Borobudur, the greatest Buddhist temple nearby Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Borobudur Temple is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world. It is located at 42 kms west of Yogyakarta, on the island of Java in Indonesia. This colossal relic of Borobudur Temple was built by Sailendra dynasty between 750 and 842 AD. This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. “Borobudur” is usually translated as “temple on the hill”.
The plan for this stupa is a schematized representation of the cosmos, a mandala. After visiting its lower terraces decorated with bas-reliefs, pilgrims attain the shrine’s crowning stupa, which symbolizes the Absolute. 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, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless).
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Virtual tour of Borobudur
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