Candi Jawi (Jawi Temple) – Indonesia

Address

Candi Jawi (Jawi Temple) – Indonesia

Candi Wates village, Kecamatan Prigen, Pasuruan,

Moolavar

Shiva, Buddha

Introduction

Jawi temple (Candi Jawi, original name: Jajawa) is a syncretism Shiva–Buddhist candi (temple) dated from late 13th century Singhasari kingdom. The temple is located on the eastern slope of Mount Welirang, Candi Wates village, Kecamatan Prigen, Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia, approximately 31 kilometers west of Pasuruan city or 41 kilometers south of Surabaya. The temple located on the main road between Kecamatan Pandaan – Kecamatan Prigen and Pringebukan. The temple was thought to be a Shiva-Buddhist place of worship; however the temple actually was dedicated as temple to honor King Kertanegara, the last king of Singhasari.

Puranic Significance

The Nagarakretagama canto 56 mentioned this temple as Jajawa. King Kertanegara of Singhasari ordered the construction of this temple to provide a place of worship for the adherents of Shiva-Buddha sect, a syncretism religion patronage by the king.

The temple compound measured 40 x 60 square meters, enclosed within 2 meters high red brick wall. The temple is surrounded by a moat filled with flowering lotus plants. The temple measures 24.5 meters high with the base of the structure measured 14.2 x 9.5 meters. The temple structure is tall and slender with the tall receding towering roof crowned with the combination pinnacle of cube and stupa. The door of the main cella and the main stairs faces east.

There were also other statues discovered in temple’s niches, such as the image of Nandisvara, Durga, Ganesha, Nandi and Brahma, however these statues has been removed and stored in the museums. The statue of Durga is stored in Mpu Tantular Museum, Surabaya, while the rest are stored in Trowulan Museum. The Brahma statue however is missing, probably broken to pieces since fragments of the statue can be found in temple’s store room. The temple had undergone restoration projects twice, the first was conducted between1938–1941 and the second was in 1975–1980.