NEW - Vedic/Hindu Calendar for 2013

NEW - Vedic/Hindu Calendar for 2013
Shri Ramapir Mandir/Temple in Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Monday, January 11, 2010

Ancient Hindu Temples Unearthed in Indonesia

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January 10th, 2010 Source: www.thejakartapost.com
YOGYAKAKARTA, INDONESIA, December 24, 2009: The Yogyakarta Prehistoric Legacy Conservation Center has found a Ganesha statue and Siva linga-yoni structures at the site of a newly discovered structure believed to be part of an ancient temple. Head of the center’s protection working group Indung Panca Putra said the findings led the excavation team to conclude that the site, located in the Indonesian Islamic University campus on Jl. Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, was from a Hindu kingdom.

The Ganesha murthi was found facing west with an elevation of 17 degrees from the north. As of Wednesday the hands of the murthi were not unearthed as part of the body was still buried. The lingam structures were found near Ganesha. The excavation team have also uncovered 16 pieces of parts of a temple wall. “We will study the findings in order to decide how to proceed on this dig,” Indung said.

Compared to previous discoveries of Hindu temples in the region, this site is considered less elaborate. “The Ganesha, for example, is around 33 inches high while Prambanan Temple’s Ganesha is as tall as an adult,” Indung said. The ornaments, he added, were also simpler. These traits, according to Indung, show that the newly found temple served a smaller area. “If Prambanan Temple served an entire kingdom, for example, then this site would have served a village,” he said.

Indung, however, said his colleagues haven’t been able to estimate the age of the temple structure. He added that based on the existing discovery, the site dated back to the ancient Mataram period between the 9th and 10th centuries.

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