone inscriptions found at
Sojomerto suggest they may have been Hindus. It was during this time that many Hindu and
Buddhist monuments were built on the plains and mountains around the Kedu Plain. The
Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same time as the Hindu
Shiva Prambanan temple compound. In 732 CE, the Shivaite King Sanjaya commissioned a
Shivalinga sanctuary to be built on the Wukir hill, only 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Borobudur.

Construction of Buddhist temples, including Borobudur, at that time was possible because
Sanjaya’s immediate successor, Rakai Panangkaran, granted his permission to the Buddhist
followers to build such temples. In fact, to show his respect, Panangkaran gave the village of
Kalasan to the Buddhist community, as is written in the Kalasan Charter dated 778 CE. This
has led some archaeologists to believe that there was never serious conflict concerning
religion in Java as it was possible for a Hindu king to patronize the establishment of a
Buddhist monument; or for a Buddhist king to act likewise. However, it is likely that there
were two rival royal dynasties in Java at the time—the Buddhist Sailendra and the Saivite
Sanjaya—in which the latter triumphed over their rival in the 856 battle on the Ratubaka
plateau. This confusion also exists regarding the Lara Jonggrang temple at the Prambanan
complex, which was believed to have been erected by the victor Rakai Pikatan as the Sanjaya
dynasty’s reply to Borobudur, but others suggest that there was a climate of peaceful
coexistence where Sailendra involvement exists in Lara Jonggrang.
Discovery: It was buried under volcanic ash from about 1000 and overgrown with
vegetation until discovered by the English lieutenant governor Thomas Stamford Raffles in
1814. A team of Dutch archaeologists restored the site in 1907–11. A second restoration was
completed by 1983.

Borobudur, Indonesia© Ramon Abasolo/Fotolia

Built with about 2,000,000 cubic feet (56,600 cubic metres) of gray volcanic stone,
Borobudur encloses a small hill and is shaped like a stepped pyramid with three major levels
—a square base, a middle level of five square terraces, and an upper level of three circular
terraces—totaling, in effect, nine lesser sections (the number nine is mystic in Buddhism).
The centre, 115 feet (35 metres) above the base, consists of a large individual stupa.

17
© simon gurney/Fotolia

Stupas at Borobudur
Each of the monument’s three main levels represents a stage on the way to
the bodhisattva ideal of enlightenment; symbolizing this spiritual journey, a pilgrim begins at
the eastern stairway and walks clockwise around each of the monument’s nine levels before
reaching the top, a distance of more than 3 miles (5 km). At the lowest level, which is
partially hidden, are hundreds of reliefs of earthly desires, illustrating kama-dhatu (“the realm
of feeling”), the lowest sphere of the Mahayana Buddhist universe. On the next level, a
series of reliefs depict rupa-dhatu (the middle sphere and “the realm of form”) through events
in the life of the Gautama Buddha and scenes from the Jatakas (stories of his previous lives).
The upper level illustrates arupa-dhatu, realm of formlessness,” or detachment from the
physical world; there is little decoration, but lining the terraces are 72 bell-shaped stupas,
many still containing a statue of the Buddha, partly visible through the perforated stonework.
During the Waicak ceremony, which occurs once a year during a full moon, thousands of
saffron-robed Buddhist monks walk in solemn procession to Borobudur to commemorate the
Buddha’s birth, death, and enlightenment.

Borobudur- STUPA BIG BUDDHA- as a complete exposition of doctrine

Scholars disagree about the nature of Candi Borobudur, for instance, whether it is a symbolic
mountain of the Sailendra kingdom, a stupa or a mandala . At its simplest, a stupa is a dirt
burial mound faced with stone. In Buddhism, the earliest stupas contained portions of the
Buddha's ashes, and as a result, the stupa began to be associated with the body of the Buddha.
Adding the Buddha's ashes to the mound of dirt activated it with the energy of the Buddha
himself. 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 original foundation is a square, approximately 118
metres (387 ft) on each side. Kesariya Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a
distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar,
India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE.
A stupa, Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated
with the Buddha or other saintly persons. The hemispherical form of the stupa appears to
have derived from pre-Buddhist burial mounds in India. Many stupas are Pooja Pradakshina
on all levels? What does that mean and how to explain to non- hindus? Puja is paying
obeisance to God and pradakshina is circumambulation of the Godly image. Puja involves a
ritual= whether in Buddhism or Hinduism. Lighting Candles, Ringing bells, turning prayer

18
wheelsall are rituals. One such ritual kis circumambulation. In Borobudur as well as many
other Stupas some discussed below this ritual is and that Stupa are presented.One pays ones
respect by circumambulation to the stupa.

Kesariya Stupa seen in the above picture, is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a
distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district
of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya
Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet
(32 m).
The construction of stupas were considered acts of great merit. The purpose of stupas were
mainly to enshrine relics of Buddha. The design specifications are consistent within most of
the stupas, entrances to stupas are laid out so that their centre lines point to the relic
chambers.

19
 SIMILARITIES WITH BOROBUDUR

It has been noted that the Kesariya stupa shares many architectural similarities with the
Buddhist temple located in Indonesia, Borobodur which points to a historical connections
between east India and South East Asia. Both monuments share a circular mandala form with
terraces containing figures of Buddha in the niches. Like Borobodur, Kesariya is also built
atop of a hill. The excavated chambers at Kesariya show a combination of statues
in bhumisparsha (of Akshobya) and dhyanimudra (of Amitabha) on the same side, whereas
Borobudur houses four Jina Buddhas, displaying their respective mudras on the four sides of
the monument.

In Indonesian, ancient temples are referred to as candi; thus locals refer to "Borobudur
Temple" as Candi Borobudur. The term candi also loosely describes ancient structures, for
example gates and baths. 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.
Raffles wrote about a monument called Borobudur, but there are no older documents suggesting
the same name. The only old Javanese manuscript that hints the monument called Budur as a holy
Buddhist sanctuary is Nagarakretagama, written by Mpu Prapanca, a Buddhist scholar
of Majapahit court, in 1365. Most candi are named after a nearby village. If it followed Javanese
language conventions and was named after the nearby village of Bore, the monument should have
been named "BudurBoro". Raffles thought that Budur might correspond to the modern Javanese
word Buda ("ancient")—i.e., "ancient Boro". He also suggested that the name might derive
from boro, meaning "great" or "honourable" and Budur for Buddha. However, another
archaeologist suggests the second component of the name (Budur) comes from Javanese
term bhudhara ("mountain").
Vihara Buddha Uhr: Another possible etymology by Dutch archaeologist A.J. Bernet Kempers
suggests that Borobudur is a corrupted simplified local Javanese pronunciation of Biara
Beduhur written in Sanskrit as Vihara Buddha Uhr. The term Buddha-Uhr could mean "the city
of Buddhas", while another possible term Beduhur is probably an Old Javanese term, still
survived today in Balinese vocabulary, which means "a high place", constructed from the stem
word dhuhur or luhur (high). This suggests that Borobudur means vihara of Buddha located on a
high place or on a hill. As far as I understand, Vihara Buddha means the Abode of Buddha and
not the city…

20
Inscriptions: The construction and inauguration of a sacred Buddhist building—possibly a
reference to Borobudur was mentioned in two inscriptions, both discovered in
Kedu, Temanggung Regency.
1. The Karangtengah inscription, dated 824, mentioned a sacred building
named Jinalaya (the realm of those who have conquered worldly desire and reached
enlightenment), inaugurated by Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga.
2. The Tri Tepusan inscription, dated 842, is mentioned in the sima, the (tax-free) lands
awarded by Çrī Kahulunnan (Pramodhawardhani) to ensure the funding and maintenance
of a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra. Kamūlān is from the word mula, which means "the
3. place of origin", a sacred building to honor the ancestors, probably those of
the Sailendras.
Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra: Casparis suggested that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra, which
in Sanskrit means "the mountain of combined virtues of the ten stages of Boddhisattvahood", was
the original name of Borobudur.That is however incorrect, even a schoolchild in India will tell
you that Bhumi means land.See the pujsa bhoomipoojan or the actress of Bollywood- Bhumi
Pednekar.
Apart from being called a most impressive monument, Borobudur is both a temple and a
complete exposition of doctrine, designed as a whole, and completed as it was designed, with
only one major afterthought. It seems to have provided a pattern for Hindu temple mountains
at Angkor, and in its own day it must have been one of the wonders of the Asian world.

Built about 800, it probably fell into neglect by c. 1000 and was overgrown. It was excavated
and restored by the Dutch between 1907 and 1911. It now appears as a large square plinth
(the processional path) upon which stand five terraces gradually diminishing in size. The
plans of the squares are stepped out twice to a central projection. Above the fifth terrace
stands a series of three diminishing circular terraces carrying small stupas, crowned at the
centre of the summit by a large circular bell-shaped stupa. Running up the centre of each face
is a long staircase; all four are given equal importance. There are no internal cell shrines, and
the terraces are solid. Borobudur is thus a Buddhist stupa in the Indian sense.

Each of the square terraces is enclosed in a high wall with pavilions and niches along the
whole perimeter, which prevents the visitor on one level from seeing into any of the other
levels. All of these terraces are lined with relief sculptures, and the niches contain Buddha
figures. The top three circular terraces are open and unwalled, and the 72 lesser bell-shaped
stupas they support are of open stone latticework; inside each was a huge stone Buddha
figure. The convex contour of the whole monument is steepest near the ground, flattening as
it reaches the summit. The bottom plinth, the processional path, was the major afterthought. It
consists of a massive heap of stone pressed up against the original bottom story of the
designed structure so that it obscures an entire series of reliefs—a few of which have been
uncovered in modern times. It was probably added to hold together the bottom story, which
began to spread under the pressure of the immense weight of earth and stone accumulated
above.

21
Borobudur: Buddha sculpture and stupas

The Thai & Myanmar Stupas-There are three basic forms of the Thai Stupa; each will
be explored in turn. These forms — as well as those of India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar’s
Bagan (Burma) — are laid out in Fig. below Note that andas are highlighted in green,
harmikas in red, chattras in purple, and bases or terraces in black. We will continue to refer
to back to this three style framework as we review the stupas in specific temples in sections
that follow.

.
Thai stupa predecessors and types.

The whole building symbolizes a Buddhist transition from the lowest manifestations of
reality at the base, through a series of regions representing psychological states, toward the
ultimate condition of spiritual enlightenment at the summit.

Maynmar influenced?-For about 250 years, from c. 1044 to 1284 CE, Pagan or Bagan, was
the capital of a kingdom covering most of what is modern-day Myanmar (Burma).

During this period, more than 2,500 Buddhist monuments—stupas, temples, and monasteries
—were built in and around the city alone; further religious edifices were erected in the
provincial centers of the kingdom, such as Pakkoku, Sale, Salin, and Myinmu.

22
The people of Pagan were in close contact with other Buddhist communities of South and
Southeast Asia, most notably Sri Lankans, Northeast Indians, and the Khmers, and perhaps
with the Tibetans and Chinese as well. Between these regions and communities, there was a
regular flow of royal ambassadors, Buddhist monks, artists, pilgrims, and other travelers, who
exchanged letters and Buddhist scriptures, skills, and ideas.

Given this position as a nodal point in a wider Buddhist network, the Buddhism of Pagan was
cosmopolitan in nature, embracing influences from various sources and different traditions.
Particularly in the late 12th and the early 13th centuries, when increased contact with external
Buddhist communities coincided with the maturation of internal developments, Pagan
became the crucible in which the major features of Burmese Theravada were mixed.

Borobudur represents the unity of the cosmos permeated by the light of truth, which the
visitor will search and get as he climbs up the terraces. This transformation occurs while
climbing through the levels of Borobudur, encountering illustrations of progressively more
profound doctrines nearer to the summit.

The indefinable ultimate spiritual state is at the topmost terrace, where an unfinished image
of Buddha that was hidden from the spectator’s view, symbolized thsat crystallization of
fruition.

Borobudur - Buddhist Stupa in the Indian sense

There are no internal cell shrines, and the terraces are solid. Borobudur is thus a Buddhist
stupa in the Indian sense. Each of the square terraces is enclosed in a high wall with pavilions
and niches along the whole perimeter, which prevents the visitor on one level from seeing
into any of the other levels. What is the difference between stupa and pagoda?
While there is not a clear distinction between a stupa and a pagoda, a stupa tends to be a
structure that usually can not be entered, while a pagoda is often referred to as a building that
can be entered. It is easy to get confused because a pagoda is generally a temple, but the
design of a pagoda evolved from stupas.
In the Borobudur, 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

Religious Aspects of Borobudur

Unlike most temples, Borobudur did not have actual spaces for worship. Instead it has an
extensive system of corridors and stairways, which are thought to have been a place for
Buddhist ceremonies. Borobodur also has six square courtyards, three circular ones, and a
main courtyard within a stupa at the temple’s peak. The entire structure is formed in the
shape of a giant twirling staircase, a style of architecture from prehistoric Indonesia.
Borobudur is a three-dimensional model of the Mahayana Buddhist universe. The climb to
the top of the temple is intended to illustrate the path an individual must take to reach
enlightenment. At the main entrance on the east side, visitors can not even see the top.
Scholars believed this was intensional. At the top was the ideal of Buddhist perfection, the

23
World of Formlessness. The architecture and stonework of this temple has no equal. And
it was built without using any kind of cement or mortar!
Borobudur resembles a giant stupa, but seen from above it forms a mandala. The great
stupa at the top of the temple sits 40 meters above the ground. This main dome is
surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. Five closed square
galleries, three open circular inner terraces, and a concentric scheme express the universe
geometrically. At the center of the top of the temple is a beautifully shaped stupa which is
surrounded by three circles of smaller stupas that have the same shape. There are 72 of
these, each with a Buddha statue inside. Touching them is supposed to bring good luck.
Unfortunately many had their heads lopped off by 19th century explorers looking for
souvenirs. The 72 small latticed stupas look like perforated stone bells. The temple is
decorated with stone carvings in bas-relief representing images from the life of Buddha—
the largest and most complete ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.
Borobudur is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The
ten levels of the temple symbolize the three divisions of the religion’s cosmic system. As
visitors begin their journey at the base of the temple, they make their way to the top of the
monument through the three levels of Budhist cosmology, Kamadhatu (the world of
desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). As
visitors walk to the top the monument guides the pilgrims past 1,460 narrative relief
panels on the wall and the balustrades.

Borobudur, northwest view

24
 Overview of Borobudur

Borobudur (or Barabudur - the origin and meaning of the name are unknown) is a
squat pyramid-shaped stupa 40km to the north west of Yogyakarta, in a volcanic
region on the Indonesian island of Java. Erected in the late 8th or early 9th century,
presumably by the kings of central Java, this Buddhist monument was probably
abandoned within not much more than a century after construction when the
power-base moved to east Java. There is no foundation inscription, no way of
dating beyond the palaeography of the workers' inscripitions, and no later mention
of the sanctuary until 1709 AD.

