Sumberawan is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

located in Toyomarto village, Sumberawan subdistrict,

Malang Regency Malang Regency (Javanese script, Javanese: ꦏꦧꦸꦥꦠꦼꦤ꧀ꦩꦭꦁ; Pegon script, Pegon: كابوڤاتين مالاڠ; Osob Kiwalan: ''ngalaM'') is the second largest Regency (Indonesia), regency in East Java, Indonesia, with a total a ...

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

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 stupa is located in the highlands, on the southern slope of Mount Arjuno, surrounded by numerous Springs. It is located about 6 kilometres north of

Singhasari temple Singhasari Temple or ''Candi Singhasari'' is a 13th-century syncretic Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist Candi of Indonesia, temple located in Singosari district, Malang Regency, East Java in Indonesia. Location The temple is located on Jalan Kertanegara ...

. The stupa is traditionally linked to the historic

Singhasari Singhasari ( or , ), also known as Tumapel, was a Javanese people, Javanese Hindu-Buddist empires, Hindu-Buddhist Monarchy, kingdom located in east Java (island), Java between 1222 and 1292. The kingdom succeeded the Kingdom of Kediri as th ...

Kingdom that ruled the area circa 13th Century CE, however experts suggest that it dates from about the end of 14th century to the beginning of 15th century, during

Majapahit Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island o ...

period.

Structure

Sumberawan is quite unique, since it was the only Buddhist shrine in East Java that was built in the shape of

structure. In contrast to Buddhist temples in the region that built in typical candi architecture; such as nearby

, Jago, Brahu in

Trowulan Trowulan is an archaeological site in Trowulan (subdistrict), Trowulan Subdistrict, Mojokerto Regency, in the Indonesian province of East Java. It includes approximately 100 square kilometres and has been theorized to be the site of the eponymo ...

and Jabung temple in Paiton. The stupa consists of square base and cylindrical body of bell-shaped stupa, akin to Central Javanese

Borobudur Borobudur, also transcribed Barabudur (, ), is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency, near the city of Magelang and the town of Muntilan, in Central Java, Indonesia. Constructed of gray andesite-like stone, the temple consi ...

-style stupa, while the pinnacle is missing. The structure is made of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

stone. The structure consists of a square base, pedestal, and a stupa. Rectangular base measures each sides 6.30 metres and 2.60 metres in height. Above the base is the rectangular pedestal measuring side of 5.04 m and height of 1.08 meters. The stupa consists of a rectangular-shaped pedestal measuring 4.24 x 4.24 m, the lower part of the stupa with an octagonal shape, topped with a rounded lotus-shaped cushion and a bell-shaped stupa body. The height of the stupa is 2.42 m. Total measurement of the stupa is 6.25 metres in length, width of 6.25 metres, and height of 5.23 metres.

Location

Built at an altitude of 650 m above sea level, at the foot of Mount Arjuno, the scenery around this temple is quite beautiful. The temple is located near a

water spring A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important fo ...

with a very clear water, thus gave the name of the temple; ''Sumber-awan'', in Javanese ''sumber'' means "water spring", while ''awan'' means "noon". It is thought the clear spring in the past is considered as a holy spring, essential for Hindu-Buddhist rituals. Thus the shrine was built as the landmarker, the guardian and the protector of the water spring.

History

This site has been identified with Kasurangganan, or 'the garden of the heavenly nymphs', which was mentioned in the

Nagarakretagama The ''Nagarakretagama'' or ''Nagarakṛtāgama'', also known in Bali as ''Desawarnana'' or ''Deśavarṇana'', is an Old Javanese eulogy to Hayam Wuruk, a Javanese king of the Majapahit Empire. It was written on lontar as a ''kakawin'' by ...

manuscript as having been visited by King

Hayam Wuruk Hayam Vuruk ( Indonesian: ''Hayam Wuruk'', Sanskrit: हयम् वुरुक्, Kawi: ꦲꦪꦩ꧀ꦮꦸꦫꦸꦏ꧀) (1334–1389), also called Rajasanagara, Pa-ta-na-pa-na-wu, or Bhatara Prabhu after 1350, was a Javanese Hindu emperor fr ...

of Majapahit during his royal tour across his realm in East Java in 1359. The numbers written on the stones of dagoba (small stupa) indicate the period between the 11th and 15th centuries. However, examining the architecture and style, this simple form of stupa is thought to originate from between late 14th to early 15th century. In modern times, Sumberawan temple was first discovered during the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

period in 1904. In 1935 a visit was made by researchers from the Archaeological Service. In 1937 a restoration was carried out on the base and pedestal parts of the structure, while the rest of stupa was reconstructed modestly, since most of the stones of stupa and ''chattra'' pinnacle are missing.

References

{{Indonesia topics Sumberawan Cultural Properties of Indonesia in East Java Singhasari 14th-century Buddhist temples

Structure

Location

History

See also

References