Borobudur

Podcast Transcript

Located in Central Java, outside of the modern city of Yogyakarta, lies the world’s largest Buddhist temple, Borobudur.

Borobudur doesn’t get as much attention as other great monuments in the world, but it should certainly be included among them.

Unlike other great monuments, Borobudur has a distinction that no other monument has. It disappeared, quite literally, for several centuries.

Learn more about Borobudur, its history, and its significance on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

There is a good chance that many of you aren’t familiar with Borobudur, but you should be.

It is one of the largest and most significant religious monuments in the world, but it’s often overlooked due to its location.

The history of Borobudur dates back almost 1200 years.

The temple was constructed during the height of the Shailendra dynasty’s power in Central Java, most likely between 780 and 840, though some scholars suggest construction may have begun as early as 750.

The Shailendras were ardent Mahayana Buddhists who ruled over a prosperous maritime kingdom with strong cultural and trade connections to India and other Buddhist centers across Asia.

At this time, Java was a mix of Hindu and Buddhist depending on the region of the island.

The monument was built without mortar, using an interlocking system of approximately 2 million cubic feet of stone, quarried from nearby rivers. The builders demonstrated remarkable engineering skill, constructing the temple on a hill and creating an elaborate drainage system with 100 spouts to prevent water damage during Java’s heavy monsoons.

The entire structure was estimated to take 75 years to complete and involved thousands of workers, including stone carvers, laborers, and artisans.

The temple’s design follows a mandala pattern, representing the Buddhist cosmos. It consists of nine stacked platforms, comprising six square bases and three circular terraces, with a central dome or stupa at its summit.

The monument measures approximately 123 meters or 403 feet on each side and originally stands about 35 meters or 115 feet high. Walking the entire circuit of all levels covers nearly 5 kilometers.

Borobudur functioned as a place of Buddhist pilgrimage and likely served as a center for religious education. The structure itself is a three-dimensional representation of Buddhist cosmology and the path to enlightenment.

Pilgrims would begin at the base and walk clockwise through each level, a practice called pradaksina, experiencing a symbolic journey from the realm of desire at the base, through the realm of forms on the middle terraces, to the realm of formlessness at the top.

The temple walls feature 2,672 relief panels, including 1,460 narrative panels that tell stories from Buddhist texts, particularly the life of Buddha, stories of Buddha’s previous lives, and the pilgrimage of Sudhana, a disciple of the Buddha.

These reliefs stretch for approximately 5 kilometer spiral to the top and represent one of the most complete ensembles of Buddhist relief sculpture in the world. Additionally, the structure originally contained 504 Buddha statues, each positioned according to specific hand gestures corresponding to different directions and levels.

Everything I’ve described so far is just a description of an important religious monument. However, the history of Borobudur took an interesting turn.

Around the 10th century, Borobudur was mysteriously abandoned. Several theories attempt to explain this abandonment. The most accepted explanation involves the shift in political and religious power. The center of Javanese civilization moved eastward, and Hinduism began to supplant Buddhism as the dominant religion under the new ruling dynasties.

A massive eruption of Mount Merapi around 1006 may have accelerated this process, covering the monument with volcanic ash and forcing the population to relocate.

Another theory suggests that the conversion of the ruling class to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries led to the temple’s neglect. Whatever the cause, Borobudur became gradually covered by volcanic ash and jungle vegetation, eventually disappearing from collective memory.

Local Javanese people knew of the site, but it became associated with folklore and was considered unlucky or haunted, which further discouraged visits.

The temple remained buried and forgotten for centuries while Islamic sultanates rose to prominence across Java. European travelers occasionally heard rumors of a great monument hidden in the jungle, but these reports were vague and unverified.

Borobudur’s modern rediscovery is credited to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the British Lieutenant Governor-General of Java during the brief period when the British controlled Java from 1811 to 1816.

In 1814, Raffles heard reports of a “mountain of Buddhist sculptures in stone” near the village of Bumisegoro. He dispatched Dutch engineer H.C. Cornelius to investigate, who led a team of 200 men to clear the site over a period of two months.

Cornelius documented his findings, though the monument remained partially buried. Over the following decades, various officials and scholars conducted further clearing work. In 1835, the site was fully uncovered for the first time in centuries, revealing its extraordinary scale and artistry.

Unfortunately, this period also saw significant looting, with many statues and sculptural elements removed by colonial officials, collectors, and souvenir hunters. Some pieces ended up in museums abroad, including the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Netherlands.

The Dutch photographer Isidore van Kinsbergen documented Borobudur in the 1870s, creating some of the first photographic records of the monument. These images sparked international interest and helped establish Borobudur’s reputation as one of Asia’s great archaeological treasures.

By the late 19th century, having been excavated, Borobudur’s condition had deteriorated significantly. The structure was unstable, with many stones out of place and vegetation continuing to damage the monument. In 1885, the Dutch government finally recognized the need for systematic conservation and appointed archaeologist Jan IJzerman to conduct a thorough survey.

The first major restoration was undertaken between 1907 and 1911 under the direction of Theodor van Erp, a Dutch army engineer with archaeological training. Van Erp’s team dismantled and reconstructed the monument’s three circular upper terraces and central stupa, addressing structural problems and improving drainage.