The quality and importance of Borobudur are world-class, for the sheer abundance
and beauty of its figured reliefs, decorated panels and sculptures. In Europe, no
such sculptural complexes had been seen since well before the fall of the Roman
Empire; and none would be seen until more than 100 years after its abandonment.
In the region, it ranks with a much larger complexes at Pagan (Burma) and Angkor
(Cambodia).

The stupa is some 31.5m high, and almost square with a side of 123m. From a
broad podium, the visitor progresses through four relief-covered galleries to a
circular terrace, adorned with 72 bell-shaped perforated stupas, each containing a
seated Boddhisatva, surrounding a central stupa, once much taller than it is now,
which may once have held a relic of the Buddha. Because the structure was built
out of a mid- to dark-grey volcanic stone, the tropical climate, with an average
rainfall of over 2m per annum, has ensured that the structure has been invaded by

25
mosses and lichens. Originally, it was probably plastered white, and painted in
bright colours. There must have been a substantial monastery for the monks who
looked after the structure and the pilgrims, but nothing adequate has yet been
discovered. The point of the pilgrimage was that the stupa (its shape perhaps
intended as a replica of the universe) allowed the pilgrim to mimic a journey from
base life through to enlightenment - from this temporal world to the attainment of
enlightenment, symbolised by the Bodhisattvas on the circular terrace. (There are
parallels here with the mazes found in mediaeval Christian buildings.)

The shape of the stupa - like a badly-risen cake, says one scholar - results from a
mix of climate and ambition. The first building campaign began with a basement
covered in 160 relief panels but, when the substantial weight of the first terrace
was added, the land slipped, no doubt because the core of the structure (part natural
hill, part infill) soaked up water like a sponge. A decision was taken to abandon the
basement by girdling it with a terrace - a corset to ensure against future landslips.
Hence we might assume that the profile originally intended was taller and sharper
than what we see today.

As we see it today, Borobudur is the result of three major restoration schemes.

After its description by by the Engineer officer H. C. Cornelius on the commission
Sir Stamford Raffles, the English Governor, in 1814, the trees and bushes on the
site were felled, and stones dislodged by water and earth movement rolled down to
the base (with some damage) to await re-positioning. The resident of Kedu, C. L.
Hartmann, did further clearance work in 1834 and 1835. Nevertheless, degradation
continued; making casts of all the reliefs was contemplated, and in 1882 it was
even proposed that the reliefs be dismounted and displayed in a purpose-built
museum. The fact of the filled-in basement was discovered by J. W. Ijzerman in
1885, and this helped provoke the second great restoration which resulted in the
monumental monograph by N. J. Krom & Th. Van Erp of 1919, which published
photographs of all the sculptures and reliefs, including the hidden base. It is from
this monograph that the digital images which adorn our VRML presentation of the
stupa were made.

Nor was Van Erp's careful and restrained restoration the final one: the volcanoes
and the climate saw to that. IFollowing a request of 1967, UNESCO undertook the
dismantling, stabilisation and restoration of the monument once more.
needs more to finish.

Facts & Figures

The figures for Borobudur are stupendous:

- Stone embankment covering the basement: 11,600 cubic metres;
- 1,460 narrative panels covering 1,900 square metres;

26
- 1,212 decorative panels covering 600 square metres;
- 100 monumental gargoyles to carry away the rainwater;
- 432 Buddha images displayed from the galleries;
- 72 Buddhas displayed in stupas on the great terrace)
- 1,472 stupa-shaped ornaments;

 Narrative reliefs: 1,460

 Decorative reliefs: 1,212
 Gargoyles: 100
 Buddha Statues in niches: 432
 Buddha statues on the terraces under circular stupas: 72
 Decorated doorways: 24
 Basement hidden with circa 13,000 cubic metres of stone
 Total volume of stone used: circa 55,000 cubic metres
 Total carved stone blocks used: circa 1,000,000
 Total length of galleries: circa 2500 metres
 Total length of hidden basement: circa 400 metres
 Total area of figurative reliefs: circa 1,900 square metres
 Total area of decorative reliefs; circa 600 square metres
 Time to build Borobudur: perhaps 30 years
 When was it built: probably later 8th century AD
 Usage period: less than 200 years (Kingdom moved to E Java)

Reliefs, their Location and their Subjects

Series Location Reliefs Texts

Hidden Basement 160 text?
Gallery 1, upper rank 120 Life of Buddha
Gallery 1, lower rank 125 Buddhist Birth Stories
Gallery 1 B, upper rank 372 Jatakas & Avadanas
Gallery 1 B, lower rank 125 Jatakas & Avadanas
Gallery 2 128 Gandavyuha
Gallery 2 B 100 Jatakas & Avadanas
Gallery 3 88 Gandavyuha
Gallery 3 B 88 Gandavyuha
Gallery 4 72 Bhadracari
Gallery 4 B 84 Gandavyuha

Educational Purpose derived from the History of Borobudur

Borobudur was built by the Sailendra Dynasty kings in the 8th and 9th centuries, around
that time that Charlemagne ruled Europe. When it was completed an epic poet from
Ceylon wrote: "Thus are the Buddha incomprehensible, and incomprehensible is the

27
nature of the Buddhas, and incomprehensible is the reward of those who have faith in the
incomprehensible."
According to UNESCO: Founded by a king of the Saliendra dynasty, Borobudur was built
to honour the glory of both the Buddha and its founder, a true king Bodhisattva. 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 square meters of stone. Why it was built remains a mystery.
There are no written records on the subject. No ancient cities have been found nearby.
There is no clear sanctuary as a place of worship and no room to store icons. Many
historians and archeologists believe that Borobudur is not a temple but rather a kind of
advertisement for Buddhism. According to an expert on the subject, John Mikic,
Borobudur was built to “to engage the mind” and to “give a visual aid for teaching a
gentle philosophy of life.”

Borobodur was an active religious center until the 10th century when it was abandoned for
reasons that are not clear. 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. In 1006 volcano Merapi
erupted violently in conjunction with a violent earthquake that left the landscape covered
in ash, landslides and volcanic mud and force much of the population in the Borobodur
area to flee to eastern Java. But this is not believed to be the reason it was abandoned.

For the next 800 years it lie, for the most part undisturbed, gathering a cover of moss, dirt
and vegetation until it was found in 1814 by Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British
lieutenant governor of Java. He recognized that the monument was a "remarkable for
grandeur of design, peculiarity of style and exquisite workmanship." The ruins were
cleared and restored on a small scale by the Dutch who turned it into a picnic spot and
built a teahouse on the pinnacle. Major restoration work was conducted under the Dutch
between 1907 and 1911. The first restoration campaign was supervised by Theodor van
Erp. A second one was led more recently (1973-82).

In Indonesian, ancient temples are referred to as candi; thus locals refer to "Borobudur
Temple" as Candi Borobudur. The term candi also loosely describes ancient structures, for
example gates and baths. 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. Raffles wrote about a monument called Borobudur, but there are no older
documents suggesting the same name. The only old Javanese manuscript that hints the
monument called Budur as a holy Buddhist sanctuary is Nagarakretagama, written by Mpu
Prapanca, a Buddhist scholar of Majapahit court, in 1365. Most candi are named after a
nearby village. If it followed Javanese language conventions and was named after the
nearby village of Bore, the monument should have been named "BudurBoro". Raffles
thought that Budur might correspond to the modern Javanese word Buda ("ancient")—i.e.,
"ancient Boro". He also suggested that the name might derive from boro, meaning "great"
or "honourable" and Budur for Buddha.[13] However, another archaeologist suggests the
second component of the name (Budur) comes from Javanese term bhudhara ("mountain").

Another possible etymology by Dutch archaeologist A.J. Bernet Kempers suggests

that Borobudur is a corrupted simplified local Javanese pronunciation of Biara
Beduhur written in Sanskrit as Vihara Buddha Uhr. The term Buddha-Uhr could mean "the
28
city of Buddhas", while another possible term Beduhur is probably an Old Javanese term,
still survived today in Balinese vocabulary, which means "a high place", constructed from
the stem word dhuhur or luhur (high). This suggests that Borobudur
means vihara of Buddha located on a high place or on a hill.

The construction and inauguration of a sacred Buddhist building—possibly a reference to

Borobudur—was mentioned in two inscriptions, both discovered in Kedu, Temanggung
Regency. The Karangtengah inscription, dated 824, mentioned a sacred building
named Jinalaya (the realm of those who have conquered worldly desire and reached
enlightenment), inaugurated by Pramodhawardhani, daughter of Samaratungga. The Tri
Tepusan inscription, dated 842, is mentioned in the sima, the (tax-free) lands awarded by
Çrī Kahulunnan (Pramodhawardhani) to ensure the funding and maintenance of
a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra.[18] Kamūlān is from the word mula, which means "the
place of origin", a sacred building to honor the ancestors, probably those of the Sailendras.
Casparis suggested that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra, which in Sanskrit means "the
mountain of combined virtues of the ten stages of Boddhisattvahood", was the original
name of Borobudur.

Architecture of Borobudur
According to UNESCO: “With its stepped, unroofed pyramid consisting of ten
superimposing terraces, crowned by a large bell-shaped dome, Borobudur is a harmonious
marriage of stupas, temple and mountain that is a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture and
monumental arts. 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. [Source: UNESCO]
Borobudur 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 square meters. 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 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. 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.

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

29
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 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.
https://vbook.pub/documents/borobudur-big-buddha-as-a-complete-exposition-of-doctrine-x25dxl3r9kwp

Bas Reliefs at Borobudur

Decorating the walls along the pilgrimage route at Borodudur is the world's largest
ensemble of Buddhist bas-reliefs (if laid end to end, they would extend for six kilometers).
The reliefs depict the Buddha’s journey from life on earth, on the lower levels, to
enlightenment on the upper levels. The 160 bas-relief panels at the ground level terrace
depict the World of Desire, a state of spiritual development in which an individual is a
slave of desire. Many of the bas-reliefs show the consequences of evil deeds such as
gossip and murder.
The panels that begin on the second level represent the World of Form and depict episodes
from the Buddha's life or other sacred Buddhist stories and the life's of the Bodhisattvas.
Like the stained glass windows in European churches, there purpose was partly to
educated the illiterate masses about religion. Some of the reliefs are exquisitely crafted
and deeply incised. Others have a more dashed off look. Look for the ones that shows a
white elephant entering the womb of Buddha's mother, Queen Maya, and a revered monk
sailing in boat filled with treasure.

The ten levels of Borobudur are believed to be representations of the Mahayana school of
philosophy which describe the ten levels of Bodhisattva that must be passed to attain the
Buddhist perfection. Of the monument’s 2,672 relief panels, 1,460 are narrative, while the
other 1,212 are decorative. UNESCO has recognized these panels as the largest and most
comprehensive ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world. There are bas-reliefs of sea
battles. processions of elephants, warriors and dancing girls, monsters, musical
instruments, houses, clothes and customs that give some insight into the everyday life of
the of people in 9th-century Indonesia. Unfortunately many of the bas-reliefs have been
worn away by weather, pollution and time and damaged by vandals and antiquities
thieves.

30
According to UNESCO: 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, 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. [Source:
UNESCO]
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.

Reading the Bas Reliefs at Borobudur

Reading the bas reliefs at Borobudur requires a specific technique. The panels on the wall
read from left to right, while those on the balustrade read from right to left, conforming
with the pradaksina, a ritual performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction,
whilst always keeping the sanctuary to their right. The story begins and ends at the eastern
side of the gate at every level. Stairs connect each level to the next from each direction of
the compass, but the idea is to always ascend from the stairs at the eastern corner. The
panels depict stories of Karma, of passion, robbery, murder, torture and humiliation. But
not all are negative. Some panels also tell of the cause and effect of good deeds, and
describe the behavior of the Javanese Society of that day, from religion to livelihood to
social structure, fashion, and even the various types of plants and animals. Ultimately, it
describes the human life cycle: Birth — Life — Death.

Kamadhatu is a picture of highly populated world still dominated by Kama, or lust. This
zone is at the bottom level of Borobodur, and is therefore not visible due to some added
construction. Some say these structures were added to strengthen the building’s
foundations, while others speculate that they have been added to conceal the obscene
content of the reliefs. For visitors that wish to see these reliefs, the Karmawibhangga
Museum displays pictures of the Kamadhatu.
Lalitawistara are a series of beautifully sculpted reliefs that depict the history of Buddha,
starting from his descent from Heaven, to his enlightenment under the bodhi tree, and
finally to his first teachings in the city of Banaras. Lalitawistara consists of 120 panels, but
yet does not tell the complete story of Buddha. These reliefs are found on the temple walls
in hallway 1 on level 2.
Jataka and Awadana are reliefs telling of Buddha, before he was reborn as Prince
Siddharta. These are also engraved in hallway 1 on the second level, and tell of Buddha’s

31
kindness and self-sacrifice as he was reincarnated in various forms of human or animal. It
explains of how good works are what set humans apart from animals, and tells of the
stages of preparation to the next and higher level of Buddha. Awadana also tells the story
not of the Buddha figure, but of the Prince Sudhanakumara. The stories on the awadana
reliefs are compiled in the books Kitab Diwyawadana (A Diety’s noble deeds) and Kitab
locations of the Borobudar reliefs

Bhadracari is a row of 460 neatly carved reliefs along the walls and balustrades. These
reliefs are scattered throughout various levels of the temple and tell of Sudhana, the
son of a wealthy merchant, who wanders in quest of the ultimate knowledge or truth.
These panels are based on the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, entitled Gandawyuha.
The story tells of 10 great vows made by Bodhisattva Samantabadhra concerning his
Buddhist practice, which later became the leading guidelines of all Bodhisattvas, and
particularly of Sudhana.
Understanding the Thousands of Relief Panels of Borobudur From the 5th to 7th levels
of the temple, there are no reliefs on the walls. This is because these levels represent
the nature of the “Arupadhatu,” which means “without tangible form.” At this level,
people are free from all desires of any shape or form, but yet have not attained
Nirvana. On this level, there are several Buddha statues placed inside stupas. At the
10th and highest level of the temple, is the largest and tallest stupa in Borobudur.
Within this stupa was found the Imperfect Buddha or Unfinished Buddha, which can
now be found in the Karmawibhangga Museum.

