Guardians of the directions concept and the Saraswati River

The Guardians of the Directions (Sanskrit: दिक्पाल-Dikpāla) are the deities who rule the
specific directions of space according to Hinduism, Jainism and Vajrayāna Buddhism—
especially Kālacakra. As a group of eight deities, they are called Aṣṭa-Dikpāla (अष्ट-
दिक्पाल), literally meaning guardians of eight directions. But they could be of 10 or less 5
Directions. When 8 tare often augmented with two extra deities for the ten directions (the two
extra directions being zenith and nadir), when they are known as the Daśa-Dikpāla. In
Hinduism it is traditional to represent their images on the walls and ceilings of Hindu
temples. They are also often portrayed in Jain temples, with the exception that Nāga usually
takes the place of Vishnu in the nadir. Ancient Java and Bali Hinduism recognize Nava-
Dikpāla, literally meaning guardians of nine directions, that consist of eight directions with
one addition in the center. The nine guardian gods of directions is called Dewata Nawa
Sanga (Nine guardian devata). The diagram of these guardian gods of directions is featured
in Surya Majapahit, the emblem of Majapahit Empire.

There are strong similarities between the concept of the guardians of the directions and the
lore surrounding the Chinese four symbols, four ancestral spirits who are responsible for four
of the cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West).

Directions in Hindu tradition

Brahma, Lord of the Zenith (center) with

(from left) Varuna, Kubera, Yama and Indra.
Directions in Hindu tradition are called as Diśā, or Dik. There are four cardinal directions, six
orthogonal directions and a total of ten directions, however infinite combinations are
possible.

English Sanskrit

North Uttara, Udīcī

South Dakṣiṇa, Avācī

East Pūrva, Prācī, Prāk, Aruna

West Paścima, Pratīcī, Aparā

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Northeast Īśāna

Southeast Agni

Northwest Vāyu

Southwest Nirṛta

Zenith Ūrdhva

Nadir AdhaH

Lokapālas
In Hinduism, the guardians of the cardinal directions are called the Lokapālas (लोकपाल), or
Dikpalaka. Three main distinctions of Dikpalaka are recognized, being:

T
he diagram of Surya Majapahit shows the arrangements of Hindu deities each resided in main
cardinal points.(Called Dewata Nawa Sanga in ancient Java and Bali Hinduism)

The Ashta-Dikpala with Brahma in the centre denoting Zenith

Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions")

Name Direction

Kubera, God of Fortune North

Yama, God of Justice and Death South

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Indra, Lord of Heaven and God of the Weather,
East
Sky, Rain, and Storms

Varuna, God of the Seas, Oceans, and Rain West

Ishana, God of Birth, Death, Resurrection, and

Northeast
Time

Southeast (in the image incorrectly

Agni, God of Fire
shown on southwest)

Vayu, God of the Winds and Air Northwest

Southwest (in the image incorrectly

Nirṛta, God of Death, Sorrow, and Decay
shown on southeast)

Daśa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Ten Directions")

Besides the eight guardians, the following are added:

 Brahma (Zenith, meaning "the farthest up from the gravitational force")

 Vishnu (Nadir, meaning "the direction in which gravity pulls")
Nava-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Nine Directions")

 Shiva (Center)
 Vishnu (North)
 Brahma (South)
 Isvara (East)
 Mahadeva (West)
 Sambhu (Northeast)
 Mahesora (Southeast)
 Sangkara (Northwest)
 Rudra (Southwest)

Manjusrigrha
Manjusri is a Bodhisattva from Mahayana Buddhist teachings that symbolizes the "gentle
glory" of transcendent wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā). Sewu Temple was built by the end of
eighth century at the end of Rakai Panangkaran's reign and was completed during the reign of

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his successor, King Indra. Rakai Panangkaran (746–780 CE) was well known as a devoted
Mahayana Buddhist king who ruled the Medang Mataram Kingdom.
Sewu an eighth century Mahayana Buddhist temple located 800 metres north
of Prambanan in Central Java, Indonesia. The word for a Hindu or Buddhist
temple in Indonesian is "candi," hence the common name is "Candi Sewu." Candi Sewu is the
second largest Buddhist temple complex in Indonesia; Borobudur is the largest. Sewu
predates nearby "Loro Jonggrang" temple at Prambanan. Although the complex consists of
249 temples, this Javanese name translates to 'a thousand temples,' which originated from
popular local folklore (The Legend of Loro Jonggrang). Archaeologists believe the original
name for the temple compound to be Manjusrigrha. Sewu which means a thousand in the
Javanese language describes the number of temples that actually consists of only 249
temples, with one main temple and 240 perwara temples. The main temple is in the middle
with its four sides surrounded by flanking temples and ancillary temples.

