Candi Gedong Songo Shiva, Indonesia

Address

Candi Gedong Songo Shiva, Krajan, Banyukuning, Bandungan, Semarang, Jawa Tengah 50614, Indonesia

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

Candi Gedong Songo (Nine buildings) is a group of small Hindu Javanese Temples from 7th century. Candi Gedong Songo is located in the Candi village, Bandungan district, Central Java, Indonesia , on the slopes of Mount Ungaran. These temples were first discovered by Mr. Raffles in 1804. Gedong Songo is one of the most beautifully sited Temple Complexes in Central Java. It dedicated to lord shiva. Gedong Songo (‘Nine Buildings’) belongs to the earliest antiquities of Java .

Puranic Significance

The Gedong Songo temples and other regional Hindu-Buddhist temples near it were active in the 14th and 15th-century, as evidenced by an inscription dated 1382 CE discovered in this temples complex, as well as others in the region that date to 1449 and 1452 CE. All temples were badly damaged and ruins scattered around the hill. The South Niche is occupied by Maharishi Agastya, a Legendary missionary of Lord Shiva in India who eventually been regarded as an Avatar of the god himself. The “Potbellied and Bearded Guru” has been shown here on a “Lotus Throne”. His arms and the attributes are broken , but a clear outline of Shiva’s trident is visible at the statue’s left side. Gedong Songo III is also a Shiva temple, one paired with a facing Nandi shrine and a Parvati shrine next to the Shiva shrine. Gedong Songo I is the oldest, with a square plan – an architecture that is predominant in Hindu and Buddhist-Hindu sites of central Java. However, the Gedong Songo II through V temples are unusual and among the notable exceptions, as they have a square sanctum, but the plinth base has been extended for a porch, which gives it a rectangular shape.