32
 Awadanasataka (A hundred awadana stories.)

.
Combination of stupa and terraced circumambulatory platforms

First of all can be mentioned that nowhere else has it been found a combination of stupa and
terraced circumambulatory platforms like what we have at Borobudur. Moreover, the whole
structure might be regarded as an integration of the stupa concept and the terraced sanctuary.
The last one being possibly inherited from the prehistoric period, functioning as a sanctuary
to worship ancestors. Moreover, we found here at Borobudur a combination of circular and
rectangular platforms. In terms of religious concepts and their physical-visual interpretations,
there are two phenomena that can be indicated at Borobudur. The first is the physical-spatial
interpretation of the concept of bhiimi and dhatu as it has been interpreted and exposed in the
previous studies of J.G. deCasparis, and the second one is regarding the pantheon and its
placing within the structure of the sanctuary.
The caitya worship is known as the belief in the descent of Buddharaja Maitreya. Descent or
ascent. From being a prince with worldly possessions of immense value and aappeasement,
he became a hermit, a wanderer- seeking enlightenment and asking others to meditate and
introspect and thus ascend. To a Higher Level!
Candi Borobudur and Candi Mendut were the two sites in Central Java that promoted caitya worship.
Even before their establishment in the 8th century A.D., it is probable that the belief was already

33
brought into Java by Gunavarma the architect of Borobudur in the beginning of the 5th century A.
D.1

Borobudur as a Vihara

Vihara, early type of Buddhist monastery consisting of an open court surrounded by open
cells accessible through an entrance porch. The viharas in India were originally constructed
to shelter the monks during the rainy season, when it became difficult for them to lead the
wanderer’s life. They took on a sacred character when small stupas (housing sacred relics)
and images of the Buddha were installed in the central court.
A clear idea of their plan can be obtained from examples in western India, where the viharas
were often excavated into the rock cliffs. This tradition of rock-cut structures spread along
the trade routes of Central Asia (as at Bamiyan, Afghanistan), leaving many splendid
monuments rich in sculpture and painting (the statues in Afghanistan were destroyed in 2001
by the country’s ruling Taliban).
As the communities of monks grew, great monastic establishments (mahaviharas,
“great viharas”) developed that consisted of clusters of viharas and associated stupas and
temples. Renowned centres of learning, or universities, grew up at Nalanda, in present-
day Bihar state, during the 5th to 12th centuries and at Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh, in
the 3rd–4th centuries.

Vihāra
Buddhism had arrived in the Indonesian archipelago from the India subcontinent and began
with trading along the sea routes during the second century. Around the 9th century, the
rulers of the Sailendra Dynasty built the Buddhist temple in Java. The Chandi Borobudur had
unique connotations of Buddha statues with mudras, stupas, sculptural reliefs, and ornamental
motifs, these were combined successfully. And the temple was decorated brilliantly with
traditional Javanese arts with the influence of Hindu elements.

_________________________________________________________________________________
1. A RE-INVESTIGATION OF THE NATURE OF CANDI BOROBUDUR by Kathy Cheng Mei K u
Proceedings of INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR Borobudur, Magelang, f - 5'" July 2008 pn
Uncovering the Meaning of the Hidden Base of Candi Borobudur

34
Kanha Cave vihara in the Nasik Caves, 1st century BCE, is one of the earliest]/5th century
Cave 4 at the Ajanta Caves with a Buddha statue in the centre shrine cell.

Many Buddhist stupas, pagodas and temples contain relics such as the hair relics of Buddha,
statues and the Buddhist credos enshrined in the chamber. The Borobudur’s main stupa had
two empty chambers, one above the other, and now there is nothing inside it. According to
scholar panhtwa myosein in Cultural Evidence of the Buddha at the Borobudur Presentation,
https://www.academia.edu/50467609/Cultural_Evidence_of_the_Buddha_at_the_Borobudur
_Presentation_University_of_Sydney_pdf) though Borobudur frescos depict acts of Gautama
Buddha in his life until he attains Nivana and focus on the Borobudur’s crowning stupa the
questain remains> Did Borobudur’s central dome contain the relics as a concept of the
Buddhist stupa? If it did, what’s inside the inner chambers of the central stupa?
If it didn’t, the inner chambers of the main stupa are supposed to be empty.

Vihāra generally refers to a Buddhist monastery for Buddhist renunciates, mostly in

the Indian subcontinent. The concept is ancient and in early Sanskrit and Pali texts, it meant
any arrangement of space or facilities for dwellings . The term evolved into an architectural
concept wherein it refers to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard,
particularly in Buddhism. The term is also found in Ajivika, Hindu and Jain monastic
literature, usually referring to temporary refuge for wandering monks or nuns during the
annual Indian monsoons.[2][4][5] In modern Jainism, the monks continue to wander from town
to town except during the rainy season (Chaturmas), and the term "vihara" refers to their
wanderings.[6][7]
Vihara or vihara hall has a more specific meaning in the architecture of India, especially
ancient Indian rock-cut architecture. Here it means a central hall, with small cells connected
to it, sometimes with beds carved from the stone. Some have a shrine cell set back at the
centre of the back wall, containing a stupa in early examples, or a Buddha statue later.
Typical large sites such as the Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad Caves, Karli Caves, and Kanheri
Caves contain several viharas. Some included a chaitya or worship hall nearby.[8] The vihara
originated as a shelter for monks when it rains.

Vallimalai Jain caves are located in Vallimalai village in Katpadi taluk of Vellore district, Tamil
Nadu.

35
Inscriptions below the Jain sculptures inside the cave

Vallimalai Jain caves contains natural caverns that were inhabited by Digambar monks in
early historic period. The monks from Bihar used to come here during the late-maurya period.
The smooth and polished beds were carved during the rule of Satavahana dynasty. A total of
five inscription are found[4] with one of the inscriptions dating back to 8th century. The Jain
carvings were created during the reign of Ganga King Rachamalla II in c. 870 CE after
conquest of this region from Chola kings.[6][6][7][8] An inscription, below the sculptures, states
the name of Devasena of Bana Kingdom along with his Jain monks Bhavanandin and
Aryanandin.
Vallaimalai was an important Jain center during 8th-9th century.

Jain sculpture
Vallimalai is an important Jain site with several carvings of sculptures of tirthankara. The
caverns is 40 by 20 feet (12.2 m × 6.1 m) with height varying between 7–10 feet (2.1–3.0 m).
There is also a temple in the region which was converted to a Hindu temple. The caves
consist of three chambers, two of these chambers contain images of Jain tirthankar. Above
this group, there are the remains of a wall, believed to have been a small fort occupied by
Jains. A torana is found above Jain images similar to carvings of Badami cave temples.
The Jain sculpture are engraved on two spots, one on the norther side of Murugan temple and
second on the southern side, with one sculpture with superhuman dimensions. There is an
image of Ambika in sukhasana position wearing a necklace, armbands, and crown. Ambika is
depicted sitting on a lion with carvings of her two sons below her pedestal. There is also
image of Padmavati with 4 hands, holding goad and noose in upper right and left hands.

Vihāra is a Sanskrit word that appears in several Vedic texts with context-sensitive meanings.
It generally means a form of "distribution, transposition, separation, arrangement", either of

36
words or sacred fires or sacrificial ground. Alternatively, it refers to a form of wandering
roaming, any place to rest or please oneself or enjoy one's pastime in, a meaning more
common in late Vedic texts, the Epics and grhyasutras.

Its meaning in the post-Vedic era is more specifically a form of rest house, temple or
monastery in ascetic traditions of India, particularly for a group of monks. [2] It particularly
referred to a hall that was used as a temple or where monks met and some walked about. [2]
[11]
In the context of the performative arts, the term means the theatre, playhouse, convent or
temple compound to meet, perform or relax in. Later it referred to a form of temple or
monastery construction in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, wherein the design has a central
hall and attached separated shrines for residence either for monks or for gods, goddesses and
some sacred figure such as Tirthankaras, Gautama Buddha, or a guru. The word means
a Jain or Hindu temple or "dwelling, waiting place" in many medieval era inscriptions and
texts, from vi-har which means "to construct".

It contrasts with Sanskrit: araṇya or Punjabi: arañña, which means "forest".In medieval era,
the term meant any monastery, particularly for Buddhist monks. Matha is another term for
monastery in Indian religious tradition,[13] today normally used for Hindu establishments.
The northern Indian state of Bihar derives its name from vihāra due to the abundance of
Buddhist monasteries in that area. The word has also been borrowed in Malay as biara,
denoting a monastery or other non-Muslim place of worship. It is called a wihan in Thai,
and vĭhéar in Khmer.

Viharas as pleasure centers

During the 3rd-century BCE era of Ashoka, vihara yatras were travel stops aimed at
enjoyments, pleasures and hobbies such as hunting. These contrasted with dharma
yatras which related to religious pursuits and pilgrimage. [3] After Ashoka converted to
Buddhism, states Lahiri, he started dharma yatras around mid 3rd century BCE instead of
hedonistic royal vihara yatras.

Viharas as monasteries
The early history of viharas is unclear. Monasteries in the form of caves are dated to centuries
before the start of the common era, for Ajivikas, Buddhists and Jainas. The rock-cut
architecture found in cave viharas from the 2nd-century BCE have roots in the Maurya
Empire period.[15] In and around the Bihar state of India are a group of residential cave
monuments all dated to be from pre-common era, reflecting the Maurya architecture. Some of
these have Brahmi script inscription which confirms their antiquity, but the inscriptions were
likely added to pre-existing caves. The oldest layer of Buddhist and Jain texts mention
legends of the Buddha, the Jain Tirthankaras or sramana monks living in caves.[15][16][17] If
these records derived from an oral tradition accurately reflect the significance of monks and
caves in the times of the Buddha and the Mahavira, then cave residence tradition dates back
to at least the 5th century BCE. According to Allchin and Erdosy, the legend of First
Buddhist Council is dated to a period just after the death of the Buddha. It mentions monks
gathering at a cave near Rajgiri, and this dates it in pre-Mauryan times. However, the square
courtyard with cells architecture of vihara, state Allchin and Erdosy, is dated to the Mauryan
period. The earlier monastic residences of Ajivikas, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains were likely
outside rock cliffs and made of temporary materials and these have not survived.

37
The earliest known gift of immovable property for monastic purposes ever recorded in an
Indian inscription is credited to Emperor Ashoka, and it is a donation to the Ajivikas.
[19]
According to Johannes Bronkhorst, this created competitive financial pressures on all
traditions, including the Hindu Brahmins. This may have led to the development of viharas as
shelters for monks, and evolution in the Ashrama concept to agraharas or Hindu
monasteries. These shelters were normally accompanied by donation of revenue from villages
nearby, who would work and support these cave residences with food and services. The Karle
inscription dated to the 1st century CE donates a cave and nearby village, states Bronkhorst,
"for the support of the ascetics living in the caves at Valuraka [Karle] without any distinction
of sect or origin". Buddhist texts from Bengal, dated to centuries later, use the term asrama-
vihara or agrahara-vihara for their monasteries.

Cave 12, Ellora, a late multi-story rock-cut vihara. Further decoration of the pillars was
probably intende/Plan of cave 1 at Ajanta, a large vihara hall for prayer and living, 5th century

Buddhist viharas or monasteries may be described as a residence for monks, a centre for
religious work and meditation and a centre of Buddhist learning. Reference to five kinds of
dwellings (Pancha Lenani) namely, Vihara, Addayoga, Pasada, Hammiya and Guha is found
in the Buddhist canonical texts as fit for monks. Of these only the Vihara (monastery)
and Guha (Cave) have survived.

At some stage of Buddhism, like other Indian religious traditions, the wandering monks of
the Sangha dedicated to asceticism and the monastic life, wandered from place to place.
During the rainy season (cf. vassa) they stayed in temporary shelters. In Buddhist theology
relating to rebirth and merit earning, it was considered an act of merit not only to feed a monk
but also to shelter him, sumptuous monasteries were created by rich lay devotees.

The only substantial remains of very early viharas are in the rock-cut complexes, mostly in
north India, the Deccan in particular, but this is an accident of survival. Originally structural
viharas of stone or brick would probably have been at least as common everywhere, and the
norm in the south. By the second century BCE a standard plan for a vihara was established;
these form the majority of Buddhist rock-cut "caves". It consisted of a roughly square
rectangular hall, in rock-cut cases, or probably an open court in structural examples, off
which there were a number of small cells. Rock-cut cells are often fitted with rock-cut
platforms for beds and pillows. The front wall had one or more entrances, and often
a verandah. Later the back wall facing the entrance had a fairly small shrine-room, often

38
reached through an ante-chamber. Initially these held stupas, but later a large
sculpted Buddha image, sometimes with reliefs on the walls. The verandah might also have
sculpture, and in some cases the walls of the main hall. Paintings were perhaps more
common, but these rarely survive, except in a few cases such as Caves 2, 10, 11 and 17 at
the Ajanta Caves. As later rock-cut viharas are often on up to three storeys, this was also
probably the case with the structural ones

As the vihara acquired a central image, it came to take over the function of the chaitya
worship hall, and eventually these ceased to be built. This was despite the rock-cut vihara
shrine room usually offering no path for circumambulation or pradakshina, an important
ritual practice.[21]
In early medieval era, Viharas became important institutions and a part of
Buddhist Universities with thousands of students, such as Nalanda. Life in "Viharas" was
codified early on. It is the object of a part of the Pali canon, the Vinaya Pitaka or "basket of
monastic discipline". Shalban Vihara in Bangladesh is an example of a structural monastery
with 115 cells, where the lower parts of the brick-built structure have been
excavated. Somapura Mahavihara, also in Bangladesh, was a larger vihara, mostly 8th-
century, with 177 cells around a huge central temple.

Cave 12, Ajanta Caves, cell entries off a vihara hall//Mahabodhi Temple in India.

Variants in rock-cut viharas

Usually the standard form as described above is followed, but there are some variants. Two
vihara halls, Cave 5 at Ellora and Cave 11 at Kanheri, have very low platforms running most
of the length of the main hall. These were probably used as some combination of benches or
tables for dining, desks for study, and possibly beds. They are often termed "dining-hall" or
the "Durbar Hall" at Kanheri, on no good evidence.

Cave 11 at the Bedse Caves is a fairly small 1st-century vihara, with nine cells in the interior
and originally four around the entrance, and no shrine room. It is distinguished by
elaborate gavaksha and railing relief carving around the cell-doors, but especially by having a
rounded roof and apsidal far end, like a chaitya hall.

39
The earliest Buddhist rock-cut cave abodes and sacred places are found in the western
Deccan dating back to the 3rd century BCE. These earliest rock-cut caves include the Bhaja
Caves, the Karla Caves, and some of the Ajanta Caves.

Vihara with central shrine containing devotional images of the Buddha, dated to about the
2nd century CE are found in the northwestern area of Gandhara, in sites such
as Jaulian, Kalawan (in the Taxila area) or Dharmarajika, which states Behrendt, possibly
were the prototypes for the 4th century monasteries such as those at Devnimori in Gujarat.
[25]
This is supported by the discovery of clay and bronze Buddha statues, but it is unclear if
the statue is of a later date. [25] According to Behrendt, these "must have been the architectural
prototype for the later northern and western Buddhist shrines in the Ajanta
Caves, Aurangabad, Ellora, Nalanda, Ratnagiri and other sites".

