Damz's Trip on the Mendut Temple

by Damara Zahra Wibowo

Alhamdulillah ...
At the end of 2019, I had a lot of travel experience with my family. After going to several tourist attractions, I ended this holiday by visiting Mendut Temple.

I think, this is a beautiful temple... although, may be all of you more familiar with Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple

I want to tell you the story about this temple, the results of searching on the internet and reading the story of Mendut Temple on the information board at the temple location.

This is the story...


LOCATION
Mendut Temple is located on Mayor Kusen street, Mendut Village, Mungkid District, Magelang Regency, Central Java Province. Mendut Temple is about 3 km’s from Borobudur Temple. Like Borobudur Temple, the geographical environment of Mendut Temple is surrounded by Mount Merapi and Merbabu to the east, Sindoro and Sumbing Mountains to the north, and the Menoreh Mountains to the south, and lies between the Progo and Elo Rivers. Mendut Temple was erected on a flat land located west of road and between residential areas.

HISTORY OF DISCOVERY

This Buddhist temple was first rediscovered in 1836. At that time in a collapsed state, buried in the ground, and overgrown with shrubs, then in that year the temple began to be cleaned. The entire Mendut Temple building was discovered by the Government of the Dutch East Indies, except for the roof. The survey of Mendut Temple and its environment was carried out for the first time at the end of the 19th century by B. Kersjes and C. den Hamer. The survey is intended to determine the actions that must be taken to preserve temples for future generations.

In the years 1897-1904 carried out excavation, restoration, and initial repair work by the Dutch. The restoration succeeded in building the legs and body of the temple. In 1908, T. van Erp became a leader for the reconstruction activities which aimed to continue repairing the second phase of Mendut Temple together with the repair of Borobudur Temple, but the repairs were not finished because the roof could not be installed. Subsequent improvements were also carried out in 1925 which resulted in several small stupas which could be re-attached to the roof of the temple. Thanks to this reconstruction effort, we can now enjoy the uniqueness of the Mendut temple while learning the history of the Mendut temple and the message behind each of its architecture.

HISTORY The history of Mendut temple is also an interesting topic to discuss. Mendut Temple is one of the Buddhist temples that is quite popular, both nationally and internationally. This temple is called Mendut because it is located in Mendut Village. The word Mendut itself comes from the words Venu, Vana, Mandira which means temple in the middle of a bamboo forest. The early history of the construction of the Mendut temple still has several versions and the truth is uncertain.
Mendut Temple was established during the reign of King Indra of the Syailendra dynasty. In the Karangtengah inscription which dates to 824 AD, it is stated that Raja Indra had built a sacred building called crimad wenuwana which means it was a sacred building in a bamboo forest. According to J.G. de Casparis, archeologist from the Netherlands this word is associated with the founding of the Mendut Temple.
It is estimated that the age of Mendut Temple is older than Borobudur Temple or at least, the same age as Borobudur Temple. This is based on the findings of the short writing (inscription) which allegedly originated from the top of the entrance. In terms of paleography, the writings have similarities with the short writings listed at the top of the relief panel of Karmawibhangga Borobudur Temple. After about a century, this building became a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. This temple was later neglected along with the collapse of the Ancient Matara Kingdom, buried in soil and sand due to the eruption of Mount Merapi, earthquakes, and the loss of temple stones because it was used by the surrounding community for personal purposes. Therefore, the reconstruction of buildings is needed so that the temple's body can be reshaped.

ARCHITECTURE The building material of the temple is actually a brick covered with natural stone in the form of andesite. The roof has three stories and is decorated with small stupas. The number of small stupas that are installed now is 48 units. The height of this temple building is 26.4 meters. Mendut Temple faces northwest, opposite Borobudur Temple which faces East. Batur height (the foot of the temple) as high as 3.7 meters and there is an entrance ladder consisting of 14 steps. One-story temple building, with stairs on the northwest side. At the foot of the temple there is a ledge as high as 1 meter and as wide as 2.48 meters wide. The temple building is architecturally divided into 3 parts, namely legs, body, and roof.
The base of the staircase's cheek is decorated with makara, an elephant-shaped dragon's head whose mouth is wide open. This Makara amounted to 2 pieces (a pair). Inside the dragon's mouth is a lion. Under the dragon's head is a dwarf shaped panel (Gana).

