Prambanan Hindu temples in Java, Indonesia
Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands of which 7,000 are inhabited. Java is one of the larger islands with several volcanic peaks. These are considered sacred because the volcanic ash makes the land fertile. The mountains collect river water that irrigate the fields. Around Mount Merapi, we find great temples built here between the 8th and 9th century by the local Shailendra and Sanjay kings. They built the Prambanan Hindu temple. We know they are tantric because an aerial view reveals that they are built on radially symmetrical square-shaped mandalas with four doorways. The Hindu site of Prambanan is designed like a court. There is a central court. The peripheral part is made of hundreds of small temples, arranged in four rows. These tiny temples house minor gods from around the universe, and the countryside, which pay obeisance to the central court. In the central court, we find a temple to Shiva. In this temple are also images of Ganesh, Durga, and Agastya, Shiva’s favourite