The Shiva Temple’s Lokapalas – Guardians of the Directions of Space

On the outside-facing walls of the Shiva temple’s central cella there are a total of 24 relief
panels. Eight of these figures collectively represent a group of Deities called the Lokapalas
— the guardians of the eight directions of space. Vedic cosmology associates six of the eight
Lokapalas with six of the planets of ancient astronomy: Kubera (Venus), Varuna (Mercury),
Yama (Mars), Agni (Saturn), Issana (Moon) and Indra (Jupiter). In addition, the Lokapalas
Nirriti and Vayu were assigned stations in the sky that corresponded with certain star signs of
Vedic astronomy, called the nakshatras.

The Temple Complex

The architecture of the Prambanan temple complex follows Vastu Shastra and was built on the
model of Mount Meru, the Cosmic mountain. The whole temple complex is a model of the
Universe according to Hindu cosmology.
The urban center and the court of Mataram were located nearby, in what would later
become Yogyakarta. Hundreds of brahmins lived with their disciples within the outer wall of
the temple compound.
Originally there were a total of 240 temples standing in Prambanan. The temple complex
consist of:
• 3 Trimurti temples: three main temples dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva Mahadeva
• 3 Vahana temples: three temples in front of Trimurti temples dedicated to the vahana of
each gods; Garuda, Nandi and Hamsa

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• 2 Apit temples: two temples located between the rows of Trimurti and Vahana temples on
north and south side
• 4 Kelir temples: four small shrines located on 4 cardinal directions right beyond the 4 main
gates of inner zone
• 4 Patok temples: four small shrines located on 4 corners of inner zone
• 224 Pervara temples: hundreds of temples arranged in 4 concentric square rows; numbers
of temples from inner row to outer row are: 44, 52, 60, and 68. Today, only 2 out of the
original 224 perwara temples are renovated.
The Tri Mandala principle
The Prambanan temple consists of 3 zones, according to the Indonesian Hindu tri
mandala principle:
• Nista Mandala (outer zone) — a large space marked by a walled perimeter, which
originally measured about 390 m per side, and contained a sacred garden, an ashram for
monks and accommodation for the priests.
• Madya Mandala (middle zone) that contains hundreds of small temples
• Utama Mandala (holiest inner sanctum) that contains 8 main temples and 8 small shrines.
Just like Borobudur, Prambanan is structured in three mandalas, from the less holy to
the holiest realms. Both the compound site plan (horizontally) and the temple structure
(vertically) represents 3 layers of the Universe:
• Bhurloka (in Buddhism: Kāmadhātu), the lowest realm of common mortals; humans,
animals also demons. Where humans are still bound by their lust, desire and unholy way of
life. The outer courtyard and the foot (base) part of each temples is symbolized the realm of
bhurloka.
• Bhuvarloka (in Buddhism: Rupadhatu), the middle realm of holy people, occupied by rishis,
ascetics, and lesser gods. People here begin to see the light of truth. The middle courtyard and
the body of each temple symbolizes the realm of bhuvarloka.
• Svarloka (in Buddhism: Arupadhatu), the highest and holiest realm, reserved for the gods.
Also known as svargaloka. The inner courtyard and the roof of each temple symbolizes the
realm of svarloka. The roof of Prambanan temples are adorned and crowned with ratna
(sanskrit: jewel), the shape of Prambanan ratna took the altered form of vajra that represent
diamonds. In ancient Java temple architecture, ratna is the Hindu counterpart of the Buddhist
stupa, and served as the temple’s pinnacle.

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The Shiva temple
The inner zone or central compound is the holiest among the three zones. It is the square
elevated platform surrounded by a square stone wall with stone gates on each four cardinal
points. This holiest compound is assembled of 8 shrines or candi. The 3 main shrines, called
are dedicated to the three Gods of the Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva Mahadeva.
The Shiva temple is the tallest and largest structure in Prambanan Loro Jonggrang
complex. Candi Shiva — the central shrine — rises 47 m high and contains 4 inner chambers
that face the 4 points of the compass. The eastern gate of Shiva temple is flanked by two small
shrines, dedicated to the guardian gods Mahakala and Nandhisvara.