RELIEF The cheek walls of the stairs are adorned with carved panels (ornaments used for handles) depicting various stories containing Buddhist teachings (reliefs of Pañcatantra and Jataka stories). Pañcatantra is a world literary work that originated in Kashmir, India and was written in the first centuries AD. This Pañcatantra tells the story of a brahman named Wisnusarma who taught the three princes of the son of King Amarasakti about worldly wisdom and life, or more specifically called political science or constitutional science. The study consists of five books, which is why it is called Pañcatantra which literally means "five teachings". These five sections constitute five different aspects of the teaching of the brahmana. The passages in the Sanskrit books which are entrusted with Tantrakhyāyika and are considered the oldest Pañcatantra, are as follows:

1. Mitrabheda (Friends Difference)
2. Mitraprāpti (Arrival of Friends)
3. Kākolūkīya (War and Peace)
4. Labdhanāśa (Losing Luck)
5. Aparīkṣitakāritwa (Rash Actions)

The distinctive feature of this Pañcatantra is that the story is told in the form of a story frame and contains many fables. This frame story is also called kathāmukha and the stories are all strung together. After each story which is usually in the form of prose, the moral of the story is summarized in the form of a verse. Many Pañcatantra fable stories are based on jataka stories. The reliefs in Mendut Temple are stories in the form of moral teachings by using animal figures as characters. There are 31 panels containing story reliefs at the base of the temple's body, including the relief stories "Brahmins and Crabs", "Geese and Turtles", "Two Different Betet Birds" and "Dharmabuddhi and Dustabuddhi".
Brahmin and Crab Relief tells of a brahmin who saves a crab. These crabs then return the favor by saving the Brahmins from the interference of crows and snakes.

about Brahmin and crab relief, geese and turtles Relief of Geese and Turtles about a turtle being flown by two geese into the lake. But this tortoise feels offended by the swan's words. The tortoise releases its bite so it falls to the ground and dies.

Dharmabuddhi and Dustabuddhi talked about two different friends who behaved differently. Dustabuddhi has a despicable nature of accusing Dharmabuddhi of doing despicable acts, but eventually his crime was exposed and Dustabuddhi was sentenced. The last relief tells the story of the behavior of two very different parrots because one was raised by a Brahmin and the other by a robber.
Relief on the body of Mendut Temple can be seen pradaksina (running clockwise), consisting of reliefs of the pantheon of gods known as the Garbhadatu Mandala from the Buddhism of the Tantrayana school, namely:
1. Boddhisattva Avalokiteswara
2. Boddhisattva Maitreya
3. Boddhisattva devi Cunda among Buddhist figures
4. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha
5. Boddhisattva Samantabhadra
6. Mahakarunika Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara among Buddhist figures
In the part in front of the entrance there is a temple viewer. The temple viewer section has a relief sculpture which is located right and left of the entrance to the main hall of the temple. The inside walls of the viewer are decorated with Kuwera or Avataka reliefs and Hariti reliefs. The Kuwera reliefs are carved on the north wall, Hariti reliefs carved on the south wall.

Temple Elements:
1. Statue
In the temple's chambers there are three statues of Buddha, namely the statue of Cakyamuni sitting cross-legged in a position to preach, the statue of Avalokitesvara as a human aid bodhisattva, and the statue of Maitreya as the Bodhisattva of the liberation of man in the future.
2. Stupa
Based on the reconstruction draft, the roof of Mendut contained 48 stupas, consisting of 24 units at the first level, 16 units at the second level, and 8 at the top. Until now the roof of this temple is not entirely perfect. There are also forms of stupas extending upward like a cylinder. However, these stupas are still reconstructed to the north of Mendut Temple and cannot yet be installed on the temple.


In some places along the outer wall of the ledge there are jaladwara or channels to remove water from the corridor. Jaladwara is found in most temples in Central Java and Yogyakarta. Jaladwara in Mendut Temple is leaner and smaller than Jaladwara in Borobudur Temple.
Note: Jaladwara / water channel.