A Visit to the Temple of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, Muara Takus

A Visit to the Temple of the Kingdom Sriwijaya, Muara Takus

Summary :


Muara Takus Temple is one of the few Buddhist temples, and the temple was proved that once the existence of Buddhism in this region several centuries ago. Although archaeologists have not been able to determine exactly when the temple was founded, but they agreed that the temple was founded in the heyday of Srivijaya Kingdom VII - XII century AD.


The temple building is made of clay and part of a fence made of white stone. Muara Takus addition, several other temples also stand is Candi Tua, Candi Muda, Mahligai Stupa and Palangkaraya. According to some sources, the stone used to build this temple consists of basic materials such as sandstone, river rock and brick. The bricks come from the village Pongkai, a village located on the downstream side of the temple complex. In addition, there is also a mound estimated as burning human bones. Based on the results of archaeological research in 1994, Muara Takus consist of fences, Candi Tua, Candi Muda, Mahligai Temple, Temple of Palangkaraya, Building I, Building II, Building III, Building IV, Building VII and anchient dikes. Not quite up there, in this complex you will also find fragments of lion statues, fragment of statues of elephants at the top of temple Mahligai, inscription spells, vajra carved, gold leaf roll surface carved engravings and drawings vajra mantra.

History :


The name of this temple is derived from the name of the creek that empties into Batang Kampar Kanan. Mahligai temple Muara Takus Riau "Estuary" which is a place where the tributary terminate its flow into the sea. While "Takus" is derived from the Chinese language is "Ta" which means great, "Ku" means old, and "Se" means temple. So, Muara Takus means building a magnificent old temple in estuaries.

That said, local people believe that the Muara Takus builds upon request of a princess who comes from India. The daughter was taken by Datuk Three Experts to Muara Takus after sailing to India. Women in the community are known as Putri Wulan Reno or daughter Parent World. Muara Takus temple was established as a condition of his willingness to be brought into the country. The daughter of a similar request made temple to temple where her parents are. Muara Takus then that has some similarities with Asoka temple in India. Another phenomenon which is witnessed by the local community, namely the existence of a white elephant led a group of elephants at night during the full moon. The elephants came to the temple and do the prostration position as the man of worship to the lord. Then a group of elephants totaling approximately 30 individuals that surround Muara Takus. When connected with the Buddhist mythology, the elephant is a reicarnation of Buddha, and also as a symbol and vehicle of a king. The phenomenon indicates the life of Buddhist civilization in Riau in the past.

Location :


Muara Takus temple situated in the village of Muara Takus District XIII Koto Kampar, Kampar, Riau. From the city of Pekanbaru, you will travel a distance of about 135 km. The location is quite close to Kampar River Edge, which is about 2.5 km from the center of the village of Muara Takus to the temple complex.



Image for Muara Takus Temple :


A Visit to the Temple of the Kingdom Sriwijaya, Muara Takus