Mount Wukir Temple (Candi Gunung Wukir) - Indonesia

Address

Mount Wukir Temple (Candi Gunung Wukir) – Indonesia

Kadiluwih village, Salam sub district

Indonesia

Moolavar

Shiva

Introduction

Gunung Wukir temple, or Canggal temple, or also known as Shivalinga is a Shivaite temple dated from the early 8th century, located in Canggal hamlet, Kadiluwih village, Salam subdistrict, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The temple dates to the year 732, making it the first structure attributed to the ancient Mataram kingdom, which ruled Central Java from 732 to around the middle of the tenth century.

Puranic Significance

This temple is the oldest surviving temple in Southern Central Java, connected to the Canggal inscription discovered within the temple ruins in 1879. The inscription describes the erection of a lingam (the symbol of Shiva) on the country of Kunjarakunja, by Sanjaya’s order. The lingam is sited on the noble island of Yava (Java), which the inscription describes as “rich in grain and gold mines”. According to the inscription, the temple was founded during the reign of King Sanjaya from the Mataram Kingdom. This inscription contains a lot of information related to Mataram Kingdom or Ancient Mataram. Based on this inscription, Gunung Wukir temple might originally have been called Shivalinga or Kunjarakunja.

Special Features

The temple compound measures 50 meters x 50 meters. The temple building is made of andesite stone, and at least consists of a main temple and three perwara temples (guardian or complementary smaller temple) lined in front of the main temple. In addition to the inscription, within the temple complex were also found archaeological artifacts including yoni pedestal and the statue of the sacred cow Nandi the vehicle of Shiva. According to the inscription, the yoni once support a lingam, the symbol of the god Shiva, however it is now missing.