Temple of Exar Kun The Temple of Exar Kun , also known as the Tomb of Exar Kun or the Dark Temple was a Sith temple on Yavin 4 . It was located northeast of the Great Temple . Design and Layout . The temple was situated on a volcanic island called the Isle of Kun in the middle of a deep lake and it could only be reached on foot by stepping stones . These were set a few centimeters beneath the surface of the water , which forced all who crossed them to approach the temple with their heads bowed , so they could watch their feet . The temple itself was made from polished black - colored obsidian that was studded with corusca gems . It was etched with Sith hieroglyphics and pictographs , that translated as magic incantations to protect the temple and call doom to its defilers . At its apex was a large statue of the Sith Lord Exar Kun and outside , there was a small courtyard . Inside , the temple had just one chamber and catacombs beneath it . These consisted of a number of chambers , interlinked by tunnels . The last chamber contained the sarcophagus of Exar Kun , where presumably his body was intended to be placed after his death , although it is unknown if this actually happened , as he fused his spirit into the very walls of the Yavin 4 temples — possibly taking his body too . The temple also had a water cistern inside of it . History . Just before he fully embraced the dark side of the Force , the fallen Jedi Exar Kun came to Yavin 4 , where he enslaved the native Massassi , who saw him as a god . He had them construct temples in his honor , one of which would later become known as the Temple of Exar Kun . Kun used the temple as a private retreat , where he went to further his studies of the Force . Shortly before his death at the end of the Great Sith War in 3996 BBY , Kun drew upon the life forces of the entire Massassi population to transfer his spirit into the temple , where his spirit resided for the next four thousand years . The temple was rediscovered during the Battle of Yavin by a Rebel naturalist called Dr ' uun Unnh . He instantly realized that it was a Sith temple and was intrigued by the fact that , while all the other temples on Yavin 4 were worn and ruined , this temple showed no signs of aging at all . Unnh was killed shortly after , when his speeder bike was hit by a crashed TIE / LN starfighter , but details of the temple were recovered on his datapad , by a search team . In 1 ABY , Professor Walter Emanus led a University of Corellia archaeological expedition to the temple and discovered a number of rare artifacts , such as the Valahorn . However , when their excavations uncovered the catacombs beneath the temple , they reawakened the spirit of Exar Kun . They became enslaved to the spirit and formed the Cult of Exar Kun . The cult based itself in the catacombs , until they were driven out by a team of spacers , sent by Professor Cornelius Wagglehorn , a colleague of Emanus from the University . Jan Dodonna and Luke Skywalker were also present at the temple at some point during the excavation and a spacer aided them with a number of tasks in evacuating the base . The spacers were sometimes halted in the temple by Rebel soldiers who were possessed by Kun ' s spirit . Skywalker later set up a Jedi Praxeum in the Great Temple on Yavin 4 in 11 ABY . On his arrival , he could sense Kun ' s dark presence inside the temple , something that he hadn ' t sensed when on Yavin 4 before , when his Jedi abilities were less well developed . The spirit of Exar Kun was reawakened and set about luring his pupils to his temple , where he attempted to turn them to the dark side of the Force . Gantoris and Streen traveled to the temple and while they were there , two corusca gems flaked of its walls and landed at Gantoris ' s feet . This was presumably caused by Kun , and Gantoris used them in the construction of his lightsaber . Kun succeeded in turning Gantoris , but when he resisted , he destroyed him . Later , Kyp Durron and Dorsk 81 journeyed to the temple . There , Kyp put his companion to sleep while he learned from the Sith Lord . Kun wanted to kill Dorsk on a whim , as a demonstration of his power , but Kyp prevented this , by asking the Dark Lord to teach him everything he knew . Corran Horn also visited the temple soon after and Kun promised to help him find his missing wife , Mirax , if he became his student . Horn resisted , but Kun came close to breaking him , until Mara Jade arrived and temporarily distracted him . The Dark Lord then realized this , while the other Jedi students worked to vanquish his spirit , which they succeeded in doing . With Exar Kun destroyed , Kyp was redeemed to the light side of the Force . On Kyp ' s return to Yavin 4 , Luke took him to the temple , to face a test similar to the experience Luke had in the Dark Side Cave on Dagobah . Instead of Vader , Kyp faced Exar Kun and passed the test , by refusing to strike him down with anger . Kun then resolved into Kyp ' s dead brother Zeth as a Force ghost , much as Luke had seen himself in Vader ' s mask . Zeth ' s image was probably formed through the Force powers in the temple in which he appeared to teach Kyp an important lesson , though it is impossible to say for sure . Shortly after , Corran Horn gained Luke ' s permission to destroy the temple , as he had seen firsthand how Sith writings had corrupted the Jensaarai and he didn ' t want the writings in the temple to lead anyone else to the dark side . He attacked it in his X - wing , beginning by firing proton torpedos at the statue of Exar Kun . The fragments of this rained down , with some damaging the interior of the temple , while others plummeted into the lake . He then switched to lasers and targeted the exterior of the temple , strafing it back and forth until it collapsed and heating it up so that all the writings on it were destroyed . When he had finished , almost no traces of it remained .