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The Shiva temple is encircled with galleries adorned with bas-reliefs telling the Ramayana. To
follow the story accurately, visitors must enter from the East side and began to
perform pradakshina.
The Shiva shrine is located at the center and contains five chambers, four small chambers in
every cardinal direction and one bigger main chamber in the central part of the temple. The
east chamber connects to the central chamber that houses the largest temple in Prambanan, a
three-metre high statue of Shiva Mahadeva.
The statue bears the lakçana (attributes or symbol) of Shiva such as the skull and sickle
(crescent) at the crown, and third eye on the forehead. The four hands that holds Shiva’s
symbols: prayer beads, feather duster, and trisula (trident).
The other three smaller chambers contain statues of Shiva’s consort Durga
Mahisasuramardini, Rishi Agastya — one of the Saptarishis who took the yogic sciences
across South Asia — and Ganesha.
The shrine of Durga is also called the temple of Rara Jonggrang, after the Javanese legend
of Rara Jonggrang. Indeed, Javanese folk religion was always superposed with the more
elitist Shiva-Buddha syncretism.
A well containing the peripih was discovered under the center of the Shiva temple. The stone
casket contained sheets of copper, charcoal, ashes, earth, 20 coins, jewels, glass, pieces of gold
and silver leaves, seashells and 12 gold leaves (which were cut in the shapes of a turtle, Nāga
serpent, padma, altar, and an egg).

The sacred peripih is the core of the shrine in all Indonesian temples

Shiva and Saraswati

Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Durga are the same?

They all were the menifestation of goddess adiparashakti , the supreme mother of the whole
universe from whom everything in this universe have born from her .

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When the Tridevas ie lord shiva, lord brahma , lord vishnu started the formation of universe ,
lord brahma was unable to complete the formation so they started praying the supreme energy
ie devi adiparashakti to guide them on a right path how to establish life and this universe .
They started tapasya of the supreme mother …….

After the long time of prayer devi adiparashakti listened to them and devi adiparashakti
showed herself to them (gave them darshan) in her real form. She told them who is she, the
mother of all beings and the tridev also originated from her then tridev told them about the
problem and wanted to know why they are unable to complete the creation of the universe
then she told that nothing in this universe can be accomplish by the prsence or contribution of
shakti or woman presence . Then they ask what is the solution, she gave a solution so to help
you i will separate myself into three halves

Without knowledge brahma cannot complete the creation of the universe so he with have a
consort the goddess of knowledge- Sarasvatī

Without luxuries the universe cannot be managed so with Vishnu the consort will be one who
will be the goddess of wealth ie goddess lakshmi

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Saraswati is the sister of Shiva. The story of birth of Ganga that I have read in my childhood.
Narada and Tumburu are the two celestial musicians of the Devaloka. Their rivalry over
mastery of music leads them to Lord Shiva. Shiva directs them to Lord Vishnu.

Lord Vishnu points out to them that Hanuman is the better of them. They decide to try him
out and prove their mastery. At the appointed time, Bramha, Vishnu, Shiva, Narada,
Tumburu and Hanuman gather. To make the test interesting, Shiva freezes everyone in ice till
their abdomen, with only their head and limbs movable. The test is to melt the ice with your
music and free yourself. Both Narada and Tumburu fail, and Hanuman succeeds in thawing
himself out.After accepting his greatness, both Narada and Tumburu request Hanuman to free
them too. Upon their request, Hanuman sings and the soulful and celestial music melts the ice
and both Narada and Tumburu are free. But Hanuman is now in a different universe and
continues to sing. The song is so powerful that Vishnu enters trance, and a part of his aura
melts and trickles down to the feet. Bramha promptly collects and stores the aura in his
kamandala. This aura of Vishnu melted by the divine and mellifluous song of devotee
Hanuman, now collected by Bramha is Ganga.

Descent from heavens.

Pleased by Bhagirath’s penance to bring peace to his ancestors’ souls, Ganga agreed to
descend from the heavens. But the force for her descent would crush the earth and lead to
devastating catastrophe. To prevent the same, Bhagirath started penance unto Shiva. Shiva is
pleased with the penance and agrees to arrest Ganga’s descent of destruction.

