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Prambanan, Yogyakarta/Central Java · -7.7520°, 110.4915°
The greatest Hindu temple of Indonesia and Borobudur's counterpart across the plain — 240 shrines originally, the 47 m Shiva tower flanked by Brahma and Vishnu, ringed with Ramayana reliefs that the Ramayana Ballet still dances against the floodlit towers on full-moon nights. Raised by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu answer of the Sanjaya line to the Sailendras' Borobudur; UNESCO-listed in 1991.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Prince Bandung Bondowoso, to win Rara Jonggrang, had to build a thousand temples in one night; when spirits neared success she had the village women pound rice to trick the cocks into crowing dawn. Enraged at 999, he cursed her to stone — the slender Durga in the north cell, the 'slender maiden' the complex is named for.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Mataram (Sanjaya)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…