Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c46.23

c46.23

Despite however the *tour de force* as exemplified in the Borobudur, a monument intended no doubt to act as a stimulant to the declining faith of pure Buddhism, almost before it was completed there appears to have been a reversion to the creed of Hinduism in the form that this had previously found favour in the island. Referred to as the "Restoration," as the country seems to have been restored to its original belief, this movement, which began about A.D. 860 and continued until the middle of the succeeding century, produced several important temples dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. But as a proof that the two cults flourished contemporaneously in this area, a Buddhist temple, the Plaosan, was also erected about the same time. Yet an outstanding work of architecture, representing this Restoration phase, is a complex of shrines known as the Prambanam, or the Loro-Jonggrang⁴ group, which, in view of its size and importance, was probably conceived and constructed as a Hindu rival to the Buddhistic Borobudur This great Brahmanical temple-scheme in Mid-Java was completed about A D. 900, and was clearly designed with the object of reviving the practice of Hinduism throughout the country And just as the Borobudur made its appeal mainly on account of its colossal size, so the Hindu hierarchy realizing that in this respect it could not be surpassed, proceeded in an attempt to rival it by a numerical effort. For the Prambanam consists of an expansive composition aggregating over one hundred and fifty individual shrines arranged in rows on a commodious terrace, and, so that its influence should be as wide as possible, the main buildings were consecrated respectively to the deities Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, thus providing an all-embracing dispensation Further, in order to be abreast with the sculptured reliefs proving so effective at Borobudur, a long frieze was carved on the walls illustrating the mythology of these age-old Indian divinities In its architectural appearance the Prambanam temple could not have been very imposing, the main effort being concentrated on the range of temples on the upper platform, that dedicated to Shiva being most important and representative of the style at this juncture The structure is square in plan with re-entrant angles, having flights of steps in the middle of each side, thus producing a cruciform shape on the ground Only one of the stairways leads to the central square cella, the remainder ending in small independent chapels. The elevation, unfortunately much ruined, shows a symmetrical tower-like edifice, ascending in diminishing tiers, its projecting faces merging by stages to form a broad sikhara In the design of this temple there is evidence of a refinement and elegance expressive of an advance on the more robust examples of the previous phase The figure subjects with which it is embellished are a confirmation of this progressiveness, and these are usually regarded as the consummation of the plastic art in the hands of the Javanese sculptors. While there is admirable breadth and restraint in the bolder forms of the Borobudur reliefs, the Prambanam carvers have improved on these by means of a more delicate and suave method of modelling, in the subtle grading of one passage into another, and in the play of surface as a whole. Architecturally this temple illustrates a movement towards a riper and more polished type of structure, a natural stage in the course of evolution in the building art.