They restored over 300,000 stones, cleaned the reliefs, and documented the entire process photographically. This restoration was considered groundbreaking for its time and saved the monument from collapse.

However, Van Erp’s work, though well-intentioned, had limitations. The restoration focused primarily on the upper levels, and fundamental structural issues in the foundation remained unaddressed. Additionally, some restoration techniques, viewed with modern knowledge, were not entirely appropriate for long-term preservation.

After Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands in 1945, Borobudur took on new significance as a symbol of national identity and cultural heritage. The Indonesian government recognized the monument’s importance not only as a Buddhist site but as a symbol of Indonesia’s ancient civilization and architectural prowess.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the government conducted maintenance work, but by the 1960s, it became clear that comprehensive restoration was urgently needed.

The structure continued to deteriorate due to water seepage, stone displacement, and the effects of tropical weathering. The porous volcanic stone was particularly susceptible to moisture, which caused structural weakness and encouraged the growth of biological organisms.

In 1973, the Indonesian government, with support from UNESCO, launched an ambitious international restoration project. This eight-year undertaking, which cost approximately $25 million, represented one of the largest archaeological restoration projects ever attempted in Asia. The project was funded by contributions from multiple countries and coordinated by UNESCO specialists working with Indonesian archaeologists and engineers.

The restoration involved completely dismantling and cataloging over one million stones from the monument’s base and lower levels, addressing the fundamental drainage and structural problems that earlier restorations had left unresolved. Engineers installed a modern drainage system with vertical and horizontal channels, placed stones on concrete foundations where necessary, and created a detailed photographic and written record of every stage.

The team also addressed the problem of biological growth by treating stones with chemicals and improving water runoff. Throughout the process, restorers adhered to the principle of anastylosis, using only original materials and methods wherever possible. The restored monument was inaugurated in February 1983, and Borobudur was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Since its restoration, Borobudur has become one of Indonesia’s most visited tourist attractions, drawing over 3 million visitors annually in recent years. This tourism brings economic benefits but also creates conservation challenges. The constant foot traffic, touching of reliefs, and general wear have necessitated ongoing maintenance and monitoring.

The monument has faced various threats in the modern era. In 1985, nine stupas on the upper terraces were damaged in a terrorist bombing attributed to Islamic extremists, though the structures were successfully repaired. Volcanic eruptions from nearby Mount Merapi, particularly the major eruption in 2010, have deposited ash on the monument, requiring extensive cleaning operations.

While Borobudur was built as a Buddhist monument, Indonesia today is predominantly Muslim, with Buddhists comprising only about 1% of the population. Nevertheless, the monument has experienced a religious revival.

Since the 1980s, Indonesian Buddhists have been permitted to hold ceremonies at Borobudur, particularly during Vesak, the celebration of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death. This annual event, held during the full moon in May or June, attracts thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from Indonesia and abroad.

The Indonesian government has worked to balance Borobudur’s identity as both a religious site and a secular cultural monument. While religious ceremonies are permitted, restrictions are placed on overtly religious activities to maintain the site’s character as a place for all visitors.

Recent archaeological surveys of the surrounding area have revealed that Borobudur was part of a larger complex of religious structures, including the nearby Buddhist temples of Pawon and Mendut, which appear to have been connected by a ceremonial pathway. Excavations have also uncovered evidence of the workshops, settlements, and infrastructure that supported the monument’s construction and use.

I had the pleasure of visiting Borobudur in 2008, and it was most certainly one of the highlights of my trip to Indonesia.

Visiting was an easy day trip from Yogyakarta, and you can sufficiently experience the site in half a day. I’d recommend arriving as early as possible so you can experience the morning sun, and there is often mist in the air in the mornings, which makes for great photography.

You can also visit the nearby former Hindu religious site of Prambanan, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Borobudur’s influence extends far beyond Java. The monument has inspired Buddhist architecture throughout Southeast Asia and represents a significant Buddhist pilgrimage site, as well as a tangible link to the historical spread of Buddhism from India to Asia.

For Indonesia, Borobudur serves as a secular symbol and a popular tourist attraction.

Although Borobudur isn’t as well-known as other iconic landmarks, such as the Taj Mahal or the Colosseum, it should be, as it is one of the greatest and most important historical sites on Earth.

The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The Associate Producers are Austin Oetken and Cameron Kieffer.

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An intellectual oasis

I like to listen to a wide variety of podcasts, to learn new things, from cycling to economics. Gary’s podcast is by far my favorite! Everything Everywhere Daily has been a starting point to learn more on topics that were off my radar.

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The time allocated to each episode is perfect, and it fits in my daily commute. I still have ~1600 episodes to go, and some of these following topics may have been covered already. If they haven’t could they be added to the show?

The invention of the derailleur (cycling/engineering/history), The St. Patricks Battalion (US-Mexico War), The Tordesillas Treaty (Geography/History), Why viruses are not a “living” organism (Biology), Grease (as a lubricant), Cotton (how it influenced us, from Egypt to the Civil War to Jeans), Air Carriers in Lake Michigan during WWII, The Polar Bears expeditionary force (US soldiers in Russia during WWI)… to mention a few.

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