The Mendut- A Beautiful Buddhist Temple Near Borobudur

The Mendut Temple is a Buddhist temple a part of the Borobudur series of temples

hello guys continue my article about temples in Indonesia

this time I will write about the Mendut temple a beautiful Buddhist temple

Mendut Temple is located in the Magelang district

and very close to Borobudur Temple

By the way, there are several temples in Magelang besides the Borobudur temple

Besides Mendut and Borobudur temples,

there is one more temple which is a series of three temples,

namely the Pawon temple which I will write about in the next article.

The Mendut temple

Okay, now we are back at Mendut Temple.

Mendut temple is a temple that is included in the category of Buddhist temples.

Built in the 9th century in the era of ancient Mataram by the Shailendra dynasty.

Estimated to be older than the Borobudur temple, this temple was only discovered in 1836.

when found all buildings were intact except the roof which was not there

The history of Mendut temple

As I mentioned earlier this Mendut temple is a Buddhist temple

and was built in the ancient Mataram era by the Shailendra dynasty

the construction itself is estimated at the beginning of the 9th century

According to an archaeologist from the Netherlands named J.G De Casparis

the construction of this Mendut temple is estimated at around 824.

this is evident from the inscriptions found

This inscription is called the Karangtengah inscription

According to the inscription found in the year 824,

it is said that King Indra had built a sacred building called Wenuwana

Wenuwana itself means bamboo forest

De Casparis then estimated that Wenuwana was a Mendut temple

Even Mendut Temple is estimated to be older than Borobudur Temple

The restoration

When it was found the condition of the temple building was intact but the roof was damaged

Then in 1897 and 1904 restoration was carried out

which was financed by the Dutch East Indies government

Reconstruction and restoration were carried out in 1908

led by Theodore Van Erp

This reconstruction aims to complete the construction of the roof of the temple

Reconstruction and restoration had stopped due to financing problems

But in 1925 the restoration was continued until it was completed

Building patterns and architecture

Mendut Temple is a Buddhist temple that is rectangular in shape

and has a height of about 27 meters

This temple is built on a rock as high as 2 meters

The raw material for Mendut Temple is made of bricks mixed with Andesite stone

and that mixture makes this building strong and sturdy

In this temple, there are 3 Buddha statues

and a statue of Buddha Sakyamuni who is sitting in meditation

On the walls of the temple, there are various reliefs depicting Buddhist teachings

The relief images include images of a swan and a turtle

There are also pictures of two different birds

And also a relief image of the god Brahma and a crab

In addition to the reliefs in this temple, there are also many stupas and statues

From the shape and architecture of the Mendut temple,

many experts think that the shape of the Mendut temple

is similar to the Arjuna temple in Dieng

and the Gedong Songo temple in Bandungan, Semarang.

if you have a plan to visit the Borobudur temple

you have to stop by and visit the Mendut temple.

because the location Is very close.

the distance from Borobudur to Mendut is only 1km

and as a complement to visiting a series of  temple

So I think why did you not complete your journey?