Gebang (; ) is an 8th-century

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

located on the outskirts of

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The temple is located at Gebang hamlet, Wedomartani village, Ngemplak,

Sleman Regency Sleman Regency (; ) is an Indonesian regency () on the island of Java. It is located in the north of the Yogyakarta Special Region, Yogyakarta Special Administrative Region, Indonesia, and has an area of , with a population of 1,093,110 at the ...

Special Region of Yogyakarta The Special Region of Yogyakarta is a province-level special region of Indonesia in southern Java. It is a semi-enclave that is surrounded by on the landward side by Central Java Province to the west, north, and east, but has a long coastline ...

. The temple was built during the Mataram Kingdom. There are no assuring historical backgrounds or inscription records concerning the temple. However the high proportion of the temple feet indicates that the temple was built in the old period of Kingdom of Mataram, c. 730 to 800.

Discovery

In November 1936, a villager discovered a

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

statue. The Art and Archaeological Services (''Oudheid Dienst'') led an excavation and discovered that the Ganesha statue was part of a small stone building. The archaeological excavation was conducted that year and discovered a temple ruin, the andesite stones that parts of the roof and the base appeared to be intact. Besides the parts of the building, the excavation also yielded some artifacts such as pottery, statuettes, stone boxes (peripih), and lingam. The temple is named "Gebang" as the name of the village. During its discovery, the temple wall and roof collapsed, however, the base was still intact. The temple ruin was buried under

Mount Merapi Mount Merapi (, ) is an active stratovolcano located on the border between the province of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is loc ...

volcanic

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

sediments. The temple was reconstructed by Van Romondt from 1937 to 1939.

Structure

Gebang temple displayed

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple features. The square base is measured 5.25 x 5.25 metres, and the temple is 7.75 metres in height. There are no entrance stairs, or probably one was made from organic wooden material that already decayed. The temple faces east with the entrance located on the eastern side. On each side of the portal, there are two niches which were filled with statues of Nandiswara on the right side. In November 1989 the head of Nandiswara was stolen. The left niche probably hosted a

Mahakala Mahākāla (, ) is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as a ''Dharmapala, Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma") and a Wrathful deities, wrathful manifestation of a The Buddha, Buddha, while in Hindu ...

statue as the counterpart of Nandiswara, however, there was no Mahakala statue ever discovered here. In the inner chamber, there is a

Yoni ''Yoni'' (Sanskrit: योनि, ), sometimes called ''pindika'', is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is usually shown with ''linga'' – its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging ...

placed in the center of the room. On the outer wall there are three niches on the north, south, and east sides of the temple. The north and south niches are empty, however on the west side there is a

statue sitting on a yoni with a spout. Compared to other Hindu temples in Yogyakarta vicinity, Gebang temple has a unique architectural style; on the roof, small heads of divinity appear from a

window frame A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent materi ...

and male divine bodies (

devata ''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human ac ...

) seated in the small niches. This divinity head is called ''kudu''. Similar roof ornament styles depicting heads of the gods also appeared on the roof of Bima temple in

Dieng temples Dieng temples () are a group of 7th and/or eighth-century Hindu Candi of Indonesia, ''candi'' or temple compounds located in Dieng Plateau, near Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. These edifices originate from the Kalingga Kingdom. The plate ...

Dieng Plateau The Dieng Plateau, often called simply Dieng (; ) is a plateau in Central Java, Indonesia that forms the floor of the caldera complex on the Dieng Volcanic Complex. Administratively, this plateau is included in the territory of Banjarnegara Regen ...

, Central Java. The top of the temple is crowned with

ratna Ratna (रत्न) (also Rathna or Rathan) is a Sanskrit term for " jewel". It is also a popular female Hindu name. Ratna may refer to: People * Ratna, Queen Mother of Nepal (born 1928), Queen Consort of Nepal from 1955 to 1972 * Ratna Fa ...

. On the temple yard there are four pseudo-lingam on its four corners.

References

* Information board on the location of the temple, Archaeological Office of Yogyakarta Province

External links

Map of location at wikimapia.org
{{coord, -7.751454, 110.416117, display=title Hindu temples in Indonesia Archaeological sites in Indonesia Buildings and structures in the Special Region of Yogyakarta Mataram kingdom Sleman Regency Cultural Properties of Indonesia in Yogyakarta

Discovery

Structure

See also

References

External links