page_title: Buddhist architecture
section_title: Indonesia
hierarchical_section_title: Buddhist architecture / Regional Buddhist architecture / Indonesia
caption_attribution_description: English: Borobudur temple view from northwest plateau, Central Java, Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia: Pemandangan Candi Borobudur dari dataran di sisi Barat Laut, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia.
context_page_description: Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries, places to venerate relics, and shrines or prayer halls, which later came to be called temples in some places.
  The initial function of a stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of Gautama Buddha. The earliest surviving example of a stupa is in Sanchi.
  In accordance with changes in religious practice, stupas were gradually incorporated into chaitya-grihas. These are exemplified by the complexes of the Ajanta Caves and the Ellora Caves. The Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar is another well-known example.
  The pagoda is an evolution of the Indian stupas.
  .
context_section_description: Buddhism and Hinduism reach Indonesian archipelago in early first millennia. The oldest surviving temple structure in 
  Java is Batujaya temples in Karawang, West Java, dated as early as 5th century. The temple was a Buddhist sites, as evidence of the discovered Buddhist votive tablets, and the brick stupa structure.
  The apogee of ancient Indonesian Buddhist art and architecture was the era of Javanese Shailendra dynasty that ruled the Mataram Kingdom in Central Java circa 8th to 9th century CE. The most remarkable example is the 9th century Borobudur, a massive stupa that took form of an elaborate stepped pyramid that took plan of stone mandala. The walls and balustrades are decorated with exquisite bas reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 square metres. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. 
  Borobudur is recognised as the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
caption: Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
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