Sojiwan Temple

Sojiwan Temple or Candi Sojiwan or Candi Sajiwan is a Buddhist monument in the Kewu Plain, village of Kebon Dalem Kidul, Prambanan District, Klaten Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. This temple has a characteristic that is 20 reliefs at the foot of the temple associated with the stories of Pancatantra or Jataka.

Sojiwan temple was completely restored in 2011. Some inscriptions say that was built between 842 and 850 AD. The Rukam inscription in 829 Saka (907 AD) mentions the ceremony of the inauguration of the improvement of Rukam Village by Nini Haji Rakryan Sanjiwana which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

The residents of Rukam Village were given the obligation to maintain a sacred building located in Limwung. The sacred building was later attributed to the Sojiwan Temple, while Nini Haji Rakryan Sanjiwana was associated as Queen Pramodhawardhani.

Sojiwan Temple was first reported in 1813 by Colonel Colin Mackenzie, a messenger of Raffles, who was collecting archaeological information on Java. Mackenzie was researching ancient relics around the Prambanan area and found the remnants of the wall surrounding this temple.

Architecture

Sojiwan temple is in the style of 9th-century Central Javanese architecture which consists of three parts: the base, body and roof. The complex has 8,140 square meters where the main structure is 401.3 square meters, 27 meters high and facing west. The dwarapala statue that has been damaged has also been found in this temple complex.

The fable relief of the story of Jataka animals surrounds the foot of the temple. The stairs on the west side are flanked by the Makara statue, but only one remains while the other one is gone. At the top of the stairs there is an ornate gate.

The body of the temple is full of carved tendrils, but many stones are lost and plain stones have been replaced. The room inside is now empty, only niches and thrones that might be a place to store Buddha or Bodhisattva statues that have also been lost.

A statue of Buddha that had been damaged and lost its head was found inside the complex. These three-tiered and multi-storey temples have a range of stupas. The top of the temple is the crown of a large stupa.

Reliefs

At the foot of the temple has a relief scene taken from the story of the Pancatantra or jataka fable. The number of reliefs presents 12 scenes. Relief stories are read to the south, but many of these reliefs are worn out and apprehensive.

Relief 1: Two men fighting.
Relief 2: Goose and turtle.
Relief 3: Race between Garuda and the turtle.
Relief 4: Apes and crocodiles.
Relief 5: Rats and snakes.
Relief 6: Wolves and crooked women.
Relief 7: King and daughter of the patih.
Relief 8: Elephants and goats.
Relief 9: Lion man.
Relief 10: Wolves and bulls.
Relief 11: Kinnara.
Relief 12: Lion and bull.

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