When at the opportune moment Bramha releases Ganga from the heavens to the earth, Shiva
is ready with his locks open to contain Ganga’s destructive dance. In her arrogance, Ganga
swelled up to cause maximum destruction but Shiva caught her in his locks and imprisoned
her, to teach her a lesson. Bhagirath was distraught and did penance unto Shiva a second
time. Shiva softened and released Ganga, falling on the ground and flowing into 7 streams. 3
to the east, 3 to the west and one followed Bhagirath, who led the waters over his ancestors’

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ashes and their souls were redeemed. This having completed the incomparable task,
Bhagirath brought Ganga to earth.

Bramha ordained that Ganga would also be known as Bhagirathi.

For the symbolism:

1. Ganga (Knowledge) flows from Shiva (God) to man (consciousness) to free the
cursed souls (mind)

2. Knowledge has the power to enrich or crush you. Only the enlightened ones
(Bhagirath) with their penance can bring the knowledge to the masses.

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So when the northwestern region of ancient India experienced a major earthquake which
resulted in the loss of the flow of the sacred Saraswati River, it was seen that this incident had
major consequences for the existence of Hinduism above Indian civilization, the loss of an
element of purity and holiness mentioned in its holy book (Veda).

Could it be that the big earthquake that obliterated the Saraswati River was the turning point
for Hinduism in India? which in the course of its history after the holy river which was
mentioned repeatedly in his holy book it actually dried up and disappeared without a trace,
then followed by Prayag which is the holy place where for the first time Lord Brahma
received his offerings also it was controlled by the Muslim Mughal Empire even later
controlled by the British Empire until it changed its name to Allahabad.

It seems that since the big earthquake which resulted in the disappearance of the Saraswati
River in northeastern India is an early sign of the fading of India's brilliance from a Hinduism
side and it could be that the belief in the Saraswati River as a mystical river is a religious
effort and a political step to defend India's existence against Indian Hindus. which dominates
Indian society and the recognition of India itself in world civilization as a place where the
gods reside in the greatness of Hinduism.

In the year 2006 a fault was detected during the Yogyakarta earthquake along the Prambanan
plain to the east towards the Ganwarno area.The Opak flows from its source on the slopes
of Mount Merapi in the north, heading southward and passes the west side of 9th-
century Prambanan temple compound, located to the east of Yogyakarta and west of Kota
Gede. It also passes the historical locations of Plered, Karta, and Imogiri before draining into
the Indian Ocean in the southern part of Bantul.
The river runs upon Opak tectonic fault, a major tectonic fault in southern Central Java
responsible for major earthquakes in the region. This earthquake not only put focus on the
opak, but also highlighted the existence of the Opak River and a river that once existed along
Prambanan Temple just as the Ganga and Jamuna are important to the Sacred buildings
around it. It is therefore believed by some that this point was chosen to base the location for
the construction of the Prambanan Temple as the river formed from the Prambanan-
Gantiwarno earthquake path flows from east to west towards the Opak River which is located
right under the Prambanan Temple building.
So that the existence of the confluence of the 2 rivers resembles the confluence of the
Yamuna river in India which flows into the Ganges River which is referred to as "sangam".
In the "sangam" place between the Ganges and Yamuna in India there is a place called
Allahabad, Allahabad itself was formerly a place called Prayag. The word Prayag means "a
place to ask (blessings)", this place is an ancient place mentioned in the Vedas as the first
place where Lord Brahma received his offerings. In the course of its history, Prayag was
controlled by the Mughal Empire and changed its name to Ilahabad which in Persian means
"city of Allah", and after that, Illahabad was often called Allahabad by the British colonialists
until now.

Until now, Prayag is still used as one of the venues for the sacred Maha Kumbh-mela
( Kumbh Fair) procession which is held about once every 12 years based on the constellation
of the celestial body.

As mentioned in the Vedas, there are 3 main rivers flowing in India, namely the Ganges,
Yamuna and Saraswati. It is possible that these 3 rivers still existed when Allahabad was
named Prayag. However, after that, of the 3 rivers, only 2 remained physically because the
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Saraswati River is no longer known, so for Hindus in India, the Saraswati River is often
considered a mystical river.

The Saraswati River flowed from the mountains and ended in the sea (Rgveda
VII.95.2 ) . Using satellite photography technology, the experts found traces that the
Saraswati River used to exist in India, but now it is almost unrecognizable because it has
dried up for a long time and has changed its shape. The trail of the river can still be observed,
namely around the Himalayas crossing the edge of the Thar Desert (passing through several
countries) and ending in the Bay of Bengal.
It is thought that this river dried up as a result of a massive earthquake, and it is possible that
the same earthquake brought the end of civilizations along the Indus Valley (Migration of the
Aryans)

How about in Java?

