Cultural Dynamics in a Globalized World – Budianta et al. (Eds) © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-62664-5 Forms and types of Borobudur’s stupas A. Revianur Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia ABSTRACT: Candi Borobudur (Borobudur Temple) is the world’s largest Mahayana- Vajrayana Buddhist temple, which is located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. It was built by the Sailendra dynasty between the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. The temple was built with 10-step pyramid terraces, which are decorated with 2,672 relief panels, 504 Buddha stat- ues, and 1,537 stupas. In this study, we aim to examine the forms and types of the stupas of Borobudur, which are composed of 1,536 secondary stupas and 1 primary stupa compared to those of other stupas found in Java and Bali islands. The stupas at Borobudur located from the second to ninth terraces are called the secondary stupas, whereas the one located on the tenth terrace is called the primary stupa. They are symbolic stupas, which consist of a base (Prasadha), a bell-shaped body (anda), a top support (harmika), and a top (yashti). The stupas are divided into four types, namely plain stupas, hollow space-square stupas, hollow space-diamond stupas containing the Dhyani Buddha Vairocana that represents the turn- ing wheel of the dharma and the single main stupa that becomes the centre of Borobudur Temple reflecting Sailedra art-style. Here, we use a qualitative method, which is based on field observation and historical sources. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of the stupas in Borobudur from the perspective of historical archaeology. 1 INTRODUCTION Candi Borobudur (Borobudur Temple) is known as a Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhist archae- ological site located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Borobudur was built between the 8th and 9th centuries by the Sailendra dynasty and was re-discovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1814 (Soekmono, 1976). Opinions of historians and archaeologists on the real name of Borobudur differ greatly. Raffles (1830) named it Boro Bodo, which means ‘the name of the district’ (Boro) and ‘ancient’ (Bodo). Thus, Boro Bodo can be interpreted as the ancient Boro (Raffles, 1830). The manuscript Negarakrtagama canto 77 (LXXVII) written by Mpu Pra- panca in the 14th century mentions the domain of a Vajradhara or Vajrayana-Buddhism sect named Kabajradaran Akrama in Budur. This place is most likely the present-day Borobudur (Pigeaud, 1962; Soekmono, 1976). De Casparis (1950), on the basis of Dasabhumika Sutra, argued that Borobudur was built with 10 stages or dasa bhumi, and is named in relation to Kamulan i Bhumisambharabhudhara, which is mentioned in the inscriptions of Sri Kahulunan, dating back to the mid-8th century. Kamulan is a Sanskrit word, which means a root, origin, sacred place or shrine to worship ancestors. Bhumisambhara is interpreted as a barrow, hill or the level of the building that is identified with the temple called Borobudur. On the basis of the statements of de Casparis, Kamulan i Bhumisambharabhudhara can be interpreted as the temple of the Sailendra dynasty people located in Borobudur, which was built with 10 stages. Nevertheless, the original name of Borobudur is still under debate among scholars. Borobudur Temple was built on a hill surrounded by several mountains, such as the Menoreh, Sumbing, Sindoro and Merbabu Mountains and Mount Merapi, and bordered by the Progo and Elo rivers. Borobudur could be linked to Kunjarakunjadesa in South India. Sands and andesite fractions lay the foundation of the hill where the Borobudur Temple is located (Moertjipto and Prasetyo, 1993). The temple was built as a stepped pyramid or punden berudak structure with six-square terraces and topped with three circular courtyards (Chihara, 1996). 577 The structure and function of Bodobudur Temple have been described in the lit- erature. Borobudur could be regarded as a Vajradhatu–mandala and is, in turn, related to Mendut Temple, which is identified as a Garbhadhatu-mandala. The pair of mandalas is called Dharmadhatu-mandala (Chihara, 1996, Prajudi, 2009). According to a study conducted by Hoenig (as cited in Coomaraswamy, 1965), Borobudur was built as a temple. It was built with a nine-stepped structure, which served as a place of worship. Parmentier (1924) proposed that Borobudur was built as a monument crowned with a great stupa. However, because the large stupa structure could not withstand the huge weight, it was disassembled to attain the present-day structure of Borobudur (Chihara, 1996). Soekmono (1979) explained that Borobudur probably was not built as a temple, but as a place of pilgrimage where ancient Javanese Buddhists could gain knowledge. Magetsari (1997) argued that Borobudur was not established for the commoners, but only for a Yogin. Borobudur has a special place in the southwest area for the commoners and priests to accumulate a virtue. It could be seen that