Skip to main content

Ijo Temple

Candi Ijo or Ijo temple is a Hindu monument complex in Kewu plain in Groyokan Sub-village, Sambirejo Village, Prambanan District, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. The temple stands on the slopes of Ijo hill in a complex of 0.8 hectares, but it is estimated that this archaeological site is wider than the present land.

This terraced temple is estimated to have been built between the 10th and 11th centuries AD. The complex has several main temple groups, flanking temples and ancillary temples. In the west stretching towards the foot of the hill are the ruins of a number of temples which are still in the process of excavation and restoration.

Dlium Ijo Temple

The main temple faces west and is lined with three smaller temples to worship Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The main temple structure stands on a rectangular base. The entrance to the inner room is in the middle of the west side wall and flanked by two fake windows. Above the doorway has a compiled Kala headdress and no lower jaw.

Above the threshold of the two fake windows also had a carved Kala head. The doorway was framed by a pair of dragons that stretched down with their heads back to the door and mouth wide open. In the mouth are parrots.



The window sill is also framed with the decoration of a pair of dragons and Kala's head. To reach the door, which is located about 120 cm from the ground, is a ladder equipped with a pair of Makara that stretches down and mouth open. Inside Makara's mouth are also parrots carrying rice grains in the beak.

This main temple has a room where each side of the wall has a false window-like niche. Each niche is flanked by sculptures depicting a pair of gods and goddesses. In the middle of the room is a phallus supported by a turtle-headed snake. The creature originates from the Hindu myth to symbolize the support of the earth.



The center of the temple is the axis of the earth and the union of linga and yoni symbolizes the integral unity between Brahma, Wisnu and Shiva. The linga that should have been stuck on Yoni was gone. The roof of the temple is multi-storey and is formed from a rectangular arrangement. On each side have three rows of stupas at each level. A larger stupa at the top of the roof.

Along the boundary between the roof and the walls of the temple are decorated rows of carvings with alternating patterns between vines and dwarf giants. Along the edge of the layer are decorated with rows of Kala patterned frames and each has a half body statue to depict Brahma, Wisnu or Syiwa in various hand positions.

Comments

Popular

Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Java palisandre or Indian rosewood ( Dalbergia latifolia ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight. D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves. The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green. The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish. Indian rosewood grows at elevations below 600 m,

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel ( Hibiscus surattensis ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment. H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green. The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface. Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm. Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations,

African spiral flag (Costus lucanusianus)

African spiral flag or Costus afer ( Costus lucanusianus ) is a species of plant in the Costaceae, herbaceous or shrub, up to 2 meters high, cylindrical stem, upright with a spiral movement, green with reddish midrib stripes, grows on forest floors, river banks, roadsides and abandoned lands. C. lucanusianus has oval-shaped leaves, up to 30 cm long, up to 10 cm wide, pointed tip and base, a vein in the middle, dark green upper surface and pale green lower surface. Petioles are very short. The inflorescence is in a tuber at the end of the stem, cone-shaped and about 10 cm long. The flowers are funnel-shaped, the outside is white, the inside is red with a yellow spot. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Zingiberales Family: Costaceae Genus: Costus Species: Costus lucanusianus