Prambanan Temple Conservation Project Launched

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The Prime Minister of India and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently started a joint conservation project.
This international project aims to restore and protect the famous Prambanan Temple Compounds in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The Prambanan Temple is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia.
Locals also call this massive structure Roro Jonggrang or Loro Jonggrang.
It is one of the biggest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia and represents the peak of classical Shaivite art.

The temple complex stands on the fertile volcanic plains of Java Island in Indonesia.
It lies right on the border between the Special Region of Yogyakarta and Central Java.

Workers built the temple around 850 CE during the rule of the powerful Sanjaya Dynasty.
The dynasty built it to match the nearby Buddhist Borobudur monument and to celebrate the return of Shaivite Hinduism.
The temple was abandoned in the 11th century after power shifted to East Java and the Mount Merapi volcano erupted.
British surveyors rediscovered the forgotten ruins in the early 19th century during their brief rule over Java.
Scientific restoration of the site started in 1918 to rebuild the broken stone structures.
UNESCO declared the temple complex a World Heritage Site in 1991 to protect its historical value.
The Indonesian government named it a National Cultural Property in 1998.

The temple design uses a geometric pattern of three concentric squares to show different spiritual worlds.
The outer zone is a large yard that once had temporary wooden buildings.
The middle zone contains 224 small, identical guardian shrines called Perwara temples arranged in four neat rows.
The inner zone is a raised sacred platform that holds the 16 main temples.
Three tall spires called shikharas dominate the inner square and represent the Hindu Trinity or Trimurti.
The central Shiva temple rises 47 meters high and holds a large statue of Shiva Mahadeva.
The Brahma temple stands to the north of the Shiva tower, while the Vishnu temple stands to the south.
Three smaller companion temples face the main shrines and honor the sacred animal vehicles or vahanas: Nandi, Hamsa, and Garuda.
The inner walls feature detailed stone carvings that tell the Indonesian version of the Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana.
Builders used interlocking stone joints without any mortar, which helps the heavy towers survive earthquakes.