The Architecture Of Candi Borobudur

The Site
An unusual conception of a monument built on and around a partly artificial hill, Candi Borobudur was constructed during the reign of the Syailendra Dynasty, in the Central Javanese period of Indo-Javanese history, between 650 and 930 A.D. (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 20) The monument stands in the Kedu Valley between the twin volcanoes – Mt. Sundoro and Mt. Sumbing to the west, and Mt. Merabu and Mt. Merapi to the east – at the confluence of River Progo and Elo. Indubitably, the choice of situating Borobudur in the proximity of these intersections was “to evoke the most sacred confluence of all… to seek a replica of holy places”. (Jacques Dumarcay, Borobudur, 21-22) Also, for a monument of such massive scale, abundant
(UNESCO. The Restoration of Borobudur, 30), consisting a total of “504 Buddha statues, 1460 stone reliefs on the walls and balustrades, and 1212 decorative reliefs augmenting the path.” (Gordon, Borobudur) In the study of Borobudur’s form and layout, note that “the Borobudur builders naturally never thought of the possibility that a human being could approach the sanctuary from the air and observe its layout in so god-like a way”. (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 23) This explains why the structure of Borobudur is a type of “enclosure architecture” – it is made up of several enclosures, “one surrounding the other… with each new enclosure situated several meters higher than the one before” (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 23). Horizontally, the walls accentuate Borobudur’s “closed” character, enclosing a space within that is separated from the outer world. Vertically, however, it is completely exposed to the skies, and this “vertical openness is a characteristic of any walled-in enclosing structure meant to be inaccessible to profane elements”. (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 23) In its essence, Borobudur is a “solid mass of earth and stones… there are walls but no roofs, there is a horizontal but no vertical dimension.” (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 142) Hence, this symbolic idea of its
A closer examination of the section of Borobudur’s pyramidal structure reveals the metaphysical symbolism behind the horizontal division of the square substructure and circular terraces, where Borobudur may be regarded “as a replica of the cosmos as indicated by Indian and Buddhist cosmology” and as a symbol of the sacred cosmic Mount Meru. (A.J. Bernet Kempers, Ageless Borobudur, 152) This is interpreted from the clear horizontal tripartite division of Borobudur: The earthbound base encasement representing Kāmadhātu or the ‘realm of desire’, 5 square terraces representing Rūpadhātu or the ‘realm of forms’, and finally the 3 open circular terraces with the 72 stupas and a massive stupa representing Ārūpyadhātu or the ‘realm of formlessness’. (Jacques Dumarcay, Borobudur, 39) The first realm. Kāmadhātu, parallels the life of a human being who is “still bound to desires”. The second realm, Rūpadhātu, simulate the state where we have freed ourselves of all desires, but are still constrained to our physical body and existence. The third realm, Ārūpyadhātu, at the peak of Borobudur, symbolizes that the pilgrim has attained Nirvana, after going through the 2 lower realms. (Architecture of the Borobudur