the spirit of the Monastic movement in India was materialised in this structure, which is influenced from the eastern school of India and the architecture of Bengal. Furthermore, Borobudur represents not only the creativity of Javanese geniuses but also one of the world’s greatest constructional and artistic masterpieces (Brown, 1959). Borobudur Temple has three levels representing the three worlds in the universe, namely kamadhatu or the world of desire, rupadhatu or the world of appearance and arupadhatu or the world without visual existence. At the level of rupadhatu, a man has left his desires but still has ego and resemblance. Arupadhatu is a world where ego and resemblance no longer exist. At this level, a man has been released from samsara and decided to break his affiliation with the mortal world. At Borobudur, kamadhatu is found at the foot of the structure, the five steps above it are described as rupadhatu and the third round terraces are described as arupadhatu (Stutterheim, 1956; Soekmono, 1974). Similar to the Mahayana and the Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayana was practiced in Borobudur during ancient times, whose evidence could be found in the statues of Pancatathagata at Borobudur Temple, and it is related to Guhyasamaja-tantra. Another evidence is the teaching of Paramita, which is embodied in the relief of Lalitavistara, Avadana and Jataka. The imple- mentation of Yogācāra and Pramitayana with Tantric philosophy is depicted by the relief of Gandavyuha and Bhadracari. The ability to integrate the philosophy of Tantric or Vajrayana and Mahayana through reliefs and sculptures in the temple indicates the high intelligence of Borobudur’s architect. This is a unique feature of Borobudur (Magetsari, 1997). The main component of a Buddhist temple, including Borobudur, is the stupa. The stupa, in the period before Buddha, would have served as a tomb and later became the symbol of Bud- dha’s life. It was originally built to bury the relics of Buddha shortly after his body was cremated. In its further development, a stupa was used to store not only the relics of Buddhist monks but also Buddhist objects (Coomaraswamy, 1965; Soekmono, 1974). A stupa, which describes the concept of Buddhism, has several sections, namely the basis of the stupa (Prasadha), the parts of the ball (dagob) or bell (genta) and the top or crown (yashti) (Dehejia, 1972; Moertjipto and Prasetyo, 1993). The stupa was also decorated with parasols (chattra) at the top of the yashti (Fogelin, 2015). Kempers (as cited in Mentari, 2012) showed that Borobudur Temple is covered by stupas on its terraces. The stupas in Borobudur have a form different from that of other stupas in Indonesia. Borobudur, as the legacy of the Sailendra dynasty, has 1,537 stupas, which could be subdivided into 1,536 buffer stupas and 1 main stupa. Many research studies on the stupas of Candi Borobudur have been carried out by various scholars. Academic discussions on the meaning of the stupas at Borobudur are integrated by Magetsari (1997), who stated that the stupas of Candi Borobudur represent the Parinir- vana and emphasise the philosophy of Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism. The mini-thesis research conducted by Mentari (2012) describes the classification of the forms and types of Borobudur stupas. It intends to complement the research on the stupas of Borobudur by expanding it with historical archaeology studies as the framework. The stupas of Borobudur are compared to those of other Buddhist temples such as Mendut, Pawon, Ngawen, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples as well as the Ratu Boko archaeological site and Pura Pegulingan in Bali. 578 Figure 1. Stages of research on the stupas of Borobudur. 2 METHOD In this study, we focus on the stupas at Borobudur Temple and their comparison with stupas in other archaeological sites such as Mendut, Pawon, Ngawen, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples as well as Ratu Baka archaeological site and Pura Pegulingan in Bali. We use a qualitative method, which is based on archaeological research such as the stages of data gathering, data processing, analysis and interpretation (Ashmore & Sharer, 2010). The data were gathered from the sites in Borobudur, Mendut, Pawon, Ngawen, Kalasan, Sari, Lumbung and Sewu Temples; the Ratu Boko archaeological site and Pura Pegulingan; furthermore, and an archaeological survey approach was applied. This stage was followed by data processing. In this stage, the stupas were observed, described, classified and assessed by comparing them with others. The classification of stupas in Borobudur is based on the research conducted by Mentari. In the third stage, the meaning and function of stupa were analysed. In the final stage, the stupas at Borobudur Temple and in other archaeological sites were interpreted on the basis of the comparison of each stupa. 3 DISCUSSION AND DATA ANALYSIS OF BOROBUDUR’S STUPAS Borobudur has 1,537 stupas located from the second-level terrace to the tenth-level terrace.