The Discovery of Borobudur Temple

For centuries, Borobudur had been buried in the darkness of history. Since the center of the culture moved from Central Java to East Java and Islam religion entered Indonesia, Borobudur Temple was totally forgotten. The remains of the greatness of Sailendra Dynasty sank into the darkness of a bushy jungle.

Borobudur was remembered again in the 18th century. In 1814, Borobudur Temple entirely emerged due to the great role of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.

A Secret Revealed

It is mentioned in history books that the discoverer of Borobudur Temple was Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. The true discoverer of the temple were in fact the people around the Borobudur hill.

Raffles was the British Governor who represented Indonesia when the country was ruled by the British (1811—1816). Raffles was very interested in the history of Java Island. Raffles travelled a lot to various areas collecting information about the history of Java Island from the officials he met. The result of the journey was compiled in his book entitled History of Java, published in 1817. Since the publication of this book, Borobudur Temple became more popular.

Raffles’ efforts brought two contrasting results. On the one hand, Borobudur Temple became popular. On the other hand, since the discovery of Borodudur, many local people took the temple’s stones to be used as building materials.

The remains of the greatness of Sailendra Dynasty was almost forgotten by the history when the center of the culture moved to East Java in the 10th century A.D.

The name of Borobudur Temple was recorded again in Babad Mataram in 1757.

The holy and sacred Borobudur hill was once the witness of the rebellions annihilation by the ruler of Mataram in the 18th century. Sang Buddha was not willing that his ”eternity” was interrupted by the rebels.

These stupas would have never emerged in the history if Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles had not been concerned about the history of Java.

Borobudur Temple was no longer an eerie place since the attempts of cleaning and conserving, but during the same time, many stones were stolen from the temple.

Borobudur Temple became popular and will never be forgotten since the publication of ” History of Java” in 1817.

Check out my other guide on The Location of Borobudur Temple
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