Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c46.10

c46.10

After this initial Brahmanical phase as illustrated by the shrines at Djeng, a period of Buddhism intervened, when a number of large and important buildings were erected on a separate site in Mid-Java some distance to the south-east of the earlier group. It is recorded that these were inspired by the advent in the island of the Sailendras of Sumatra (760-850), a powerful Buddhist dynasty whose influence extended over a very large portion of south-east Asia towards the 8th century A.D. Their domination over a great part of Java stimulated the architectural aspirations of the people to a remarkable degree, so much so that the productions, of the Sailendra-Sumatra period in Mid-Java were of such a high order as to entitle this movement to be designated as already mentioned the Golden Age in Java's architectural history.