Borobudur Stupa
By: Gotsaga

Borobudur is a ninth-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.^[1] A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

Sometime before the 5th century AD, the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism spread southward from the mainland of Southeast Asia to the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and a few others in the archipelago currently called Indonesia.

(It is misleading to think of all of Indonesia as either an ancient empire or the province of any particular religion.

The vast archipelago of over 13,000 islands became the nation of Indonesia only in 1949 and only a few of its major islands were ever settled or much influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam).

 There are no archaeological remains of temples in the Indianized states of Java prior to the end of the seventh century as the early Hindu structures were built of wood and have long since decayed in the moist tropic climate.

The first stone temples, Shiva shrines constructed during the eighth century, are found high on the Dieng plateau, the name Dieng meaning 'the place of the gods'.

The greatest concentration of Javanese sacred architecture, however, lies on the plain of Kedu, some 42 kilometers north-west of the present city of Yogyakarta.

 Here stands the beautiful Hindu temple complex of Prambanam and the world famous Hindu/Buddhist temple of Borobudur.