Class 5 - Borobudur and Angkor War Temple Architecture: Cosmic Structures and Spiritual Paths

Borobudur: A Path to Enlightenment

Overview and Design Principles

• Monumental Stupa: Borobudur is a grand, monumental stupa in Java, Indonesia.

• Modular Design: Best appreciated from above, its design is clearly modular, incorporating the principle of the "square or the circle in the square." This symbolizes the spiritual world and the physical world tied together, akin to a mandala diagram.

• Divine Representation of the Cosmos: It is meant to be perceived as a divine representation of the cosmos.

  • Central Stupa: Represents the ultimate Buddha.

  • 72 Lesser Stupas: Located on three ring terraces, these represent a series of lesser Buddhas surrounding the main Buddha.

  • This arrangement symbolizes the physical and spiritual realms intertwined.

• Three-Dimensional Spiritual Path: Beyond a cosmic diagram, Borobudur is a literal, three-dimensional path leading aspirants up layer after layer, higher and higher, to ultimate reality.

  • The journey progresses from the secular outside world to the main platform, through four rectangular galleries (circumambulated), and then three circular galleries to reach the ultimate reality at the center (the largest stupa).

The Three Realms of Buddhist Reality

Borobudur represents the three realms of the Buddhist world, as laid out in conceptual diagrams:

1. The World of Desire (Kamadhatu)

• Lowest Level: This outermost, lowest platform was added after the main structure was nearly completed.

• Hidden Sculptures: Originally, this completed lowest level contained 160 carved panels of sculpture that were later covered up by the added platform.

  • Content: These sculptures depict scenes from the "Karma of the Bongo," an ancient Hindu text outlining the principle of Karma (cause and effect).

    • Karma in this context refers to the phenomenal world, the world of desire where every action has a consequence.

    • Examples:

      • Idleness or anger leading to ugliness (e.g., groups of idle people portrayed as ugly, ugly people engaged in anger).

      • Good actions (e.g., giving medicine, a wife tending her husband, a doctor treating the sick) leading to good outcomes (e.g., good health, beauty).

      • Negative actions (e.g., killing turtles and fish) leading to severe punishments (e.g., being boiled like soup).

  • Significance of being covered: This realm is meant to be physically and symbolically overcome as it represents the world of desires and suffering that practitioners need to transcend on their path to enlightenment. It is the world we already live in, and thus we must rise above it.

2. The World of Forms (Rupadhatu)

• Rectangular Galleries: After ascending from the World of Desire, one enters a series of four rectangular galleries.

• Sculptural Panels: These galleries are like hallways with walls on either side, preventing external views. They are adorned with a vast number (approximately 2,500) of sculptural panels.

  • Content: These panels narrate stories from the life of the Buddha.

    • Lower Two Levels: Depict the Buddha's current life and his path to enlightenment.

    • Upper Two Levels: Illustrate his many past lives that led him to his ultimate enlightenment and release from the cycle of rebirth (samsara).

  • Purpose for Pilgrims: These stories serve as teachings and guidance for pilgrims to understand the Buddha's experiences and lessons, aiding them in their own individual paths to enlightenment. It's a means of learning through images, making it accessible to all, not just those who can read monastic texts (contrasting with the "lesser vehicle" of strict monastic life).

3. The World of Formlessness (Arupadhatu)

• Circular Galleries: After circumambulating the rectangular galleries, pilgrims move higher into three circular galleries, symbolizing the spiritual realm beyond physical reality.

• Symbolic Images: Instead of figural representations, this realm features abstract, symbolic forms such as the stupas themselves.

  • 72 Perforated Stupas: These stupas symbolize the Buddha's presence.

  • Obscured Buddhas: Inside each of these perforated stupas (which resemble lotus blossoms), there is an actual representation of the Buddha with a different posture (mudra), symbolizing different teachings. These are obscured from direct view, reflecting the non-physicality of this realm.

• Openness and Awakening: Unlike the walled galleries below, these levels are open to the outside, offering panoramic views. This transition symbolizes being awakened and seeing the world as it truly is, a step towards enlightenment.

• Ultimate Reality: The journey culminates at the single, largest stupa at the very center.

  • Empty Chamber: This central stupa is empty, symbolizing the ultimate reality in Buddhism: the absolute nothingness and emptiness of all existence, the release from suffering, or Nirvana.

  • This emptiness conveys the idea that upon attaining enlightenment, one perceives the ultimate reality of the non-existence of a permanent self or phenomena.

Hindu Temple Design: Cosmic Structures

Core Principles and Symbolism

• Mountain and Cave Symbolism: A fundamental concept in Hindu temple design, representing the dwelling place of deities.

  • Elephanta Caves (5th Century AD): An island/mountain temple carved as a symbolic cave in the mountain base.

  • Kailasanatha Temple (8th Century AD): Carved out of the mountain, rather than into it, like a freestanding sculpture. It references Mount Kailash, the sacred Himalayan mountain where Shiva is believed to reside in a cave with his family.

• Hindu Deities: The trimurti (three main gods):

  • Brahma: The creator god.

  • Vishnu: The preserver, who restores order to the universe.

  • Shiva: The destroyer, but also a force of creation, representing cycles of existence.

  • All these gods are manifestations of Brahman, the ultimate, oneness of all existence in Hindu cosmology.

• Mandala Design: Hindu temples are almost universally based on the mandala, a cosmic diagram, typically represented as a square structure.

