Prambanan Temple: Why is India restoring Indonesia’s largest Shiva temple? | Explained
Story so far: “The winds here carry a scent of culture, a scent which connects us and we feel every moment on the soil of
Story so far: “The winds here carry a scent of culture, a scent which connects us and we feel every moment on the soil of India,” waxed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) when he visited the 1200-year-old Prambanan Temple complex in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta. The visit was preceded by the announcement of India-Indonesia’s joint conservation project to restore the shrine. Located 17 km northeast of Yogyakarta city, the 10th-century shrine has three temples dedicated to the divine Hindu trinity – Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as three temples to their ‘vahanas’ - hamsa (swan) for Brahma, the garuda (eagle) for Vishnu and the nandi (bull) for Shiva. With reliefs depicting scenes from the Ramayana. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the complex houses two groups of buildings – Hindu temples including Prambanan and Buddhist temples including Sewu with its four pairs of Dwarapala giant statues. Totaling 508 stone temples of various shapes and sizes in either complete condition or in ruins, the complex is home to both the largest Hindu and Buddhist temple in Indonesia. Immediately after Indonesia became independent in 1945, restoration of the temples, ravaged by earthquakes, began and was completed only in 1953. Cultural significance of Prambanan temple to India Built by King Rakai Pikatan to reportedly rival the adjacent Buddhist temple complex Borobudur, built by King Shailendra in the 8th century, Prambanan temple has survived several volcanic eruptions over the years from the nearby Mount Merapi.
Expanded by Rakai Pikatan’s successors, King Lokapala and Balitung MahaSambu of the Mataram kingdom, Prambanan served as the royal temple and most of the state’s religious ceremonies were conducted there. Apart from the main Shiva shrine, other temples dedicated to Goddess Durga as Mahishasura Mardhini, Dakshinamurti too have been restored through the years. Bas-relief depictions of episodes from the Hindu puranas (Ramayana and Bhagawata), creatures like kinnaras, kolamakara, asuras and scenes of social life adorn galleries around the central chamber and the symmetry and structures of the temples resemble to Pallava dynasty’s architecture. Inscriptions at the Shiva temple show that a public water project to change the course of a river was undertaken during the construction of the temple. These are similar to the engineering style of temple builders of South-east Asia spanning the Chola and Gupta dynasties and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex. Moreover, the well dug in the middle of the complex is said to go down to the foundations of the temple, where King Erlangga’s ashes (who died in 1014 AD) are believed to have been deposited in a stone case – a custom also found in the Matrubhuteswara Temple at Tiruvanamala. Victim to Mount Merapi’s volcanic fury, the rulers shifted away from the complex, leaving the temples to decay. As the Dutch East India Company came to rule the country, several pieces from the temples were transported to the officers’ gardens and homes.
The BriefWire