Muaro Jambi Buddhist Temple, Indonesia

Address

Muaro Jambi Buddhist Temple Desa muara jambi, Maro Sebo, Kabupaten Muaro Jambi, Jambi 36382, Indonesia

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

Muaro Jambi (Indonesian: Candi Muaro Jambi) is a Buddhist temple complex, in Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi province, Sumatra, Indonesia. It is situated 26 kilometers east from the city of Jambi. The temple complex was built by the Melayu Kingdom, with its surviving temples and other archaeological remains estimated to date from the 7th to 13th century CE. The archaeological site includes eight excavated temple sanctuaries and covers about 12 square kilometers, stretches 7.5 kilometers along the Batang Hari River, 80 menapos or mounds of temple ruins, are not yet restored. It is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient temple complexes in South East Asia.

Puranic Significance

Muara Jambi Temple is considered one of the archaeological sites on the island of Sumatra. The eight temple-like structures appear to be Buddhist, and were probably built around the 14th century. Archaeologists conclude that the site was the center of Old Jambi, the capital of ancient Malay kingdom which reigned supreme about ten centuries ago. The capital was sieged and destroyed in 1377 by armies from Burma. For centuries, the site had been lost and forgotten deep in the jungle, only to be rediscovered in 1920 by a British military expedition team. Muara Jambi temple complex covers an area of 12 km2, along the side of Batanghari river. There are eight main temples in the complex. All of them are located in the center area, fortified by walls. Three of them are already renovated. In 1982, a 32-centimeters tall female bronze statue was found at Koto Kandis, in the Muara Sabak sub district. It is believed to be the goddess Laksmi, holding a lotus bud in her left. In addition to the archaeological sites.