Behrendt's proposal follows the model that states the northwestern influences and Kushana
era during the 1st and 2nd century CE triggered the development of Buddhist art and
monastery designs. In contrast, Susan Huntington states that this late nineteenth and early
twentieth century model is increasingly questioned by the discovery of pre-Kushana era
Buddha images outside the northwestern territories. Further, states Huntington,
"archaeological, literary, and inscriptional evidence" such as those in Madhya Pradesh cast
further doubts.[26] Devotional worship of Buddha is traceable, for example, to Bharhut
Buddhist monuments dated between 2nd and 1st century BCE. The Krishna or Kanha
Cave (Cave 19) at Nasik has the central hall with connected cells, and it is generally dated to
about the 1st century BCE.
The early stone viharas mimicked the timber construction that likely preceded them.
Inscriptional evidence on stone and copper plates indicate that Buddhist viharas were often
co-built with Hindu and Jain temples. The Gupta Empire era witnessed the building of
numerous viharas, including those at the Ajanta Caves.Some of these viharas and temples
though evidenced in texts and inscriptions are no longer physically found, likely destroyed in
later centuries by natural causes or due to war.

Viharas as a source of major Buddhist traditions

Viharas found at Thotlakonda// The ruins of Shalvan Vihara, the Buddhist monastery that
operated between 7th-12th century in what is now Mainamati, Bangladesh.[33]

As more people joined Buddhist monastic sangha, the senior monks adopted a code of
discipline which came to be known in the Pali Canon as the Vinaya texts These texts are
mostly concerned with the rules of the sangha. The rules are preceded by stories telling how
the Buddha came to lay them down, and followed by explanations and analysis. According to
the stories, the rules were devised on an ad hoc basis as the Buddha encountered various
behavioral problems or disputes among his followers. Each major early Buddhist tradition
had its own variant text of code of discipline for vihara life. Major vihara appointed a vihara-

40
pala, the one who managed the vihara, settled disputes, determined sangha's consent and
rules, and forced those hold-outs to this consensus.

Three early influential monastic fraternities are traceable in Buddhist history. [32] The
Mahavihara established by Mahinda was the oldest. Later, in 1st century BCE, King
Vattagamani donated the Abhayagiri vihara to his favored monk, which led the Mahavihara
fraternity to expel that monk.[32] In 3rd century CE, this repeated when King Mahasena
donated the Jetavana vihara to an individual monk, which led to his expulsion. The Mahinda
Mahavihara led to the orthodox Theravada tradition. The Abhayagiri vihara monks, rejected
and criticized by the orthodox Buddhist monks, were more receptive to heterodox ideas and
they nurtured the Mahayana tradition. The Jetavana vihara monks vacillated between the two
traditions, blending their ideas.

Viharas of the Pāla era

A range of monasteries grew up during the Pāla period in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar)
and Bengal. According to Tibetan sources, five great mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila,
the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still
illustrious, Somapura, Odantapurā, and Jagaddala.[34] According to Sukumar Dutt, the five
monasteries formed a network, were supported and supervised by the Pala state. Each of the
five had their own seal and operated like a corporation, serving as centers of learning.[35]
Other notable monasteries of the Pala Empire were Traikuta, Devikota (identified with
ancient Kotivarsa, 'modern Bangarh'), and Pandit Vihara. Excavations jointly conducted by
the Archaeological Survey of India and University of Burdwan in 1971–1972 to 1974–1975
yielded a Buddhist monastic complex at Monorampur, near Bharatpur via Panagarh Bazar in
the Bardhaman district of West Bengal. The date of the monastery may be ascribed to the
early medieval period. Recent excavations at Jagjivanpur (Malda district, West Bengal)
revealed another Buddhist monastery (Nandadirghika-Udranga Mahavihara) of the ninth
century.
Nothing of the superstructure has survived. A number of monastic cells facing a rectangular
courtyard have been found. A notable feature is the presence of circular corner cells. It is
believed that the general layout of the monastic complex at Jagjivanpur is by and large
similar to that of Nalanda. Beside these, scattered references to some monasteries are found
in epigraphic and other sources. Among them Pullahari (in western Magadha), Halud
Vihara (45 km south of Paharpur), Parikramana vihara and Yashovarmapura vihara (in Bihar)
deserve mention. Other important structural complexes have been discovered
at Mainamati (Comilla district, Bangladesh). Remains of quite a few viharas have been
unearthed here and the most elaborate is the Shalban Vihara. The complex consists of a fairly
large vihara of the usual plan of four ranges of monastic cells round a central court, with a
temple in cruciform plan situated in the centre. According to a legend on a seal (discovered at
the site) the founder of the monastery was Bhavadeva, a ruler of the Deva dynasty.
Southeast Asia

41
\
Vihara, locally called wihan, of Wat Chedi Luang in Northern Thailand
As Buddhism spread in Southeast Asia, monasteries were built by local kings. The
term vihara is still sometimes used to refer to the monasteries/temples, also known as wat,
but in Thailand it also took on a narrower meaning referring to certain buildings in the temple
complex. The wihan is a building, apart from the main ubosot (ordination hall) in which a
Buddha image is enshrined.[37] In many temples, the wihan serves as a sermon hall or an
assembly hall where ceremonies, such as the kathina, are held.Many of these Theravada
viharas feature a Buddha image that is considered sacred after it is formally consecrated by
the monks.[38]

Entrance to a vihara hall at Kanheri Caves// Wall carvings at Kanheri Caves

Simple slab abode beds in vihara at Kanheri Caves/ Doorways of a Vihara, Bedse Caves

Viharas were for the purpose of living, Chaityas were assemblies for the purpose of
discussions. Further, Chaityas were with Stupas, Viharas did not have stupas.

42
Both early Chaityas and Viharas were made by woods and later stone-cut Chaityas and
Viharas were made. Chaitya was a rectangular prayer hall with a stupa placed in the centre,
the purpose was prayer. The Chaitya was divided into three parts, and had an apsidal ending,
that is, a semicircular rear end, The central part of the hall (also called the nave) was
separated from the two aisles by two rows of pillars, The chaityas also had polished interior
walls, semicircular roofs and horse-shoe shaped windows called the Chaitya windows.
Viharas were the residences of the monks.

Borobudur relief

Bhumi is a Sanskrit word for "land" or "ground," and the list of ten bhumis are ten "lands" a
bodhisattva must pass through on the way to Buddha-hood. The bhumis are important to
early Mahayana Buddhism. A list of ten bhumis appears in several Mahayana texts, although
they are not always identical. The bhumis also are associated with the Perfections or
Paramitas.

Many schools of Buddhism describe some kind of path of development. Often these are
extensions of the Eightfold Path. Since this is a description of the progress of a bodhisattva,
much of the list below promotes the turning from concern for self to concern for others.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva is the ideal of practice. This is an enlightened being
who vows to remain in the world until all other beings realize enlightenment.
Here is a standard list, taken from the Dashabhumika-sutra, which is taken from the
larger Avatamsaka or Flower Garland Sutra.

1. Pramudita-bhumi (Joyful Land)

The bodhisattva begins the journey joyful with the thought of enlightenment. He has
taken bodhisattva vows, the most basic of which is "May I attain Buddhahood for the benefit
of all sentient beings." Even at this early stage, he recognizes the emptiness of phenomena. In
this stage, the bodhisattva cultivates Dana Paramita, the perfection of giving or generosity in
which it is recognized there are no givers and no receivers.
2. Vimala-bhumi (Land of Purity)
The bodhisattva cultivates Sila Paramita, the perfection of morality, which culminates in
selfless compassion for all beings. He is purified of immoral conduct and dispositions.
3. Prabhakari-bhumi (Luminous or Radiant Land)

43
The bodhisattva is now purified of the Three Poisons. He cultivates Ksanti Paramita, which is
the perfection of patience or forbearance, Now he knows that he can bear all burdens and
hardships to finish the journey. He achieves the four absorptions or dhyanas.
4. Archismati-bhumi (The Brilliant or Blazing Land)
Remaining false conceptions are burned away, and good qualities are pursued. This level may
also be associated with Virya Paramita, the perfection of energy.
5. Sudurjaya-bhumi (The Land That Is Difficult to Conquer)
Now the bodhisattva goes deeper into meditation, as this land is associated with Dhyana
Paramita, the perfection of meditation. He pierces through the darkness of ignorance. Now he
understands the Four Noble Truths and the Two Truths. As he develops himself, the
bodhisattva devotes himself to the welfare of others.
6. Abhimukhi-bhumi (The Land Looking Forward to Wisdom)
This land is associated with Prajna Paramita, the perfection of wisdom. He sees that all
phenomena are without self-essence and understand the nature of Dependent Origination --
the way all phenomena arise and cease.
7. Durangama-bhumi (The Far-Reaching Land)
The bodhisattva acquires the power of upaya, or skillful means to help others realize
enlightenment. At this point, the bodhisattva has become a transcendent bodhisattva who can
manifest in the world in whatever form is most needed.
8. Achala-bhumi (The Immovable Land)
The bodhisattva can no longer be disturbed because Buddha-hood is within sight. From here
he can no longer fall back to earlier stages of development.
9. Sadhumati-bhumi (The Land of Good Thoughts)
The bodhisattva understands all dharmas and is able to teach others.
10. Dharmamegha-bhumi (The Land of Dharma Clouds)
Buddha-hood is confirmed, and he enters Tushita Heaven. Tushita Heaven is the heaven of
contended gods, where there are Buddhas who will be reborn only one more time. Maitreya is
said to live there also.

O'Brien, Barbara. "The Ten Bhumis of Buddhism." Learn Religions, Aug. 25, 2020,
learnreligions.com/ten-bhumis-of-buddhism-450015.

In Buddhism, Bhūmi (Sanskrit: भूमि 'foundation', Chinese: 地 'land' ) is the 32nd and 33rd
place (10th and 11th in simple count) on the outgoing's process of Mahayana awakening.
Each stage represents a level of attainment in that case, and serves as a basis for the next one.
Each level marks a definite advancement in one's training that is accompanied by
progressively greater power and wisdom. Buddhist monks who arrived at Bhūmi were
originally called śrāvakas, in opposition to Brahminism. Śakro devānām and Trāyastriṃśa are
together called "Bhūmi nivāsin”.
The ten bodhisattva stages are also called vihara ('dwelling').

The Daśabhūmika Sūtra refers to the following ten bhūmis.

1. The first bhūmi, the Very Joyous. (Skt. pramuditā), in which one rejoices at realizing
a partial aspect of the truth;
2. The second bhūmi, the Stainless. (Skt. vimalā), in which one is free from all
defilement;
3. The third bhūmi, the Light-Maker. (Skt. prabhākarī), in which one radiates the light
of wisdom;

44
 4. The fourth bhūmi, the Radiant Intellect. (Skt. arciṣmatī), in which the radiant flame
of wisdom burns away earthly desires;
5. The fifth bhūmi, the Difficult to Master. (Skt. sudurjayā), in which one surmounts
the illusions of darkness, or ignorance as the Middle Way;
6. The sixth bhūmi, the Manifest. (Skt. abhimukhī) in which supreme wisdom begins to
manifest;
7. The seventh bhūmi, the Gone Afar. (Skt. dūraṃgamā), in which one rises above the
states of the Two vehicles;
8. The eighth bhūmi, the Immovable. (Skt. acalā), in which one dwells firmly in the
truth of the Middle Way and cannot be perturbed by anything;
9. The ninth bhūmi, the Good Intelligence. (Skt. sādhumatī), in which one preaches the
Law freely and without restriction;
10.The tenth bhūmi, the Cloud of Doctrine. (Skt. dharmameghā), in which one benefits
all sentient beings with the Law (Dharma), just as a cloud sends down rain
impartially on all things.

The first bhūmi, the Very Joyous

The First bhūmi, called "Very Joyous", is attained with the first direct perception of
emptiness (Sunyata) and is simultaneous with entry into the third of the five paths to
awakening, the path of seeing.[3][4] It is called "very joyous" because the bodhisattva works at
the perfections of generosity and develops the ability to give away everything without regret
and with no thought of praise or reward (for themselves). All phenomena are viewed as
empty and as subject to decay, suffering, and death, and so bodhisattvas lose all attachment to
them. According to Tsong Khapa, first level bodhisattvas directly understand that persons do
not exist by way of their own nature. Due to this, they overcome the false idea that the five
aggregates constitute a truly existent person. They also eliminate predispositions toward
corrupted ethics so completely that they will not arise again.
Despite having directly and correctly perceived emptiness, bodhisattvas on the first level are
primarily motivated by faith. They train in ethics in order to cleanse their minds of negativity
and so they prepare themselves for the cultivation of mundane meditative absorption that
comes on the second level.

The second bhūmi, the Stainless

Bodhisattvas on the second level, the "Stainless", perfect ethics and overcome all tendencies
towards engagement in negative actions. Their control becomes so complete that even in
dreams they have no immoral thoughts. According to Tsong Khapa for such a bodhisattva,
"on all occasions of waking and dreaming his movements or activities of body, speech and
mind are pure of even subtle infractions...he fulfills the three paths of virtuous actions-
abandoning killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct-with his body; the middle four-abandons
lying, divisive talk, harsh speech, and senseless chatter-with his speech; and the last three-
abandoning covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong views-with his mind. Not only does he
refrain from what is prohibited but he also fulfills all the positive achievements related to
proper ethics."

And according to Nāgārjuna,

The second is called the Stainless
Because all ten [virtuous] actions
Of body, speech, and mind are stainless
And they naturally abide in those [deeds of ethics].
Through the maturation of those [good qualities]

45
The perfection of ethics becomes supreme.
They become Universal Monarchs helping beings,
Masters of the glorious four continents and of the seven precious objects.
Because of this, the bodhisattva's mind becomes purified and equinanimous, which is a
prerequisite for training in the four dhyānas (meditative absorptions) and the
four arūpajhānas (formless absorptions).

The third bhūmi, the Light-Maker

Tsong Khapa states that the third bhūmi is called the "Light-Maker" because when it is
attained "the fire of wisdom burning all the fuel of objects of knowledge arises along with a
light which by nature is able to extinguish all elaborations of duality during meditative
equipoise." Bodhisattvas on this level cultivate the perfection of patience. Their equanimity
becomes so profound that
even if someone...cuts from the body of this bodhisattva not just flesh but also bone, not in
large sections but bit by bit, not continually but pausing in between, and not finishing in a
short time but cutting over a long period, the bodhisattva would not get angry at the mutilator

The Bodhisattva realizes that his tormentor is motivated by afflicted thoughts and is sowing
seeds of his own future suffering. As a result, the bodhisattva feels not anger, but a deep
sadness and compassion for this cruel person, who is unaware of the operations of karma.
Trainees on the third level overcome all tendencies toward anger, and never react with hatred
(or even annoyance) to any harmful acts or words. Rather, their equanimity remains constant,
and all sentient beings are viewed with love and compassion:

All anger and resentment rebound on the person who generates them, and they do nothing to
eliminate harms that one has already experienced. They are counterproductive in that they
destroy one's peace of mind and lead to unfavorable future situations. There is nothing to be
gained through anger and resentment, revenge does nothing to change the past, and so the
bodhisattva avoids them.

Bodhisattvas on this level also train in the four form meditations, the four formless
meditations, and the four immeasurables, and the higher knowledge.