With the traces of the earthquake fault, it is indicated that it once formed a river (call it the
Gantiwarno River) which flows into the Opak River, resulting in a meeting point for 2 rivers
as the Gangga-Yamuna "sangam", if Prayag is on the edge of the sangam/battle of the river,
then Prambanan Temple Instead, it was built in the middle of the confluence of the Opak
River and the Gantiwarno River by diverting the flow of the Opak River so that it formed a
large pond around it.

Observing several other rivers around the Prambanan Temple apart from the Opak River and
the Gantiwarno River, there are 2 rivers which can be considered as to which one the
Saraswati River is of Java, namely: the Bengawan Solo River in the east which currently
empties into Gresik, East Java and the Progo River to the west which empties into Kulon
Progo.
However, if we look at the historical flow of the loss of the Saraswati River in India, it seems
that there is a very small possibility that the Progo River is the Saraswati River of Java,
because throughout its history the Progo River has not experienced a drought like the
Saraswati River in India.

Personally, I am more inclined to the Bengawan Solo River as the Javanese Saraswati River,
but what I mean by Bengawan Solo is not the river which currently flows north and empties
into the Gresik area, East Java, but the Ancient Bengawan Solo River which empties into
Sadeng Beach, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta.

3 approximate river basins

The Bengawan Solo River (Ancient) has quite an interesting history to study. And has
become the icon of the city of Solo. It currently flows northwards towards the Java Sea by
meandering across several areas.It was stated that during the period of 4 million years ago
this river flowed southwards towards the South Sea (Indian Ocean), then a devastating
earthquake occurred as a result of the process of the Australian earth plate hitting the
mainland of Java Island so that the seabed of the Indian Ocean on the south side was lifted up
to become new land along Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta), Wonogiri (Central Java) and Pacitan
(East Java). The elevation of the area made the mouth of the Bengawan Solo (ancient) River
which is in the south also bright and made the flow of the river reverse to change direction
from south to north, while the mouth of the river which was raised became a dry valley/basin
because the water of the Ancient Bengawan Solo was unable to erode it, now the community

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named the dry valley as Telaga Suling and its estuary became known as a new area called
Sadeng Beach.

The disappearance of the Saraswati River from the map of mainland India due to a large
earthquake and the reverse of the flow of the Ancient Bengawan Solo River with dry
conditions at its estuary due to a large earthquake are a similarity of natural events that may
have the same philosophical meaning.

The missing river on the Saraswati River in India and the water that does not flow in the
direction it should be on the Bengawan Solo River in Jaws are similar from a philosophical
point of view that both are no longer purifying as they should be by referring back to the
passage of the Rig Veda II. 35.3 which reads:

"sama yanty upa yanty anyah

samanam urvam na-dyah prnanti,
guest u Sucim sucayo diivamsam
apam napatam pari tasthur apah"

A large amount of water, along with others, gathers into rivers which flow together towards
the reservoir. the pure water that flows, both from springs and from the sea, has a purifying
power.

There is a straightforward thought from the series of estimates above, throughout the span of
history that started from the time of the big earthquake which resulted in the disappearance of
the Saraswati River in India, whether the construction of Çiwagrha (Prambanan Temple) on
Java Island is a series of efforts to purify Hinduism in India which is considered that the Gods
have departed from the “singhasana” which is marked by the abandonment of India by one of
its sacred rivers?

If Prayag in India is the place where Brahma first received offerings, could the Prambanan
temple our Shivalaya in Java led by Rakai Pikatan in presenting the palace to Lord Shiva? If
this is indeed the case, then the steps taken by the kings before, during the reign of Rakai
Pikatan –Pramodhawardani and afterward were steps of human civilization, not only steps to
maintain the hegemony of Ancient Mataram power.

If the Saraswati River in India can dry up and disappear without a trace, then the situation is
the same in Java, the river that is imaged as the Saraswati River of Java is experiencing the
same thing. Javanese history speaks of massive migration from the Ancient Mataram
Kingdom which was located in central Java to eastern Java by Mataram King Pu Sindok, this
move almost coincided with a natural process of MahaPralaya ( The great disaster/ Flood),
which is interpreted as a major disaster on the land of Java caused by the eruption of Mount
Merapi which is located on the north side of Prambanan Temple which is the headwaters of
the Opak River which is manifested as the Ganges River of the land of Java.

