INDONESIA YOGYAKARTA -PRAMBANAN (PART4)

MISTERY OF THE THIRD BOUNDARY OF CANDI LORO JONGGRANG

There are a number of “Archaeological misteries” surrounding the Prambanan area which even now await clarification by archaeological surveys and studies. One such mystery is the fact the north –south axis of the third compound of Candi LordJonggrang is inclined approximately ten degrees to the east from those of the first and second compounds. In asking ourselves why, we feel ourselves drawn into the misty past all the way back to the 8^th century A.D.

Our explanation of this inclination of the third compound of this candi is as follows.

The outlines of the town of Prambanan, where Candi Loro Jonggrang is located , were already determined in the 8^th century. Accordingly, the location and direction of Candi Loro Jonggrang were determined in relation to Candi Sewu ( end of 8^th century) to the north, with no possibility for subsequent change. Also, there was another temple on the same site beforehand ( according to Dr Voute), Candi Loro Jonggrang having been built as a renovation of it and that was all the more reason why the location was definitive.

Now, this being the peak of the Prambanan period (according to Ratu Boko inscriptions), the builders wanted to make Candi Loro Jonggrang a large candi measuring a full 400 m on a side. However, the fact that the Opak River, which frequently  flooded in these days ( according to Kelurak inscription dating 782 AD) ran along the west side of the temple made it difficult to extend it in that direction.

The only way such a large term pie could be built under such circumstances was by making the third compound slant a little. Furthermore, this solution made for regularity in that it put the east and south gates of the temple on its axial line and the north and west gates in such  a position that the axial line cut the fence in a ratio of 1:2 as justified for astrological reasons. This slant can therefore be said to have been built in at the time of construction of Candi Loro Jonggrang in the middle of the 9^th century.