The fourth bhūmi, the Radiant Intellect

On the fourth level, the "Radiant Intellect", bodhisattvas cultivate the perfection of effort and
eliminate afflictions. According to Wonch'uk, this level is so named because fourth bhumi
bodhisattvas "constantly emit the radiance of exalted wisdom." He also
cites Maitreya's Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras, which explains that bodhisattvas on this
level burn up the afflictive obstructions and the obstructions to omniscience with the radiance
of their wisdom. They enter into progressively deeper meditative absorptions and attain a
powerful mental pliancy as a result. This eliminates laziness and increases their ability to
practice meditation for extended periods of time. They destroy deeply rooted afflictions and
cultivate the thirty-seven factors of awakening.
Through training in these thirty-seven practices, bodhisattvas develop great skill in meditative
absorptions and cultivate wisdom, while weakening the artificial and innate conceptions of
true existence.

The fifth bhūmi, Difficult to Master

46
The fifth level is called the "Difficult to Master" because it involves practices that are so
arduous and require a great deal of effort to perfect. It is also called the "Difficult to
Overcome" because when one has completed the training of this level one has profound
wisdom and insight that are difficult to surpass or undermine. According to Nāgārjuna,
The fifth is called the Extremely Difficult to Overcome
Since all evil ones find it extremely hard to conquer him;
He becomes skilled in knowing the subtle.
Meanings of the noble truths and so forth.
Bodhisattvas on this level cultivate the perfection of samadhi. They develop strong powers of
meditative stabilization and overcome tendencies toward distraction. They achieve mental
one-pointedness and they perfect calm abiding. They also fully penetrate the meanings of
the four noble truths and the two truths (conventional truths and ultimate truths) and perceive
all phenomena as empty, transient and prone to suffering.

The sixth bhūmi, the Manifest

The sixth level is called the "Manifest" because the bodhisattva clearly perceives the
workings of dependent arising and directly understands "the signless" (Mtshan ma med pa,
Tibetan. Animitta, Sanskrit). The signless refers to the fact that phenomena seem to possess
their apparent qualities by way of their own nature, but when one examines this appearance
one realizes that all qualities are merely mentally imputed and not a part of the nature of the
objects they appear to characterize.
As a result of these understandings bodhisattvas manifest meditative wisdom and avoid
attachment to either cyclic existence or nirvana. Having overcome all
attachments, bodhisattvas on this level can attain nirvana, but because of the force of the
mind of awakening they decide to remain in the world in order to benefit other sentient
beings. They cultivate the Perfection of Wisdom, through which they perceive all phenomena
as lacking inherent existence, as being like dreams, illusions, reflections, or magically created
objects. All notions of "I" and "other" are transcended, along with conceptions of "inherent
existence" and "inherent nonexistence." These sixth-level bodhisattvas abide in
contemplation of suchness, with minds that are undisturbed by false ideas.

The seventh bhūmi, the Gone Afar

Bodhisattvas on the seventh level develop the ability to contemplate signlessness
uninterruptedly and enter into advanced meditative absorptions for extended periods of time,
thus passing beyond both the mundane and supramundane paths
of śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas (Hearers and solitary realizers). For this reason, this level is
called the "Gone Afar." According to Nāgārjuna,
The seventh is the Gone Afar because
The number of his qualities has increased,
Moment by moment he can enter
The equipoise of cessation,
On this level bodhisattvas perfect their skill in means of meditation and practice (Thabs la
mkhas pa, Tibetan; Upaya-Kausalya, Sanskrit), which is their ability to cleverly adapt their
teaching tactics to the individual proclivities and needs of their audiences. They also develop
the ability to know the thoughts of others, and in every moment are able to practice all
the perfections. All thoughts and actions are free from afflictions, and they constantly act
spontaneously and effectively for the benefit of others.

The eighth bhūmi, the Immovable

47
The eighth level is called the "Immovable" because bodhisattvas overcome all afflictions
regarding signs and their minds are always completely absorbed in the dharma. At this level,
a bodhisattva has achieved nirvana. According to Nāgārjuna,
The eighth is the Immovable, the youthful stage,
Through nonconceptuality he is immovable;
And the spheres of his body, speech and mind's
Activities are inconceivable.

Because they are fully acquainted with signlessness, their minds are not moved by ideas of
signs. Eighth Bhumi bodhisattvas are said to be "irreversible", because there is no longer any
possibility that they might waver on the path or backslide. They are destined for full
buddhahood, and there are no longer any inclinations to seek a personal nirvana. They
cultivate the "perfection of aspiration", which means that they undertake to fulfill various
vows, due to which they accumulate the causes of further virtues. [14] Although they resolve to
work for the benefit of others and they pervade the universe with feelings
of friendliness toward all sentient beings, these bodhisattvas have transcended any tendency
to misunderstand anatta.
Their understanding of emptiness is so complete that it overturns innate delusions, and reality
appears in a completely new light. They enter into meditation on emptiness with little effort.
Bodhisattvas on this level are compared to people who have awakened from dreams, and all
their perceptions are influenced by this new awareness. They attain the meditative state called
"forbearance regarding non-arisen phenomena", due to which they no longer think in terms of
inherent causes or inherent causelessness. They also develop the ability to manifest in various
forms in order to instruct others. Compassion and skillful means are automatic and
spontaneous. There is no need to plan or contemplate how best to benefit others, since
bodhisattvas on the eighth level automatically react correctly to every situation.

The ninth bhūmi, the Good Intelligence

From this point on, bodhisattvas move quickly toward awakening. Before this stage, progress
was comparatively slow, like that of a boat being towed through a harbour. On the eighth
through tenth bhumi, however, bodhisattvas make huge strides toward buddhahood, like a
ship that reaches the ocean and unfurls its sails. On the ninth level, they fully understand the
three vehicles - hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas - and perfect the ability to teach
the doctrine.
Because of attaining faultlessness and very extensive intelligence in terms of mastery of
teaching the doctrine in all aspects, the ninth level is called the "Good Intelligence."
Ninth bhūmi bodhisattvas also acquire the "four analytical knowledges"-of fundamental
concepts, meaning, grammar, and exposition. Due to this, they develop wondrous eloquence
and skill in presenting doctrinal teachings. Their intelligence surpasses that of all humans and
gods, and they comprehend all names, words, meanings, and languages. They can understand
any question from any being. They also have the ability to answer them with a single sound,
which is understood by each being according to its capacities. On this level they also cultivate
the perfection of virya, which means that because of the strength of their mastery of the four
analytical knowledges and their meditation they are able to develop paramitas energetically
and to practice them continually without becoming fatigued.

The tenth bhūmi, the Cloud of Dharma

On the tenth bhūmi, bodhisattvas overcome the subtlest traces of the afflictions. Like a cloud
that pours rain on the earth, these bodhisattvas spread the dharma in all directions, and

48
each sentient being absorbs what it needs in order to grow spiritually. Thus Nāgārjuna states
that:

The tenth is the Cloud of Dharma because

The rain of excellent doctrine falls,
The Bodhisattva is consecrated
With light by the Buddhas.
At this stage bodhisattvas enter into progressively deeper meditative absorptions and develop
limitless powers with regard to magical formulas. They cultivate the perfection of exalted
wisdom, which, according to Asaṅga, enables them to increase their exalted wisdom. This in
turn strengthens the other perfections. As a result, they become established in the joy of the
doctrine.
They acquire perfect bodies, and their minds are cleansed of the subtlest traces of the
afflictions. They manifest in limitless forms for the benefit of others and transcend the
ordinary laws of time and space. They are able to place entire world systems in a single pore,
without diminishing them or increasing the size of the pore. When they do this, the beings
inhabiting the worlds feel no discomfort, and only those who are advanced bodhisattvas even
notice.
Bodhisattvas on this level receive a form of empowerment from innumerable buddhas. This is
called "great rays of light", because the radiance of these bodhisattvas shines in all directions.
This empowerment helps them in removing the remaining obstructions to omniscience and
gives them added confidence and strength. At the final moment of this stage they enter into a
meditative state called the "vajralike meditative stabilization", in which the subtlest
remaining obstacles to buddhahood are overcome. They arise from this concentration
as Buddhas.

Six bhūmis in the Yogācārabhūmi

The Yogacara compendium of yogic praxis, the Yogācārabhūmi, contains a subsection on the
bodhisattva path (the Bodhisattvabhūmi), which lists six bhūmis:[19]
1. The bhūmi of practicing with ascertainment (adhimukticaryābhūmi, shèngjiě xíng dì
勝解行地, mos pas spyod pa'i sa),
2. The bhūmi of pure exalted conviction (śuddhādhyāśayabhūmi, jìng shèngyìyào dì 淨
勝意樂地, lhag pa'i bsam pa dag pa'i sa),
3. The bhūmi of accomplishing practices (caryāpratipattibhūmi, xíng zhèngxíng dì 行正
行地, spyod la 'jug pa'i sa),
4. The bhūmi of certainty (niyatabhūmi, duò juédìng dì 墮決定 地, nges par gyur pa'i
sa),
5. The bhūmi of practicing with certainty (niyatacaryābhūmi, juédìng xíng zhèngxíng dì
決定行正行地, nges pa'i spyod pa'i sa)
6. The bhūmi of reaching perfection (niṣṭhāgamanabhūmi, dào jiūjìng dì 到 究 竟 地 ,
mthar thug par 'gyur ba'i sa).
5 PATHS
The bhūmis are often categorized with or merged into, the separate schema of the "five
paths". The main ideas of this schema were inherited by Yogacara from the Sarvāstivāda
Vaibhāṣika Abhidharma texts as well as Vasubadhu's Abhidharmakośakārikā (AKBh).
[20]
This schema continues to be developed in Yogacara texts
like Asanga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha (MS), where it is given a more Mahayanist explanation
and becomes tied to the bodhisattva path and the bhūmis.[20]
The Five Paths (pañcamārga, Wylie Tibetan lam lnga), are:[21][22]

49
 1. Mokṣa-bhāgīya (The state leading up to release) or Saṃbhāra-mārga (path of
accumulation, tshogs lam). According to Vasubandhu's AKBh, in this path, one
practices morality and contentment, learns and reflects on the teaching, keeps
themselves free from unwholesome thinking, and practices the four foundations of
mindfulness. In the Tibetan tradition, persons on the path are said to possess a strong
desire to overcome suffering, either their own or others and renounce the worldly life.
2. Nirveda-bhāgīya (The state leading up to penetration) or Prayoga-mārga (The path
of preparation, sbyor lam). According to the AKBh, in this stage, one observes
the four noble truths in terms of its sixteen aspects. In the Tibetan tradition, this path
is when one begins to practice meditation and gains analytical knowledge
of emptiness.
3. Darśana-mārga (The path of seeing or insight, mthong lam). According to the AKBh,
in this path one continues to observe the four noble truths until one realizes it and
abandons eighty eight afflictions (kleshas). In Asanga's MS, this stage is when one
realizes that all things are mere mental presentations (vijñapti matra), which leads to
the first instance of the turning of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti). In the Tibetan
tradition, this is when one practices samatha and realizes emptiness directly.
4. Bhāvanā-mārga, (The path of cultivation, sgom lam). According to the AKBh, in this
stage, one continues to practice and abandons 10 further kleshas. In the MS, one
practices in this stage by applying the antidotes (pratipakṣa) to all of the obstructions
(sarvā varaṇa) and continues the process of the turning of the basis (āśraya-
parāvṛtti).
5. Aśaikṣā-mārga (The path of no more learning or consummation, mi slob pa’i
lam or thar phyin pa'i lam) also known as Niṣṭhā-mārga (in the MS). Persons on this
path have completely freed themselves of all obstructions and afflictions and are thus
perfected or fulfilled (niṣṭhā). According to the MS, one has achieved the bodies of a
Buddha.

As part of the Bodhisattva path

Passage through the grounds and paths begins with Bodhicitta, the wish to liberate all sentient
beings. Aspiring Bodhicitta becomes Engaging Bodhicitta upon actual commitment to
the Bodhisattva vows. With these steps, the practitioner becomes a Bodhisattva, and enters
upon the paths.[23]
Before attaining the ten grounds, the bodhisattva traverses the first two of the
five Mahayana paths:
1. The path of accumulation
2. The path of preparation
The ten grounds of the bodhisattva are grouped within the three subsequent paths:
1. Bhūmi 1: The path of seeing
2. Bhūmi 2-7: The path of meditation
3. Bhūmi 8-10: The path of no more learning
In Hua-yen Buddhism there are some 40 previous stages before the first bhumi:
 10 faiths
 10 abodes
 10 practices
 10 merit-transferences
In Tientai Buddhism the practitioner of the so-called "perfect teaching" is equal in attainment
to arhats by just the 4th faith.
Mahayana literature often features an enumeration of "two obstructions" (Wylie: sgrib gnyis):

50
 1. The "obstructions of delusive emotions" (Sanskrit: kleśa-varaṇa, Wylie: nyon-mongs-
pa'i sgrib-ma)
2. The "obstructions to knowledge" (Sanskrit: jñeyāvaraṇa, Wylie: shes-bya'i sgrib-ma).
[24]

The obstruction of delusive emotions is overcome at the attainment of the path of seeing, and
the obstructions to knowledge are overcome over the course of the path of meditation. This is
not a statement agreed upon by all Buddhist schools, e.g. Korean Son's Kihwa states that the
obstructions to knowledge are overcome by the 10th bhumi.

