Skip to main content

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.

Dlium Sojiwan Temple

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.

Popular Posts

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

Golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata)

Kepik emas or golden tortoise beetle ( Charidotella sexpunctata ) is a type of leaf beetle species in the Chrysomelidae family, up to 14mm long and bright golden in glass discs. These insects usually live on Ipomoea carnea trees that grow in environments close to water. C. sexpunctata takes refuge in a transparent disc consisting of three parts with four signs as fals legs, a pair of antennas and six legs. This beetle is able to change color if it feels threatened by flowing liquid between the cuticles and the glittering gold color turns into blood red or worn brown. Kepik emas usually lay eggs up to 20 items, white and attached to the branches or on the underside of the leaves. Yellowish or reddish brown larvae will appear from eggs that hatch within 5 to 10 days. Adults and larvae eat leaves which cause large holes. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Chrysomelidae Subfamily: Cassidinae Tribe: Aspidimorphini Genus: Aspidimor...

Bitter vine (Mikania micrantha)

Sembung rambat or bitter vine ( Mikania micrantha ) is a plant species in Asteraceae, crawling or wrapped around trees, perennial that grows up to 27 mm per day in tropical climates, branched stems where heart-shaped or triangular leaves are arranged in pairs and a plant can cover more than 25 square meters in a few months. M. micrantha has square-shaped stems or longitudinal bones, light green, many branches and has fine hairs. The stems have segments for lengths of 75-215 mm, each segment has a pair of leaves, new shoots and flowers. New roots grow when the segments come in contact with the soil. The leaves are in pairs and facing each other. Strands do not have hair, heart-shaped or triangular with jagged edges, length 30-125 mm, width 15-60 mm. Petiole is 1-6 cm long and has fine hairs. The flower panicle grows from the armpit of the leaf and the tip of the stem, having 3-15 mm long stems. Each flower head has 4 minor flowers. The crown is greenish-white, tubular and measures ...