The Spread of Hinduism In

Southeast Asia: Java and Cambodia

Southeast Asian Art

Java

Java (Indonesian: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia. It  is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely-populated places on the globe.  It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhistempires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies.

Java

More than 90 percent of the people of Java are Muslims, on a broad continuum between abangan (more traditional) and santri (more modernist). Small Hindu enclaves are scattered throughout Java, but there is a large Hindu population along the eastern coast nearest Bali, especially around the town of Banyuwangi.

Temple of Borobudur

A. Borobudur: Buddhist Art in Indonesia

Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

Temple of Borobudur

Temple of Borobudur

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely Kāmadhātu (world of desire), Rupadhatu (world of forms) and Arupadhatu (world of formlessness). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades.

Temple of Borobudur

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians.

Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument. Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

Temple of Borobudur

One of the most spectacular of these is the Buddhist temple of Borobudur that lies in Eastern Java on the Kedu Plain. It is surrounded by an idyllic landscape of incomparable beauty of rice-terraced hills and overlooked by four volcanoes. The industrious subjects of the Sailendra dynasty built it over a period of 80 years in the ninth century who transformed a volcanic plug of basalt into a stepped pyramid with a base measuring 120 metres square and a height of 35 metres.

Reliefs depicting the life of the Buddha cover the upper half of the main wall all around the first gallery of the monument, a total of 120 panels. These reliefs were carved to illustrate a text entitled the Lalitavistara, "The Unfolding of the Play." The above relief shows Sakyamuni having left the palace and dismissed his horse and groom, stands at the left beneath a parasol, bidding farewell to the supernatural beings who accompanied him.

Borobudur: Carving of the Reliefs

Construction at Borobudur probably began around AD 760 and seems to have been completed by about 830. Work on the reliefs was probably divided among several groups of sculptors. The masters first sketched the main outlines of the scenes, and their apprentices then did most of the rough work. The masters returned in the final stages to apply the finishing touches to the panels.

A. Monk chiselling the story title of the relief panel.B. The master using a piece of charcoal to draw the scene of

the panel.C. An apprentice chiselled out the characters and figures.D. The master carved the finer details on the figures such as

their jewellery and clothing.E. Next white plaster was applied over the panel.F. The relief was then painted in pastel colours.

Cambodia

Cambodia , or Kampuchea, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia

In 802 AD Jayavarman II declared himself king which marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire. Successive kings flourished which marked the Khmer empire's immense power and wealth who dominate much of South East Asia for over 600 years.

Cambodia

Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan kingdom. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions. Cambodia is the home to one of the only two temples dedicated to Brahma in the world. Angkor Wat of Cambodia is the largest Hindu temple of the world.

Angkor Wat: Cult of the God King

Angkor Wat: Cult of the God King

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building.

Angkor Wat: Cult of the God King

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next.

Angkor Wat: Cult of the God King

The land on which Angkor Wat is located, "the Angkor lands", was not chosen as a settlement site because of any pre-existing sacred importance, but for the Khmers strategic military position and agricultural potential. However, in time the city of Angkor became a great pilgrimage destination because of the cult of Devaraja, the 'god-king'. From the era of Jayavaram II (802-850AD) onwards.

Khmer Sculpture: A Glorious Tradition

Yama, Lord of the Dead Courtyard, National Museum of Cambodia Khmer, 12th century

The god is sitting without his usual buffalo mount. This celebrated piece comes from Angkor Thom's Terrace of the Leper King.

Throne HallRoyal Palace, Phnom Penh

1886-1919

Kaurava General

-Battle of Kurukshetra 

-South wing of west gallery 

-Angkor Wat

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/seasia.html#cambodia

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/buddhist-art/boro.htm

http://www.christianaggression.org/item_display.php?type=NEWS&id=1235016160

http://www.the-nri.com/index.php/2010/06/on-the-ramayana-trail-ii-reamker/

Raffles, Thomas E. : " The History of Java". Oxford University Press, 1965. Page 2

GROUP 5

ARROJO, Sharmaine CATALAN, John Paolo

GALICIA, Ma. Ysabel Lotti GALIDO, John Michael GUEMO, Geffrey Isaac

HIDAKA, Leianne Sakura 1IND-2