Additional Bhumis
Various Vajrayana lineages of tantra recognize bhumis after the 10th bhumi.
Within the Dzogchen and Mahamudra schools of tantra there are either thirteen or sixteen
bhumis depending on the lineage.
One system of Dzogchen/Mahamudra presents thirteen bhumis:
 eleventh bhumi of Universal Light
 twelfth bhumi of the Lotus of Nonattachment
 thirteenth bhumi of the Vajra Holder.
Another system of Dzogchen presents sixteen bhumis:
 eleventh bhumi of Universal Radiance/Light
 twelfth bhumi of the Lotus of Nonattachment
 thirteenth bhumi of the Gatherings of Rotating Syllables
 fourteenth bhumi of the Great Samadhi
 fifteenth bhumi of the Vajra Holder
 sixteenth bhumi of the Unexcelled Wisdom
The Ten Bhumis of Buddhism=Stages of the Bodhisattva Path

Jataka

 King Goodness the Great [Perseverance]

King Fruitful and Queen Sivali

 Rebirth of the Bodhisattva) [chapter 1]

 Gaining Power [chapter 2]
 Giving Up Power [chapter 3]
 A Gang of Drunkards [Sobriety]
 The Whatnot Tree [Prudence]
 Prince Five-Weapons and Sticky-Hair [The Diamond Weapon]
 A Huge Lump of Gold [Moderation]
 Mr Monkey and Sir Crocodile [Good Manners]
 A Prince of Monkeys [Carefulness]
 Two Ways of Beating a Drum [Excess]
 Two Mothers [Renunciation]
 The Priest Who Gambled With a Life [Misguided Morality]
 The Wicked Lady and the Buttermilk Wise Man [Seduction]
 Country Man and City Wife [Adultery]

51
  The Wisdom of Queen Tender-hearted [Lust]
 Wife and Mother Who Was a Sister First [An Intelligent Woman]
 The Strong-minded Snake [Determination]
 The Shovel Wise Man [Renunciation]
 The Green Wood Gatherer [Laziness]
 The Elephant King Goodness [Generosity and Ingratitude]
 Four on a Log [Gratitude]
 New Homes for the Tree Spirits [Wise Advice]
 The Fish Who Work a Miracle [Power of Truthfulness]
 The Meditating Security Guard [Fearlessness]

The Dreams

 The 16 Frightening Dreams [chapter 1]

 Roaring Bulls With No Fight [chapter 2]
 The Frightening Sound of 'Munch, Munch, Munch' [chapter 3]
 Teaching [chapter 4]
 Illisa the Cheap [Miserliness]
 A Motherless Son [Betrayal]
 Fear Maker and Little Archer [Self-deception]
 Forest Monks in a Kings Pleasure Garden [Pupils without Teacher]

The Curse of Mittavinda

 Jealousy [chapter 1]
 Greed [chapter 2]
 Pleasure [chapter 3]
 A Hero Named Jinx [Friendship]
 A Question From a 7-year-old [Six Worthy Ways]
 A Lesson From a Snake [The Value of Goodness]
 A Priest Who Worshipped Luck [Superstition]
 The Bull Called Delightful [All Deserve Respect]
 The Phoney Holy Man [Hypocrisy]
 One Way Hospitality [Ingratitude]
 Poison Dice [Deception]

The Mystery of the Missing Necklace

 One Crime Leads to Another [chapter 1]

 The Mystery is Solved [chapter 2]
 The Careless Lion [Circumspection]
 The Holy Man Who Tired To Be Too Holy [Extremism]
 Clear-sighted the Great [Impermanence]

The Prince and the She-devils

 Five Meals in the Forest [chapter 1]

 A Feast in the Palace [chapter 2]
 A Man Named Bad [Self-Acceptance]

52
  A Man Named Wise [Cheating]
 Achieving Nothing [Nothing]
 A Mother's Wise Advice [Non-violence]

Reliefs in Borobudon Temples

Borobudur in Central Java is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. And the structure is here to stay.
Borobudur has survived volcanic eruptions of Gunung Merapi, terrorist bombings and the earthquake
of 2006. Rising high above the breathtakingly green rice fields and their accompanying kampung, or
rice villages, this monumental structure can make Indonesia’s other temples look pedestrian. It looks
like an ornately carved pyramid with fortified walls surrounding the bottom and five stories worth of
statues ascending to the top. In fact, the central dome is crowned by an impressive 72 Buddha statues.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the monument is that it was built by hand in the 9th century.
And visitors agree — it looks like it will stand forever.
There are 3 papers devoted to this temple
1. General Introduction: Which is a scopic review of general descriptions abpot the Temple
complex with the intent of introducing it to the reader.
2. Reliefs in Borobodur Temples
3. Design elements:
4. Archeocosmology

Introduction: Borobudur, located in Yogyakarta, Java, is one of the biggest Buddhist monuments in
the world. It was built in 8 th–9th AD as a stepped pyramid with 9 platforms and approximately 2670
individual reliefs which cover its facades and galleries. Among them, 1460 are narratives and 1112
are decorative. The narrative panels are grouped into 11 series and distributed at the hidden foot
(Kāmadhātu) and the five square platforms (Rupadhatu). The hidden foot contains the first series of
the narrative panels of karmic law and the remaining 10 series are distributed in four galleries. They
are Buddhacharita, the life of Buddha; Jakatas, the previous lives of the Buddha, and the story of
Sudhana's visits to the 53 virtuous personalities as given in Gandvyuha, or the chapter of “the Entry to
the Realm of Reality” in the Avatamsaka Sutra.
RELIEFS
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.

Reading the Bas Reliefs at Borobudur

Reading the bas reliefs at Borobudur requires a specific technique. The panels on the wall read from
left to right, while those on the balustrade read from right to left, conforming with the pradaksina, a
ritual performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction, whilst always keeping the sanctuary
to their right. The story begins and ends at the eastern side of the gate at every level. Stairs connect
each level to the next from each direction of the compass, but the idea is to always ascend from the
stairs at the eastern corner. The panels depict stories of Karma, of passion, robbery, murder, torture

53
and humiliation. But not all are negative. Some panels also tell of the cause and effect of good deeds,
and describe the behavior of the Javanese Society of that day, from religion to livelihood to social
structure, fashion, and even the various types of plants and animals. Ultimately, it describes the
human life cycle: Birth – Life – Death.
Kamadhatu is a picture of highly populated world still dominated by Kama, or lust. This zone is at
the bottom level of Borobodur, and is therefore not visible due to some added construction. Some say
these structures were added to strengthen the building's foundations, while others speculate that they
have been added to conceal the obscene content of the reliefs. For visitors that wish to see these
reliefs, the Karmawibhangga Museum displays pictures of the Kamadhatu.
Lalitawistara are a series of beautifully sculpted reliefs that depict the history of Buddha, starting
from his descent from Heaven, to his enlightenment under the bodhi tree, and finally to his first
teachings in the city of Banaras. Lalitawistara consists of 120 panels, but yet does not tell the
complete story of Buddha. These reliefs are found on the temple walls in hallway 1 on level 2.
Jataka and Awadana are reliefs telling of Buddha, before he was reborn as Prince Siddharta. These
are also engraved in hallway 1 on the second level, and tell of Buddha's kindness and self-sacrifice as
he was reincarnated in various forms of human or animal. It explains of how good works are what set
humans apart from animals, and tells of the stages of preparation to the next and higher level of
Buddha. Awadana also tells the story not of the Buddha figure, but of the Prince Sudhanakumara. The
stories on the awadana reliefs are compiled in the books Kitab Diwyawadana, (A Diety's noble
deeds," and Kitab Awadanasataka, (A hundred awadana stories.)

Bhadracari is a row of 460 neatly carved reliefs along the walls and balustrades. These reliefs are
scattered throughout various levels of the temple and tell of Sudhana, the son of a wealthy merchant,
who wanders in quest of the ultimate knowledge or truth. These panels are based on the Mahayana
Buddhist scriptures, entitled Gandawyuha. The story tells of 10 great vows made by Bodhisattva
Samantabadhra concerning his Buddhist practice, which later became the leading guidelines of all
Bodhisattvas, and particularly of Sudhana.

54
locations of the Borobudar reliefs

what it might have been like when Borobudur was a working temple

Understanding the Thousands of Relief Panels of Borobudur From the 5th to 7th levels of the temple,
there are no reliefs on the walls. This is because these levels represent the nature of the “Arupadhatu,"
which means “without tangible form." At this level, people are free from all desires of any shape or
form, but yet have not attained Nirvana. On this level, there are several Buddha statues placed inside
stupas. At the 10th and highest level of the temple, is the largest and tallest stupa in Borobudur.
Within this stupa.

The Story of the GOOD MAN Sudhana: This paper is a preliminary study exploring the various
reliefs on the walls of the temple.To understand the relifs some fundamental buddist beliefs need to be
portrayed here albeit in short:
A Buddhist Mahayana Sutra of Indian origin dating roughly c. 200 to 300 CEis known as
the Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra or The Excellent Manifestation Sūtra , Sutra of the Tree's Display; cf. Skt
"gaṇḍi", "the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches”) . It depicts one of the
world's most celebrated spiritual pilgrimages, and comprises the 39th chapter of the Avatamsaka
Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture. In Buddhabhadra's Chinese translation of the Avatamsaka, this

55
39th chapter is entitled "Entrance into the Dharma Realm".The Sutra is described as the " Sudhana's
quest for the ultimate truth", as the sutra chronicles the journey of a disciple, Sudhana ("Excellent
Riches"), as he encounters various teachings and Bodhisattvas until his journey reaches full circle and
he awakens to teachings of the Buddha. The penultimate master that Sudhana visits is
the Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of great wisdom. Thus, one of the grandest
of pilgrimages approaches its conclusion by revisiting where it began. The Gaṇḍavyūha suggests that
with a subtle shift of perspective we may come to see that the enlightenment that the pilgrim so
fervently sought was not only with him at every stage of his journey, but before it began as well—that
enlightenment is not something to be gained, but "something" the pilgrim never departed from.The
final master that Sudhana visits is the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who teaches him that wisdom only
exists for the sake of putting it into practice; that it is only good insofar as it benefits all living beings.

The story goes( on the Panels) of the visit of the good man, Sudhana who also had a good track
record of his previous lives. There are 460 panels that describe this visits He expressed his sincere
wish to learn the way of Dharma and visited Manjusri asking for his advice. Manjusri showed him the
path. He then visited 53 Kalyanamitras inclusive of Gods, Goddesses, monks, laymen, travelers, kings
and Bodhisattvas. The 53rd visit was to Maitreya who showed him the door of Dharma and told him
to visit Manjusri again. Manju sri empowered him with wisdom and told him to visit Samantabbadra.
Through Samantabbadra's Adhishthana or aid he reached perfection at the end.
The temple is a massive step pyramid structure made from giant stone blocks, built on a hill,
surrounded by valleys and hills. The levels rise up representing the stages of enlightenment.
Borobudur stupas overlooking a mountain. For centuries, it was deserted.
A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated
inside a perforated stupa. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest
Buddhist monuments in the world.
The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument
and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world
of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness).The
monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460
narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete
ensemble of Buddhist reliefs in the world.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th-
century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide
knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British
ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians.
Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was
undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which
the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage;
once a year, Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia’s
single most visited tourist attraction.

Etymology
In Indonesian, ancient temples are referred to as candi; thus locals refer to “Borobudur Temple”
as Candi Borobudur. The term candi also loosely describes ancient structures, for example gates and
baths. The origins of the name Borobudur, however, are unclear,although the original names of most
ancient Indonesian temples are no longer known.The name Borobudur was first written in Sir Thomas
Raffles’s book on Javan history. Raffles wrote about a monument called borobudur, but there are no
older documents suggesting the same name.The only old Javanese manuscript that hints at the
monument as a holy Buddhist sanctuary is Nagarakretagama, written by Mpu Prapanca in 1365.
The name Bore-Budur, and thus BoroBudur, is thought to have been written by Raffles in English
grammar to mean the nearby village of Bore; most candi are named after a nearby village. If it
followed Javanese language, the monument should have been named “BudurBoro”. Raffles also
suggested that Budur might correspond to the modern Javanese word Buda (“ancient”)—i.e., “ancient
Boro”. However, another archaeologist suggests the second component of the name (Budur) comes
from Javanese term bhudhara (“mountain”).

56
The construction and inauguration of a sacred Buddhist building—possibly a reference to Borobudur
—was mentioned in two inscriptions, both discovered in Kedu, Temanggung Regency. The
Karangtengah inscription, dated 824, mentioned a sacred building named Jinalaya (the realm of those
who have conquered worldly desire and reached enlightenment), inaugurated by Pramodhawardhani,
daughter of Samaratungga. The Tri Tepusan inscription, dated 842, is mentioned in the sima, the (tax-
free) lands awarded by Çrī Kahulunnan (Pramodhawardhani) to ensure the funding and maintenance
of a Kamūlān called Bhūmisambhāra. Kamūlān is from the word mula, which means “the place of
origin”, a sacred building to honor the ancestors, probably those of the Sailendras. Casparis suggested
that Bhūmi Sambhāra Bhudhāra, which in Sanskrit means “the mountain of combined virtues of the
ten stages of Boddhisattvahood”, was the original name of Borobudur.
Approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Yogyakarta and 86 kilometres (53 mi) 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. According to local myth, the area known
as Kedu Plain is a Javanese “sacred” place and has been dubbed “the garden of Java” due to its high
agricultural fertility. During the restoration in the early 20th century, it was discovered that three
Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, are positioned along a straight line.A
ritual relationship between the three temples must have existed, although the exact ritual process is
unknown.

Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, 265 m (869 ft) above sea level and 15 m (49 ft) above the floor
of a dried-out paleolake. The lake’s existence was the subject of intense discussion among
archaeologists in the 20th century. In 1931, a Dutch artist and scholar of Hindu and Buddhist
architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that the Kedu Plain was once a lake and
Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake
Borobudur lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind
its abandonment remain a mystery. It is not known when active use of the monument and Buddhist
pilgrimage to it ceased. Sometime between 928 and 1006, King Mpu Sindok moved the capital of the
Medang Kingdom to the region of East Java after a series of volcanic eruptions; it is not certain
whether this influenced the abandonment, but several sources mention this as the most likely period of
abandonment. The monument is mentioned vaguely as late as ca. 1365, in Mpu
Prapanca’s Nagarakretagama, written during the Majapahit era and mentioning “the vihara in
Budur”. Soekmono (1976) also mentions the popular belief that the temples were disbanded when the
population converted to Islam in the 15th century.

The monument was not forgotten completely, though folk stories gradually shifted from its past glory
into more superstitious beliefs associated with bad luck and misery. Two old Javanese chronicles
(babad) from the 18th century mention cases of bad luck associated with the monument. According to
the Babad Tanah Jawi (or the History of Java), the monument was a fatal factor for Mas Dana, a rebel
who revolted against Pakubuwono I, the king of Mataram in 1709. It was mentioned that the “Redi
Borobudur” hill was besieged and the insurgents were defeated and sentenced to death by the king. In
the Babad Mataram (or the History of the Mataram Kingdom), the monument was associated with the
misfortune of Prince Monconagoro, the crown prince of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in 1757. In spite of
a taboo against visiting the monument, “he took what is written as the knight who was captured in a
cage (a statue in one of the perforated stupas)”. Upon returning to his palace, he fell ill and died one
day later.
Architecture
The archeological excavation into Borobudur during reconstruction suggests that adherents of
Hinduism or a pre-Indic faith had already begun to erect a large structure on Borobudur’s hill before
the site was appropriated by Buddhists. The foundations are unlike any Hindu or Buddhist shrine
structures, and therefore, the initial structure is considered more indigenous Javanese than Hindu or
Buddhist.
Design

57
 Borobudur ground plan taking the form of a Mandala
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 foundation is a square, approximately 118 metres (387 ft) on each side. It has nine
platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform
features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and
pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.

Stairs of Borobudur through arches of Kala Lion gate guardian

The design of Borobudur took the form of a step pyramid. Previously,

the prehistoric Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia had constructed several earth mounds and
stone step pyramid structures called punden berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok
and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramids is based on native beliefs that

58
mountains and high places are the abode of ancestral spirits or hyangs. Thepunden 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.

