PM Narendra Modi will visit Indonesia’s historic Prambanan Temple with President Prabowo Subianto. He will launch a conservation project for the 1,000-year-old temple, highlighting the deep cultural and civilisational ties between the two nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday visit the historic Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. The Prime Minister will launch a conservation project for the 1,000-year-old temple.
On Tuesday PM Modi described the monument as “another remarkable testament” to deep cultural and civilisational ties that have connected India and Indonesia for over a thousand years. This conservation project is part of India’s cultural diplomacy and Act East policy in Southeast Asia.
Reviving Shared Heritage Across Asia
In fact, the Indian government under PM Modi has been at the forefront of helping revive shared civilisational heritage across South-Southeast Asia. In 2014, The Indian government under PM Modi restored the UNESCO-listed My Son Sanctuary, one of Southeast Asia’s most significant Shaivite temple complexes and the religious centre of the ancient Champa Kingdom.
In, 2015 India helped in the restoration of the Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Sri Lanka. Following the reactivation of the project under the Government of India, India signed an MoU in July 2015 to provide LKR 326 million in grant assistance for the restoration of the historic Thiruketheeswaram Temple, one of Sri Lanka’s five ancient Pancha Ishwarams dedicated to Lord Shiva.
In 2017, India signed an MoU to restore earthquake-damaged monuments in the UNESCO-listed Bagan Archaeological Zone and undertook restoration of 12 historic pagodas through the ASI. India also completed restoration of the historic Ananda Temple.
In 2017, under India’s USD 50 million post-earthquake reconstruction assistance to Nepal, the Modi government launched restoration and conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites, including the historic Seto Machhindranath Temple, Budhanilkantha Temple Dharamshala.
In 2019, during his historic visit to Bahrain, PM Modi inaugurated the USD 4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Shreenathji (Shri Krishna) Temple in Manama, preserving one of the oldest Hindu temples in the Gulf region.
In 2020, India financed the reconstruction of the nearly 300-year-old Joy Kali Mata Temple in Natore through Government of India grant assistance. The Government also supported restoration of the Anandomoyee Kali Mata Mandir and the Ramakrishna Temple, preserving important centres of Hindu faith in Bangladesh.
In 2021, the Modi government announced India’s assistance for the reconstruction of the historic Ramna Kali Temple, destroyed during Pakistan’s Operation Searchlight in 1971. The temple was inaugurated in 2021, restoring a major Hindu shrine in Bangladesh and reinforcing the shared civilisational ties between the two countries.
In 2022, India restored and conserved key sections of the Angkor heritage complex, including Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear, reaffirming India’s commitment to preserving the architectural legacy of one of the greatest centres of Hindu civilisation outside India.
In 2024, India restored key structures of the UNESCO-listed Vat Phou Temple, a nearly 1,000-year-old Shiva temple regarded as one of Southeast Asia’s oldest surviving symbols of Sanatan civilisation.
The Historic Prambanan Temple Complex
The conservation project led by the Indian government at the Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta is another effort in keeping this heritage alive. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is partnering with Indonesian authorities for restoration and conservation of several smaller temples within the Prambanan complex.
Prambanan is among the largest temple complex near Yogyakarta, on the Indonesian island of Java. and contains the original structures that were built in the 9th century AD. The temples collapsed due to earthquake including the May 2006 Java earthquake, volcanic eruption and a shift of political power in the early 11th century, and they were rediscovered in the 17th century.
The Prambanan Temple itself is a complex consisting of 240 temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Prambanan was designed as three concentric squares. In all there are 224 temples in the entire complex. The inner square contains 16 temples, the most significant being the 47 meters high central Siva temple flanked to the north by the Brahma temple and to the south by the Vishnu temple.
As per the UNESCO, which has declared it a World Heritage site, the temple’s stone reliefs are decorated with reliefs illustrating the Indonesian version of the Ramayana epic. Prambanan Temple Compounds present the grandiose culture of Siva art as a masterpiece of the classical period in Indonesia, and the region.
Restoration works have been conducted since 1918, both in original traditional method of interlocking stone and modern methods using concrete to strengthen the temple structure, the world body said. The UNESCO World Heritage has been designated as Indonesia’s National Cultural Property in 1998.
During full moon evenings in the months from May to October, the Ramayana ballet is performed in an open air theatre on the southern side of the temple. (ANI)
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