Candi Kethek (Vishnu) - Indonesia

Address

Candi Kethek (Vishnu) – Indonesia

Anggrasmanis village, Gumeng sub district,

Jenawi district,

Indonesia 57794

Moolavar

Lord Vishnu

Introduction

Candi Kethek, is a terraced megalithic pyramid shaped 15th-16th century Vishnu temple on the northwest slope of Mount Lawu in Anggrasmanis village of Gumeng subdistrict in Jenawi district of Karanganyar Regency in Central Java of Indonesia. Temple has seven terraces facing west; each terrace is connected by stone steps. There is an alternative path to the top terrace on the south side.

Puranic Significance

The existence of this temple has been reported since 1842. In 2005, excavations were carried out by the Central Java Archaeological Heritage Preservation Agency in collaboration with the Department of Archeology of Gadjah Mada University and the Karanganyar Regency Government. A statue of tortoise, incarnation of deity Lord Vishnu, denoting Samudramanthana, was found on the lowest terrace, which confirmed that Candi Kethek is a place of worship.

This temple is similar to the Ceto temple and 15th-century Javanese- Sukuh temple (candi) found in this area on the terraces, all of which are considered to be the hallmark of Megalith cultural heritage buildings in the archipelago. Based on this similarity, the time of Candi Kathek’s establishment was estimated to be almost the same as the other two temples, i.e. around the 15th to 16th centuries CE.

On the first terrace of the temple, there is a building on the northeast side. The second and third terraces each have two buildings on the north and south sides. Whereas the fourth terrace, the top terrace, is thought to be the site of the main temple building, which is now has a small “stana” with a golden crown, clad in Balinese Poleng Fabric.