The monument’s three divisions symbolize the three “realms” of Buddhist cosmology,
namely Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and
finally Arupadhatu (the formless world). Ordinary sentient beings live out their lives on the lowest
level, the realm of desire. Those who have burnt out all desire for continued existence leave the world
of desire and live in the world on the level of form alone: they see forms but are not drawn to them.
Finally, full Buddhas go beyond even form and experience reality at its purest, most fundamental
level, the formless ocean of nirvana.The liberation from the cycle of Saṃsāra where the enlightened
soul had no longer attached to worldly form corresponds to the concept of Śūnyatā, the complete
voidness or the nonexistence of the self. Kāmadhātu is represented by the base, Rupadhatu by the five
square platforms (the body), andArupadhatu by the three circular platforms and the large topmost
stupa. The architectural features between the three stages have metaphorical differences. For instance,
square and detailed decorations in the Rupadhatu disappear into plain circular platforms in
the Arupadhatu to represent how the world of forms—where men are still attached with forms and
names—changes into the world of the formless.
Congregational worship in Borobudur is performed in a walking pilgrimage. Pilgrims are guided by
the system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform. Each platform represents one
stage of enlightenment. The path that guides pilgrims was designed to symbolize Buddhist
cosmology.

In 1885, a hidden structure under the base was accidentally discovered. The “hidden footing” contains
reliefs, 160 of which are narratives describing the real Kāmadhātu. The remaining reliefs have short
inscriptions that apparently provide instructions for the sculptors, illustrating the scenes to be
carved. The real base is hidden by an encasement base, the purpose of which remains a mystery. It
was first thought that the real base had to be covered to prevent a disastrous subsidence of the
monument into the hills.

A narrow corridor with reliefs on the wall

There is another theory that the encasement base was added because the original hidden footing was
incorrectly designed, according to Vastu Shastra, the Indian ancient book about architecture and town
planning. Regardless of why it was commissioned, the encasement base was built with detailed and
meticulous design and with aesthetic and religious consideration.

Building structure

59
Half cross-section with 4:6:9 height ratio for foot, body and head, respectively

Approximately 55,000 cubic metres (72,000 cu yd) of andesite stones were taken from neighbouring
stone quarries to build the monument. The stone was cut to size, transported to the site and laid
without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints between
stones. Reliefs were created in situ after the building had been completed.
The monument is equipped with a good drainage system to cater for the area’s high stormwater run-
off. To prevent flooding, 100 spouts are installed at each corner, each with a unique
carved gargoyle in the shape of a giant or makara.
Borobudur differs markedly from the general design of other structures built for this purpose. Instead
of being built on a flat surface, Borobudur is built on a natural hill. However, construction technique
is similar to other temples in Java. Without the inner spaces seen in other temples, and with a general
design similar to the shape of pyramid, Borobudur was first thought more likely to have served as
a stupa, instead of a temple. A stupa is intended as ashrine for the Buddha. Sometimes stupas were
built only as devotional symbols of Buddhism. A temple, on the other hand, is used as a house of
worship. The meticulous complexity of the monument’s design suggests that Borobudur is in fact a
temple.
The basic unit of measurement used during construction was the tala, defined as the length of a
human face from the forehead’s hairline to the tip of the chin or the distance from the tip of the thumb
to the tip of the middle finger when both fingers are stretched at their maximum distance. The unit is
thus relative from one individual to the next, but the monument has exact measurements. A survey
conducted in 1977 revealed frequent findings of a ratio of 4:6:9 around the monument. The architect
had used the formula to lay out the precise dimensions of the fractal and self-similar geometry in
Borobudur’s design. This ratio is also found in the designs of Pawon and Mendut, nearby Buddhist
temples. Archeologists have conjectured that the 4:6:9 ratio and the tala have calendrical,
astronomical and cosmological significance, as is the case with the temple of Angkor Wat in
Cambodia.

60
The main structure can be divided into three components: base, body, and top. The base is
123×123 m (403.5 × 403.5 ft) in size with 4 metres (13 ft) walls. The body is composed of five square
platforms, each of diminishing height. The first terrace is set back 7 metres (23 ft) from the edge of
the base. Each subsequent terrace is set back 2 metres (6.6 ft), leaving a narrow corridor at each stage.
The top consists of three circular platforms, with each stage supporting a row of perforated stupas,
arranged in concentric circles. There is one main dome at the center, the top of which is the highest
point of the monument, 35 metres (115 ft) above ground level. Stairways at the center of each of the
four sides give access to the top, with a number of arched gates overlooked by 32 lion statues. The
gates are adorned with Kala’s head carved on top of each and Makaras projecting from each side. This
Kala-Makara motif is commonly found on the gates of Javanese temples. The main entrance is on the
eastern side, the location of the first narrative reliefs. Stairways on the slopes of the hill also link the
monument to the low-lying plain.

Reliefs
Reading the Bas Reliefs at Borobudur
Reading the bas reliefs at Borobudur requires a specific technique. The panels on the wall read from
left to right, while those on the balustrade read from right to left, conforming with the pradaksina, a
ritual performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction, whilst always keeping the sanctuary
to their right. The story begins and ends at the eastern side of the gate at every level. Stairs connect
each level to the next from each direction of the compass, but the idea is to always ascend from the
stairs at the eastern corner. The panels depict stories of Karma, of passion, robbery, murder, torture
and humiliation. But not all are negative. Some panels also tell of the cause and effect of good deeds,
and describe the behavior of the Javanese Society of that day, from religion to livelihood to social
structure, fashion, and even the various types of plants and animals. Ultimately, it describes the
human life cycle: Birth – Life – Death.
Kamadhatu is a picture of highly populated world still dominated by Kama, or lust. This zone is at
the bottom level of Borobodur, and is therefore not visible due to some added construction. Some say
these structures were added to strengthen the building's foundations, while others speculate that they
have been added to conceal the obscene content of the reliefs. For visitors that wish to see these
reliefs, the Karmawibhangga Museum displays pictures of the Kamadhatu.

Lalitawistara are a series of beautifully sculpted reliefs that depict the history of Buddha, starting
from his descent from Heaven, to his enlightenment under the bodhi tree, and finally to his first
teachings in the city of Banaras. Lalitawistara consists of 120 panels, but yet does not tell the
complete story of Buddha. These reliefs are found on the temple walls in hallway 1 on level 2.
Jataka and Awadana are reliefs telling of Buddha, before he was reborn as Prince Siddharta. These
are also engraved in hallway 1 on the second level, and tell of Buddha's kindness and self-sacrifice as
he was reincarnated in various forms of human or animal. It explains of how good works are what set
humans apart from animals, and tells of the stages of preparation to the next and higher level of
Buddha. Awadana also tells the story not of the Buddha figure, but of the Prince Sudhanakumara. The
stories on the awadana reliefs are compiled in the books Kitab Diwyawadana, (A Diety's noble
deeds," and Kitab Awadanasataka, (A hundred awadana stories.)

Bhadracari is a row of 460 neatly carved reliefs along the walls and balustrades. These reliefs are
scattered throughout various levels of the temple and tell of Sudhana, the son of a wealthy merchant,
who wanders in quest of the ultimate knowledge or truth. These panels are based on the Mahayana
Buddhist scriptures, entitled Gandawyuha. The story tells of 10 great vows made by Bodhisattva
Samantabadhra concerning his Buddhist practice, which later became the leading guidelines of all
Bodhisattvas, and particularly of Sudhana.

Understanding the Thousands of Relief Panels of Borobudur From the 5th to 7th levels of the temple,
there are no reliefs on the walls. This is because these levels represent the nature of the “Arupadhatu,"
which means “without tangible form." At this level, people are free from all desires of any shape or

61
form, but yet have not attained Nirvana. On this level, there are several Buddha statues placed inside
stupas. At the 10th and highest level of the temple, is the largest and tallest stupa in Borobudur.
Within this stupa was found the Imperfect Buddha or Unfinished Buddha, which can now be found in
the 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.

62
The position of narrative bas-reliefs stories on Borobudur wall

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. The first four terrace walls are showcases for bas-relief sculptures.
These are exquisite, considered to be the most elegant and graceful in the ancient Buddhist world.
The 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. It also depicted temple,
marketplace, various flora and fauna, and also native vernacular architecture. People depicted here are
the images of king, queen, princes, noblemen, courtier, soldier, servant, commoners, priest and
hermit. The reliefs also depicted mythical spiritual beings in Buddhist beliefs such as asuras,
gods, boddhisattvas, kinnaras, gandharvas andapsaras. The images depicted on bas-relief often served
as reference for historians to research for certain subjects, such as the study of architecture, weaponry,
economy, fashion, and also mode of transportation of 8th-century Maritime Southeast Asia. One of
the famous renderings of an 8th-century Southeast Asian double outrigger ship is Borobudur

63
Ship. Today, the actual-size replica of Borobudur Ship that had sailed from Indonesia to Africa in
2004 is displayed in the Samudra Raksa Museum, located a few hundred meters north of Borobudur.
The Borobudur reliefs also pay close attention to Indian aesthetic discipline, such as pose and gesture
that contain certain meanings and aesthetic value. The reliefs of noblemen, and noble women, kings,
or divine beings such as apsaras, taras and boddhisattvas are usually portrayed in tribhanga pose, the
three-bend pose on neck, hips, and knee, with one leg resting and one upholding the body weight.
This position is considered as the most graceful pose, such as the figure of Surasundari holding a
lotus.
NARRATIVE PANELS DISTRIBUTION

SECTION LOCATION STORY #PANELS

hidden foot wall Karmavibhangga 160

Lalitavistara 120

main wall Jataka/Avadana 120

Jataka/Avadana 372

first gallery balustrade Jataka/Avadana 128

balustrade Jataka/Avadana 100

second gallery main wall Gandavyuha 128

main wall Gandavyuha 88

third gallery balustrade Gandavyuha 88

main wall Gandavyuha 84

fourth gallery balustrade Gandavyuha 72

Total 1,460

Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative
panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 square metres
(27,000 sq ft), and they are distributed at the hidden foot (Kāmadhātu) and the five square platforms
(Rupadhatu).

The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara, are grouped into 11 series that
encircle the monument with a total length of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The hidden foot contains the first
series with 160 narrative panels, and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and
balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on
the wall read from right to left, while those on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms
with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise
direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right.

64
The hidden foot depicts the workings of karmic law. The walls of the first gallery have two
superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of
the Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also the balustrades in the first and the second
galleries tell the story of the Buddha’s former lives. The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana’s
further wandering about his search, terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom.

The law of karma (Karmavibhangga)

The Karmavibangga scene on Borobudur’s hidden foot, on the right depicting sinful act of killing and
cooking turtles and fishes, on the left those who make living by killing animals will be tortured in
hell, by being cooked alive, being cut, or being thrown into burning house.

The 160 hidden panels do not form a continuous story, but each panel provides one complete
illustration of cause and effect. There are depictions of blameworthy activities, from gossip to
murder, with their corresponding punishments. There are also praiseworthy activities, that
include charity and pilgrimage to sanctuaries, and their subsequent rewards. The pains of hell and the
pleasure of heaven are also illustrated. There are scenes of daily life, complete with the full panorama
of samsara (the endless cycle of birth and death). The encasement base of the Borobudur temple was
dissembled to reveal the hidden foot, and the reliefs were photographed by Casijan Chepas in 1890. It
is these photographs that are displayed in Borobudur Museum(Karmawibhangga Museum), located
just several hundred meters north of the temple. During the restoration, the foot encasement was
reinstalled, covering the Karmawibhangga reliefs. Today, only the southeast corner of the hidden foot
is revealed and visible for visitors.

The story of Prince Siddhartha and the birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara)

65
Prince Siddhartha Gautama became an ascetic hermit.
The story starts with the descent of the Lord Buddha from the Tushita heaven and ends with his first
sermon in the Deer Park near Benares. The relief shows the birth of the Buddha as Prince Siddhartha,
son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of Kapilavastu (in present-day Nepal). The story is
preceded by 27 panels showing various preparations, in the heavens and on the earth, to welcome the
final incarnation of the Bodhisattva. Before descending from Tushita heaven, the Bodhisattva
entrusted his crown to his successor, the future Buddha Maitreya. He descended on earth in the shape
of white elephants with six tusks, penetrated to Queen Maya’s right womb. Queen Maya had a dream
of this event, which was interpreted that his son would become either a sovereign or a Buddha.
While Queen Maya felt that it was the time to give birth, she went to the Lumbini park outside the
Kapilavastu city. She stood under a plaksa tree, holding one branch with her right hand, and she gave
birth to a son, Prince Siddhartha. The story on the panels continues until the prince becomes the
Buddha.

The stories of Buddha’s previous life (Jataka) and other legendary persons (Avadana)

Queen Maya riding horse carriage retreating to Lumbini to give birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama

66
Jatakas are stories about the Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddhartha. They are the stories that
tell about the previous lives of the Buddha, in both human and animal form. The future Buddha may
appear in them as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some
virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. Avadanas are similar to jatakas, but the main figure is not the
Bodhisattva himself. The saintly deeds in avadanas are attributed to other legendary persons. Jatakas
and avadanas are treated in one and the same series in the reliefs of Borobudur.

The first twenty lower panels in the first gallery on the wall depict the Sudhanakumaravadana, or the
saintly deeds of Sudhana. The first 135 upper panels in the same gallery on the balustrades are
devoted to the 34 legends of the Jatakamala. The remaining 237 panels depict stories from other
sources, as do the lower series and panels in the second gallery. Some jatakas are depicted twice, for
example the story of King Sibhi (Rama’s forefather).

Sudhana’s search for the Ultimate Truth (Gandavyuha)

Gandavyuha is the story told in the final chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra about Sudhana’s tireless
wandering in search of the Highest Perfect Wisdom. It covers two galleries (third and fourth) and also
half of the second gallery, comprising in total of 460 panels. The principal figure of the story, the
youth Sudhana, son of an extremely rich merchant, appears on the 16th panel. The preceding 15
panels form a prologue to the story of the miracles during Buddha’s samadhi in the Garden of
Jeta at Sravasti.
During his search, Sudhana visited no fewer than thirty teachers, but none of them had satisfied him
completely. He was then instructed by Manjusri to meet the monk Megasri, where he was given the
first doctrine. As his journey continues, Sudhana meets (in the following order) Supratisthita, the
physician Megha (Spirit of Knowledge), the banker Muktaka, the monk Saradhvaja, theupasika Asa
(Spirit of Supreme Enlightenment), Bhismottaranirghosa, the Brahmin Jayosmayatna, Princess
Maitrayani, the monk Sudarsana, a boy called Indriyesvara, the upasika Prabhuta, the banker
Ratnachuda, King Anala, the god Siva Mahadeva, Queen Maya, Bodhisattva Maitreya and then back
to Manjusri. Each meeting has given Sudhana a specific doctrine, knowledge and wisdom. These
meetings are shown in the third gallery.

After the last meeting with Manjusri, Sudhana went to the residence of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra,
depicted in the fourth gallery. The entire series of the fourth gallery is devoted to the teaching of
Samantabhadra. The narrative panels finally end with Sudhana’s achievement of the Supreme
Knowledge and the Ultimate Truth.

Buddha statues:
Apart from the story of the Buddhist cosmology carved in stone, Borobudur has many statues of
various Buddhas. The cross-legged statues are seated in a lotus position and distributed on the five
square platforms (the Rupadhatu level), as well as on the top platform (the Arupadhatu level).

