MORE about the Architecture of Borobudur

Dr Uday Dokras

The exact origin of architecture can be placed back in the Neolithic period, about 10,000
B.C., as this is about when humans stopped living in caves. Back before recorded history,
humans made structures that confound people to this day, such as Stonehenge. Even though
Alberti's treatise on architecture was one of the most influential aesthetic works of the Italian
Renaissance. De re aedificatoria also became the first text on architecture to be issued from a
printing press when it was published in 1485, a year before the appearance of the earliest
printed edition of Vitruvius.
In the Hindu Realm of Design and religion TWO important ancient Indian (Hindu)
architectural texts could have formed the basic DNA of the Borobudur design. In those days
with the fever pitch of Buddhist missionary work and spread of the Gospel far and wide not
to mention with turmultous zeal 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. It is therefore no surprise that the Shailendra
Dynasty not only gave ascent to Hindu Temples but also construction of Buddhist Stupas.
Other studies such as the Chityrasutra deals exclusively with paintings, critically analysing
the main concepts described in the Sanskrit texts. These are a section of Sanskrit scientific
literature analysing painting within the framework of Indian philosophical thought.

Buddha statue in Borobudur (Indonesia), the world's largest Buddhist temple.

Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of

structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism:

1. monasteries (viharas), places to venerate

2. relics (stupas), and
3. shrines or prayer halls (chaityas, also called chaitya grihas), which later came to be
called temples in some places.
The initial function of a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of Gautama
Buddha. The earliest archaeologically known example of a stupa is the relic stupa located

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in Vaishali, Bihar in India. In accordance with changes in religious practice, stupas were
gradually incorporated into chaitya-grihas (prayer halls). These are exemplified by the
complexes of the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves (Maharashtra). The Mahabodhi
Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is another well-known example.The pagoda is an evolution of
the Indian stupas.

Buddhist temple architecture, Architecture of Indic religions, Ancient Indian

architecture, Vastu shastra, and Shilpa Shastras

The Great Stupa

in Sanchi
A characteristic new development at Buddhist religious sites was the stupa. Stupas were
originally more sculpture than building, essentially markers of some holy site or
commemorating a holy man who lived there. Later forms are more elaborate and also in
many cases refer back to the Mount Meru model.

One of the earliest Buddhist sites still in existence is at Sanchi, India, and this is centred on a
stupa said to have been built by King Ashoka (273–236 BCE). The original simple structure
is encased in a later, more decorative one, and over two centuries the whole site was
elaborated upon. The four cardinal points are marked by elaborate stone gateways. As
with Buddhist art, architecture followed the spread of Buddhism throughout south and east
Asia and it was the early Indian models that served as a first reference point, even though
Buddhism virtually disappeared from India itself in the 10th century.

Decoration of Buddhist sites became steadily more elaborate through the last two centuries
BCE, with the introduction of tablets and friezes, including human figures, particularly on
stupas. However, the Buddha was not represented in human form until the 1st century CE.
Instead, aniconic symbols were used. This is treated in more detail in Buddhist art, Aniconic
phase. It influenced the development of temples, which eventually became a backdrop for
Buddha images in most cases. As Buddhism spread, Buddhist architecture diverged in style,
reflecting the similar trends in Buddhist art. Building form was also influenced to some
extent by the different forms of Buddhism in the northern countries,

Candi of Indonesia and Buddhism in Indonesia

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Borobudur, 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, in Central
Java, Indonesia. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. Muara
Takus temple, an11th century Buddhist temple in Sumatra.
Buddhism and Hinduism reach Indonesian archipelago in early first millennia. The oldest
surviving temple structure in Java is Batujaya temples in Karawang, West Java, dated as early
as 5th century.[3] The temple was a Buddhist sites, as evidence of the discovered Buddhist
votive tablets, and the brick stupa structure.

The apogee of ancient Indonesian Buddhist art and architecture was the era of
Javanese Shailendra dynasty that ruled the Mataram Kingdom in Central Java circa 8th to 9th
century CE. The most remarkable example is the 9th century Borobudur, a massive stupa that
took form of an elaborate stepped pyramid that took plan of stone mandala. The walls and
balustrades are decorated with exquisite bas reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500
square metres. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a
statue of the Buddha. Borobudur is recognised as the largest Buddhist temple in the world.

Thai temple art and architecture

Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok, Thailand. These are discussed in this research writing as below:
The Borobudur is one of the most impressive monuments ever created by humans. It 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 (see above Cambodia and Vietnam), 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

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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.