Some information states that around the Mahapralaya incident there was also another event,
namely the return attack from Srivijaya on Java, it seems that the old grudge for power over
Pramodhawardani's brother who had become the king of Srivijaya continued to grow into a
grudge that was passed down for several generations, if you look closely at the efforts this
attack carried out by Sriwijaya in the period leading up to Mahapralaya was an attempt to

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thwart the migration preparations of the entire Mataram kingdom so that there would be a
delay in saving from Mahapralaya's rampage.

If Mahapralaya is referred to as a major disaster in the form of Mount Merapi which erupted
on a large scale which was able to completely bury the top of the Sambisari temple which
incidentally is located further south from the Prambanan point, then the fate of the Ganwarno
River lost its traces of being buried by volcanic material from the eruption of Mount Merapi,
so that the Yamuna-River disappeared. the island of Java, the support for the sanctity of
Prambanan who stands at the Ganges-Yamuna “sangam” (battle of the river) of Java.

The question is whether the reversal of the direction of the ancient Bengawan Solo River
from north to south to south to north is part of the Mahapralaya event?

So when Mahapralaya occurred, what caused Mount Merapi to erupt violently was it really a
purely independent eruption from within Mount Merapi, or was it triggered by other factors
in the form of a very powerful wave of earthquake energy from the same earthquake source
with the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake. And the same earthquake that caused Mount Merapi to
erupt violently in Mahapralaya also made the ancient Bengawan Solo River turn north. Thus
the assumption appears that the Mahapralaya process (in terms of natural events) is a natural
disaster that starts with a major earthquake (megathrust) in the South Sea (Indian Ocean)
which causes the lifting of the ocean floor so that the flow of the Bengawan Solo Ancient
River reverses direction, then the energy spreads far to the north forced Mount Merapi to
erupt violently and the material buried a civilization that had previously been destroyed by a
large earthquake.

So if it is equated with the depiction of the disappearance of the Saraswati River in India, the
Mahapralaya incident in Java is: a big earthquake, the Saraswati River of Java reversed
direction, the Prayag building of Jawa (Prambanan Temple) collapsed in the earthquake,
Mount Merapi was flooded with earthquake energy and then erupted violently , the volcanic
material of Mount Merapi covered all ancient Mataram buildings.

However, if we look at the pattern of the disappearance of the Saraswati River in India,
which has similarities with the process of drying up the mouth of the Ancient Bengawan Solo
River due to the earthquake, and the existence of the Prambanan Temple in choosing an
unusual location for its construction, in my opinion there is a possibility that one day it could
be examined again.

And from this possibility at least a new question is opened, have we made a mistake in
calculating the historical time, have we miscalculated that in fact the event of the lifting of
the sea floor that forms the land of Gunung Kidul, Wonogiri and Pacitan did not occur 4
million years ago but several hundred years ago as ancient historians calculate based on the
artifacts they reveal

That the existence of Prambanan Temple on the island of Java is not as old as what ancient
historians say, but at the same age as the estimated formation of land along Gunung Kidul,
Wonogiri and Pacitan which is marked by the traces of the Ancient Bengawan Solo Valley
which were 4 million years ago.In relation to the above, it should be underlined that efforts to
search for traces of the Saraswati River in India using satellite imagery suggest that the
Saraswati River used to exist (around 2,500-2,000 BC) and disappeared due to a very
powerful earthquake, and the same earthquake which was indicated as the trigger for the

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migration of the Aryans in the civilization of the Indus river valley sparked a controversy
regarding the age of the Vedas.

Hence
1. Should the brother (SHIVA) be near the Sister ( Sarswati)
2. Is not the temple of Prambanan better placed near the confluence of the rivers such
as in ancient India

opak

Ganges

5 Tatagatas
4 Puja Devis one at each corner of the square mandala
5 Puja Devis and Sangraha Devis at Medium chapel( there were supposed to be a total of 8)
240 subsidiary chapels housed the 1,000 Buddhas

Only 240 Sanctuaies were erected to house the Bhadrakalpa. A kalpa is a long period of time
(aeon) in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, generally between the creation and recreation of a

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world or universe. Gautama Buddha claimed an incalculable number of Buddhas lived in
previous kalpas: Vipassi Buddha 91 kalpas ago, Sikhi Buddha 31 kalpas ago, and three prior
Buddhas in the present kalpa. According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, the first of the five
Buddhas of the present kalpa –the Bhadrakalpa is called Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the
bhadrakalpa)

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