The Story Behind the Beauty of Plaosan Temple

As we know a temple is a sacred place to worship God and Goddess especially during Buddhist-Hindu civilization era. However, in former time, a temple was not only used as a place of worship but also as a palace, gate power of a dynasty, a bathing place for king, queen, and princess. Nowadays, the existence of a temple is never fading away regardless the changing of time. A temple also serves as a recreational place and also place to learn the history of the past at once.

We can find many temples in Bali and Java Islands because they have a long history element especially on Hindu-Buddhist beliefs. Up to now, a temple is closely related to history element, belief, religion, art and culture, one of them is Plaosan temple. It is located in Yogyakarta city, near Prambanan temple. It is only 1 km northeast of Prambanan temple, precisely at Bugisan Village, Prambanan Sub district, Klaten Regency, Yogyakarta. The distinctiveness of the temple lies on its smooth terrace surfaces and also other uniqueness. The temple has a combination of Hindu-Buddhist elements in which can attract many tourists to pay a visit. The temple was built due to a good cooperation of King Pikatan and Cri Kahulunan. Rakai Pikatan was an important figure in unifying two dynasties and building the majestic Prambanan Temple.

The Plaosan temple has some uniqueness compared to other temples, namely the “twin” main temples and also its smooth terrace surfaces. The “twin” Plaosan Temple is divided into 2, Plaosan Kidul Temple and Plaosan Lor Temple. They both are close each other, only 100 meter away. The name of Plaosan Kidul and PlaosanTemple Lor Temples are derived from Javanese, Kidul means south, located on the southern part, and Lor means north which is located on the northern part. The Plaosan Lor Temple is a part of the main temple. According to historical records, Plaosan Lor Temple was built by Rakai Panangkaran, one of the kings from Syailendra Dynasty who also built Borobudur and Sewu Temples. In fact, aside from being a tourism object and historical remain; a temple is also used for religious activities by Buddhists. Ladies, feel curious? Let’s go to visit Plaosan Temple and you’ll find the sensation there! (Athalia)