The ultimate effect is that of a profusion, of similar forms emanating out of the structure. It is
a way to express the builder’s notion of the divine as self-manifesting. Similar concepts exist
in Buddhist art and architecture. The temple at Borobudur, Indonesia, is a magnificent
example similar forms arranged in a harmonic whole, interpreted differently from a classical
Hindu temple.
“The priests, supposedly the expositors of the sacred texts,could make little sense of these
tretises either, for they were not only mnemonic in form, but were replete with a technical
vocabulary as well-that is to say while apparently familiar terms were used
technically, they seemed to have meanings quite different from the obvious ones, making
confusionso much the worse. “

The Hindu
temples of Bagan and Angkor all date from between the 9th and 12th centuries as Indian
culture reached its zenith in the region

Greater India
So how is it that the world’s largest Buddhist temple is in the middle of the world’s largest
Muslim nation? The answer is that the Muslim faith did not spread to Indonesia until the 13th
century and did not reach central Java until the 16th century. For nearly a millennia prior to
that much of south east Asia had been heavily influenced by Indian culture. It is speculated
that a combination of traders and Hindu Brahman scholars from India traveled throughout the
region spreading their language, monumental stone architecture and predominantly Hindu
religion. This massive export of culture appears to have taken place in several waves but the
reasons behind it are not well understood. But from the 9th to the 13th centuries there was a
peak in Indian influenced cultures across the region. During this period over 4,000 Hindu
temples were built across the plain of Bagan in modern Myanmar whilst in Cambodia over
1000 Hindu temples arose around Angkor. In modern day Indonesia on the island of Sumatra

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a powerful Buddhist empire known as Srivijaya had emerged by the seventh century and also
reached its peak in this same period.

On Java surviving inscriptions describe a new ruling family from the middle of the eighth
century known as the Sailendras. This dynasty favoured Buddhism over Hinduism and with
them begins the construction of Buddhist temples such as that at Kalasan, 13km east of
modern Yogyakarta, and later Mendut and Pawon just a few kilometers east of Borobudur.
Construction of the great temple of Borobudur began around 782 under the reign of
Samaratungga and proceeded in five phases until about 840.

Mendut
is a Buddhist Temple built in the early ninth century as construction of Borobudur temple
was in progress

Rediscovery
In the case of Borobudur it was the arrival of Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant General
of the British East Indies from 1811 to 1816, that revived interest in the temple. Raffles was
keenly interested in Javanese culture, publishing The History of Java in 1817.

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Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant General of the British East Indies from 1811 to 1816
In 1814 whilst on a tour of Central Java he heard of a massive monument buried in the jungle
and sent a Dutch engineer, Cornelius Hermann to investigate. With two hundred men
Hermann spent two months cutting back the jungle to expose the temple. This initial work
was continued for several further decades by Christiaan Lodewijk Hartmann, exposing the
complete monument. Hartmann however, kept no records of his work and rumours persist
that he removed the central stupa’s main Buddha image.
Studies of Borobudur proceeded slowly throughout the nineteenth century and for much of
this period statues were lost to souvenir hunters. Even Siam’s King Chulalongkorn visited in
1896 and departed with eight cart loads of artifacts, some of which can be seen today in
Thailand’s National Museum in Bangkok.

The first
photograph of Borobudur taken by Isidore van Kinsbergen in 1872

The first photograph of Borobudur was taken in 1872 by Isidore van Kinsbergen, who found
the monument had again fallen into a state of considerable disrepair. In fact ten years later the
chief inspector of cultural artifacts recommended to the government that due to the risk of
collapse Borobudur should be dismantled and its treasures housed in museums. Fortunately
an archaeologist was appointed instead to thoroughly assess the state of the site. The resulting
survey reassured all that collapse was not imminent and the monument was saved.

The discovery of the Hidden Foot in 1885 re-ignited interest in Borobudur. Between 1890
and 1891 a photographic record of this previously unknown lower level was made before the
encasement was rebuilt around the base of the monument. The colonial Dutch government
was finally prompted to allocate funds to restoring and protecting the monument. This paid
for Theodor van Erp, a Dutch army engineer, to successfully dismantle and then rebuild the
upper levels of the monument between 1907 and 1911.

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Borobudur in 1911 following Theodor van Erp’s restoration showing the reconstructed chattra pinnacle

As part of his work Van Erp restored the three tiered stone parasol or chattra atop the main
stupa but later removed it again as he was dissatisfied with its authenticity given how few
original stones were found. It can today be seen standing in the grounds of Borobudur’s
museum.