Candi Mendut has a quite interesting story, the Buddhist temple has been visited by culture enthusiast since long ago.
Mendut was built by the Syailendra Dynasty, under the reign of King Indra. The historical evidence can be seen from Kayumwungan inscription found in Karangtengah.
Candi Mendut has rectangular form decorated with little stupas. Candi Mendut and Borobudur form a straight line, if Borobudur made to face sunrise, Mendut instead positioned toward the west.
Seen from a distance, Mendut looks so elegant yet extremely sturdy standing on a platform of 3,7 metres tall.
When you go around the platform, you could see some relief of the fable such as “Birds and Tortoise”, “Brahmana and Crab” and “Monkey and Manyar Bird”
At a glance, the reliefs seem intended for children. But in fact, these reliefs illustrate stories rich in moral messages. When you climb into the center, you will find 8 reliefs of Buddha with variety of hand gesture. The panel size is bigger than those of Borobudur.
When you enter the inside of the temple, you would smell the scent of flowers and incense mixing together. There, stand 3 large statues of Buddha. All three statues are made from whole rock and carved out carefully so they look really amazing.
Once you finish exploring parts of the tempe, you can leave through the gates and pass through a number of souvenir shop. Just beside the temple area, stands a Buddhist monastery decorated with pond that is full with lotus flower. The place is open to the public.
Chanting Ritual
At this monastery, every night they hold some kind of ritual of meditation. The ritual is done by listening to certain music and song.
Although this ritual is only for Buddhist people, tourists are also allowed to follow the chanting ritual. If you want to watch or follow the ritual, come before 7 pm because the ritual is usually done at 7-8 pm.
Mendut Address: Jl. Mayor Sills, Mungkid, Central Java
GPS Coordinates: -7.605010,110.230455
How to get to Mendut temple.
From the center of Yogyakarta, you can follow the road to Magelang, arriving in Mungkid, you will find signpost pointing the direction to Borobudur temple. http://pusaka-indonesia.com/mendut-temple-remembering-the-past/ http://pusaka-indonesia.com/mendut-temple-remembering-the-past/ http://pusaka-indonesia.com/mendut-temple-remembering-the-past/Just follow the direction and turn left. Go straight until you find Mendut on the right side of the road.
The trip from Yogyakarta is about 37km with a duration of 45 minutes.
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