The Buddha statues are in niches at the Rupadhatu level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the
balustrades, the number of statues decreasing as platforms progressively diminish to the upper level.
The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In
total, there are 432 Buddha statues at the Rupadhatu level. At theArupadhatu level (or the three
circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has
32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, which adds up to 72 stupas. Of the original 504 Buddha
statues, over 300 are damaged (mostly headless), and 43 are missing (since the monument’s
discovery, heads have been stolen as collector’s items, mostly by Western museums).

67
A Buddha statue with the hand position of dharmachakra mudra (turning the Wheel of the Law)
Buddha statues inside and outside a stupa

At first glance, all the Buddha statues appear similar, but there is a subtle difference between them in
the mudras, or the position of the hands. There are five groups of mudra: North, East, South, West
and Zenith, which represent the five cardinal compass points according to Mahayana. The first four
balustrades have the first four mudras: North, East, South and West, of which the Buddha statues that
face one compass direction have the corresponding mudra. Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and
inside the 72 stupas on the top platform have the same mudra: Zenith. Each mudra represents one of
theFive Dhyani Buddhas; each has its own symbolism.

Following the order of Pradakshina (clockwise circumumbulation) starting from the East,
the mudras of the Borobudur buddha statues are:

68
 SYMBOLIC DHYANI CARDINAL
STATUE MUDRA MEANING BUDDHA POINT

Bhumisparsa Calling the Earth

mudra to witness Aksobhya East

Benevolence,
Vara mudra alms giving Ratnasambhava South

Concentration
Dhyana mudra and meditation Amitabha West

Courage,
Abhaya mudra fearlessness Amoghasiddhi North

Reasoning and
Vitarka mudra virtue Vairochana Zenith

69
 SYMBOLIC DHYANI CARDINAL
STATUE MUDRA MEANING BUDDHA POINT

Turning the
Dharmachakra Wheel
mudra ofdharma (law) Vairochana Zenith

http://artserve.anu.edu.au/htdocs/bycountry/indonesia/borobudur/photos/gal4balus/
index.html
Main

Image: 419 Image: 419

2.JPG 3.JPG Image: 4162.JP
Image: 4166.JPG Series: Mai
Series: Mai G
Series: Main stupa n stupa
n stupa Series:
Plate: IX Plate: IX
Plate: IX Plate: V

Buddha Statues

Image: 418 Image: 4183.JP

Image: 4181.JPG 2.JPG Image: 416
Series: 3.JPG G
Series: Series:
Plate: V Plate: V Series:
Plate: VI Plate: VI

Buddha Statues

70
 Image: 418 Image: 4186.JP
Image: 4184.JPG Image: 416
5.JPG G
Series: 4.JPG
Series: Series:
Plate: VI Series:
Plate: VI Plate: VII
Plate: VII

Buddha Statues

Image: 417 Image: 417

4.JPG Image: 4159.JP
Image: 4158.JPG 3.JPG G
Series: Series:
Series: Plate: I Series:
Plate: I Plate: I Plate: II

Buddha Statues

Image: 417
6.JPG Image: 416 Image: 4177.JP
Image: 4175.JPG Series: 0.JPG G
Series: Plate: II Series: Series:
Plate: II Plate: III Plate: III

Buddha Statues

71
 Image: 4180.JP
Image: 4178.JPG Image: 416 Image: 41 G
Series: 1.JPG 79.JPG Series:
Plate: III Series: Series: Plate: IV
Plate: IV Plate: IV

Buddha Statues

Image: 41
Image: 418
Image: 416 89.JPG
Image: 4187.JPG 8.JPG
5.JPG Series:
Series: Series:
Series: Plate: VII
Plate: VII Plate: VII
Plate: VIII I
Buddha Statues

Image: 41
Image: 419 Image: 416
Image: 4190.JPG 94.JPG
1.JPG 7.JPG
Series: Series: M
Series: Series: Mai
Plate: VIII ain stupa
Plate: VIII n stupa Plate: X
Plate: X
Buddha Statues

Image: 4195.JPG Image: 419 Image: 41

Series: Main stupa 6.JPG 97.JPG
Image: 416 Series: typo Series: ty
Plate: X 8.JPG logy pology

72
 Series: typo
logy Plate: XI Plate: XI
Plate: XI

Gallery of reliefs

73
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. The first four terrace walls are showcases for bas-relief sculptures.
These are exquisite, considered to be the most elegant and graceful in the ancient Buddhist world.

The 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. It also depicted temple,
marketplace, various flora and fauna, and also native vernacular architecture. People depicted here are
the images of king, queen, princes, noblemen, courtier, soldier, servant, commoners, priest and
hermit. The reliefs also depicted mythical spiritual beings in Buddhist beliefs such as asuras,
gods, bodhisattvas, kinnaras, gandharvas and apsaras. The images depicted on bas-relief often served
as reference for historians to research for certain subjects, such as the study of architecture, weaponry,
economy, fashion, and also mode of transportation of 8th-century Maritime Southeast Asia. One of
the famous renderings of an 8th-century Southeast Asian double outrigger ship is Borobudur
Ship. Today, the actual-size replica of Borobudur Ship that had sailed from Indonesia to Africa in
2004 is displayed in the Samudra Raksa Museum, located a few hundred meters north of Borobudur.

The Borobudur reliefs also pay close attention to Indian aesthetic discipline, such as pose and gesture
that contain certain meanings and aesthetic value. The reliefs of noblemen, and noble women, kings,
or divine beings such as apsaras, taras and boddhisattvas are usually portrayed in tribhanga pose, the
three-bend pose on neck, hips, and knee, with one leg resting and one upholding the body weight.
This position is considered as the most graceful pose, such as the figure of Surasundari holding a
lotus.[90]
During Borobudur excavation, archeologists discovered colour pigments of blue, red, green, black, as
well as bits of gold foil, and concluded that the monument that we see today – a dark gray mass
of volcanic stone, lacking in colour – was probably once coated with varjalepa white plaster and then
painted with bright colors, serving perhaps as a beacon of Buddhist teaching. [91] The

74
same vajralepa plaster can also be found in Sari, Kalasan and Sewu temples. It is likely that the bas-
reliefs of Borobudur was originally quite colourful, before centuries of torrential tropical rainfalls
peeled-off the colour pigments.
Narrative panels distribution
No. of
Section Location Story
panels
hidden foot wall Karmavibhangga 160
Lalitavistara 120
main wall
Jataka/Avadana 120
first gallery
Jataka/Avadana 372
balustrade
Jataka/Avadana 128
balustrade Jataka/Avadana 100
second gallery
main wall Gandavyuha 128
main wall Gandavyuha 88
third gallery
balustrade Gandavyuha 88
main wall Gandavyuha 84
fourth gallery
balustrade Gandavyuha 72
Total 1,460

Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative
panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 square metres
(27,000 sq ft), and they are distributed at the hidden foot (Kāmadhātu) and the five square platforms
(Rupadhatu).

The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara, are grouped into 11 series that
encircle the monument with a total length of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The hidden foot contains the first
series with 160 narrative panels, and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and
balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on
the wall read from right to left, while those on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms
with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise
direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right.

The hidden foot depicts the workings of karmic law. The walls of the first gallery have two
superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of
the Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also the balustrades in the first and the second
galleries tell the story of the Buddha's former lives. The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana's
further wandering about his search, terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom.

75
Borobudur, Indonesia (photo: Claire André, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Why was the original base encased?

Many theories and conjectures have been put forwards. These can be summed up in two trends of
thought, whether the base was covered for technical structural/architectural reasons, or for
conceptual/religious reasons. The present author’s study has led her to a conjecture in favour of the
religious reasons.

During the two restorations of the monument, in the 1970s and in the early 20th century, numerous
unexpected technical and architectural features were brought to the light. These new data could only
be explained by one hypothesis: the Borobudur as we see it today is not the monument that was
originally planned. At some point during its construction, the original plans were changed: not only
the base was hidden by a broad terrace, but balustrades were added and entrances were narrowed.
These modifications, probably carried out by the command of a new architect, possibly reflect a
change of the religious tendencies. Certain aspects of the reliefs of the hidden base would indeed not
have been suitable for the Mahayana teachings as professed in 9th century Java.

Lots have been said about the religiously or conceptually ‘unsuitable’ features of this set of reliefs in
relations to Buddhist thinking, as well as in the eyes of the later priestly architect of Borobudur, who
must have been the one who gave order for the encasement of the old base. There is violence in many
hell scenes, with many gruesome forms of severe punishment vividly and elaborately unfolded in
front of the spectators’ eyes . The ratio with the happy ones is even-handed - good deeds and their
rewards.. And yet, we notice that the ‘positive’ scenes of rewards and of paradises are rather
stereotypical and quite cursory unfolded, usually without any specification or distinguished detail, in
contrast with depictions of the retributions in the hells.

The Karmavibhanga itself actually gives only cursory references to the rebirth in hells, without
further specifications. Vivid, variant descriptions of the many types of hells were obtained by the
priest-designer from other sources (a.o. the Abhidharmakosa). The emphasis of his intent and his
visual presentation did appear to lie heavily and more vividly on such violent ‘negative’ and gruesome

76
scenes .

Hell scenes usually form part of visual depictions of Buddhist cosmology only when these explain
the geography of the universe, but rarely or never are included in such sacred designs on which
worshippers are meant to meditate on. A similar concept, based on the auspicious features
(mangalas/sarvamangala) that will bring good tiding, prosperity and success, is also found visually
depicted and elaborated many times in the reliefs on the 3rd and 4th galleries of Borobudur itself
(reliefs nos. III, 51-77 and IV B 1-17). While the texts repeatedly refer to ‘all dominions of the
universe’ where the grace and compassion of the Buddha and the redeeming force of Buddhahood
pervade, no visual depictions of the unhappy worlds of hells are represented on the upper galleries of
Borobudur.

The set up: of Borobudur conforms to that of a diagram for contemplation and meditation, which
should exclude ‘negative’ elements of evil thought and deeds, of mistakes and violence – the non-
beneficial elements that would only gather like dusts of defilement to cloud and weigh down the mind
on its upwards surge to purity and Salvation.

This violent opening scene may have shocked or at least disturbed the new priestly advisor of the
Shailendras, who took charge of the final site.In all panels dealing with suffering and punishments in
hell (reliefs nos. 86-91), and in the unhappy world of the hungry ghosts (relief no. 95) and the animals
(relief no. 93), the victims are all on their own, entirely dependent on their own karmas. This
paradigm of absolute self-reliance would have clashed uncomfortably with the spirit of the Mahayana,
the religion of the Shailendras, which centred round the worship of the Bodhisattva Saviours and Tara
Saviouresses, such as we know from their monuments and inscriptions, and as being unfolded
repeatedly in the reliefs of the 3rd and 4th gallery of Borobudur itself. The usual Mahayana way of
depicting such scenes of torment and suffering would have been to add an image of the Saviour, either
in the form of a

The Mahayana texts Gandavyuha and Bhadracari, visually unfolded on the 3rd and 4th galleries of
Borobudur, consistently emphasise the concept of ‘the Buddhas of all Dominions’. Furthermore,
Maitreya, the Future Buddha, set examples for all the Future Buddhas including Samantabhadra and
Sudhana who play the principal roles in the Gandavyuha and Bhadracari scenes on these upper
terraces, to preach and to save living beings of all kinds and in all forms, be they high or low, good or
wicked, happy or miserable, in all the six dominions, the ten quarters and the three time spans of the
universe (reliefs nos. III, 67-76 and IV, 2-72).

There seem to have been many ‘unsuitable’ aspects of this set of reliefs in the eyes of the new priest-
designer of Borobudur. Certain changes in religious perception would have been expected to take
place during the construction of Borobudur. The Shailendras’ inscriptions, dating from 778 CE to the
first half of the 9th century, contain indications of new religious trends that entered their world during
this period. One or more of the later gurus, acting as chief architect-designers of their sacred
foundations, must have been responsible for the change of plan at Borobudur, and likewise to the
encasement of its original base. The decision to remove this series had obviously been taken before
the base was entirely finished, possibly simultaneously with the making of the new structural plan for
the monument, which included a new design for all its terraces. This, according to Dumarçay would
have taken place around 792 CE. This attempt to delete the scenes must have been made before the
architect-designer decided to encase the entire lower base altogether within the new terrace that
formed part of the new structural design of Borobudur.

The main purpose was obviously to blot out this ‘unsuitable’ series from the visions of the on-lookers.
The destructive operation would have begun by having the components of the scenes chiselled away
part by part. The damaged panels and their photographic images from 1890-1891 thus tell their story,
which is to be interpreted in favour of religious motivations to encase the original base including - or
rather because of - its ‘unsuitable’ or ‘ unhappy’ sculptured components. There could have also been
certain technical requirements in the course of the building operations, but such would not have been

77
essential reasons for the base to be covered. If structural requirements had actually been the primary
concern and a true necessity, there would have been no need to waste time nor labour to carefully
scrape away the sculptured scenes first before eventually encasing them forever in a shell of stone.

Reliefs depicted at Borobudur’s “hidden foot” are scenes taken from the Karmawibhangga texts.
These reliefs depicted in 160 panels were rediscovered by J.W. Ijzerman in 1885, and in 1890- 1891
were photographed by Kassian Cephas before the reliefs were closed down once again. The
Karmawibhangga deals with the Law of Cause and Effect, the Karmic Law. The doctrine was very
important for the Buddhist visitors. In order they understand easily the episodes they saw, the
sculptors portray many aspects of the early life in Java from the 9th to 10th century AD, during
Borobudur’s era. The reliefs were studied by N.J. Krom, S. Levi, and Jan Fontein. Fontein studies
these reliefs by comparing the episodes with two Karmawibhangga texts which were translated into
Chinese named as T 80 and T 81. The purpose in writing this paper is to find out the Karmavibhanga
text(s) used by the sculptors in carving the Karmawibhangga at Candi Borobudur. In this case I use
the Historical-archaeology as a method; this approach seeks an equal combination of “historical”
and “archaeological” data to the study of the past Research on the Karmawibhangga reliefs at “the
hidden base” of Candi Borobudur have been carried out by several scholars, among others are N.J.
Krom (1920), Sylvain Levi (1931), and Jan Fontein. The result of the study, each of them has a
specific text related to the Karmawibangga text which deals with the Law of Cause and Effect, The
Karmic Law. In this article I intent to find out which text used by the sculptors to carve the relief
Karmawibhangga at candi Borobudur. 1

By using the Historical-Archaeological approach, the sculptors used only one single text, which was
the original Sanskrit text of T80. According to Fontein the T 80 consists of paragraphs, and each
paragraph consists of 10 types of actions (Cause) and the result for all beings in their rebirth (Effect).
We can see the relationship between the Cause-Effect of the paragraphs on the episodes of the relief
Karmawibhangga at Borobudur, for instance in paragraph I, “rebirth of short duration” was mentioned
as the Effect and we saw a small child (“short duration”) dead as a result of one of the types of action
in paragraph I.

REFERENCE
Identification of Karmawibhangga Reliefs at Candi Borobudur, Hariani Santiko, Researchgate,
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