  • Hierarchy: The ultimate reality (Brahman, or the main deity like Shiva/Vishnu) is at the center, surrounded by lesser deities that multiply as one moves away from the core.

Typical Hindu Temple Layout

1. Barrier/Gate (Gopuram): Initially informal (Elephanta), later formal and monumental in Southern Indian temples.

2. Mandapa (Pillared Hall): A large open space for devotees to gather, pray, meditate, and bring offerings. Influenced by Buddhist Chaitya halls but distinctive.

3. Garbhagriha ("Womb Chamber" / "Moonlight Chamber"): An isolated inner sanctum, typically closed at night. It houses the primary icon or symbol of the deity (e.g., Shiva's Lingam).

   • This is not just an image; it is believed to be the literal presence of the deity, activated through rituals by Brahmin priests.

4. Shikhara Tower (Northern India) / Vimana (Southern India): A tower structure built directly above the Garbhagriha, symbolizing the sacred mountain (like Mount Meru or Kailash) and representing the culmination of spiritual ascension.

5. Circumambulation (Pradakshina Path): A path around the Garbhagriha (and sometimes around smaller shrines for lesser gods), allowing devotees to honor the deity and gain spiritual grace by walking in a clockwise fashion.

Northern Indian Hindu Temple Characteristics (e.g., Kandariya Mahadeva Temple)

• Conceptual Mountain: The entire temple structure often mimics a mountain range, with multiple peaks (shikharas) culminating in the grandest tower over the Garbhagriha. This represents Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain at the center of all existence.

• Ascending Design: Emphasizes horizontal movement towards the divine, with progressively higher towers symbolizing higher levels of spiritual consciousness as one approaches the ultimate reality.

• Amalaka: A ribbed, cushion-like stone disc often found at the very top of the shikhara, symbolizing ultimate enlightenment.

• Intricate Carvings: The temple exterior is typically covered with numerous sculptures of lesser gods and celestial beings, reinforcing the mandala concept.

Southern Indian Hindu Temple Characteristics (e.g., Madurai)

• Urban Planning as Cosmic Diagram: Southern Hindu cities (like Madurai) were often planned as literal cosmic diagrams, with the main temple at the center.

  • Hierarchical Arrangement: The city's layout reflected spiritual and social hierarchies, with higher castes (Brahmins, Kshatriyas) residing closer to the temple and lower castes (Shudras) in the outer realms.

  • Ritual Reinforcement: Annual rituals, such as the marriage procession of the gods (e.g., Minakshi and Sundareshvara/Shiva and Parvati), would parade along the main streets, ringing the city and reinforcing these social and spiritual boundaries.

• Gopurams (Gates): Unlike Northern temples, the actual Garbhagriha structures are typically smaller, while the monumental gateway towers (gopurams) creating the boundaries are massive and highly elaborate, adorned with myriad sculptures of gods and deities. These larger gopurams emphasize the journey and the increasing multiplicity of deities as one moves away from the central, ultimate deity.

Angkor Wat: A Replicated Cosmos

Background and Dedication

• Khmer Empire (9th-15th Century AD): Built by the Khmer dynasty in Cambodia, which historically oscillated between Buddhism and Hinduism.

• Vishnu Temple: Angkor Wat is primarily a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, evidenced by its westward orientation.

Design as a Cosmic Reconstruction (Puranas)

Angkor Wat's design is not merely based on a mandala but is a physical reconstruction of the cosmos as described in the Puranas, ancient Hindu texts from the early centuries AD that graphically detail the universe.

1. Mount Meru: The Puranas describe a colossal mountain at the center of all existence, Mount Meru, whose proportions are too grand to fit on Earth. Angkor Wat's central towering peak represents this ultimate cosmic mountain.

2. Jambudvipa Continent: The central continent where Mount Meru stands, depicted as being surrounded by various rings of land and ocean. At Angkor Wat, the temple platform itself represents Jambudvipa.

3. Rings of Oceans and Lands: The Puranas describe a system of seven concentric rings of oceans (made of different substances like milk, honey) and landmasses, all enclosed by a wall at the edge of the universe.

   • Angkor Wat simplifies this: a massive moat encircles the temple, representing the ocean (implying the multiple rings).

   • The outer wall of the temple complex symbolizes the great wall at the edge of the universe.

4. Concentric Galleries and Towers: The temple features multiple galleries (3 galleries: first, second at 15 feet higher, and upper at 36 feet higher) and towers, creating a hierarchical progression towards the center, mirroring the cosmic arrangement and spiritual journey.

The Churning of the Sea of Milk Myth

Angkor Wat's design also literally portrays the Hindu creation myth of the "Churning of the Sea of Milk," depicted in the sculptures of its first gallery and physically integrated into its architecture.

• The Myth:

  • Conflict: A perpetual battle between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) for control of the universe.

  • Goal: To obtain the Elixir of Immortality, which requires churning the cosmic Sea of Milk.

  • Truce and Alliance: The Devas propose a truce with the Asuras, who agree to help, each believing they will secure the elixir for themselves.

  • Vishnu's Role: Vishnu (the preserver, avatar as a tortoise/Kurma) is called upon to maintain balance. He provides the pivot for the churning.

  • Churning Process: Vishnu uproots Mount Mandara (a mountain near Meru) and places it on his shell. The Naga (a great seven-headed snake god from the Sea of Milk) is then wrapped around Mount Mandara. The Devas line up on one side of the Naga, and the Asuras on the other, pulling back and forth to spin the mountain and churn the sea.

  • Outcome: The Elixir is generated, leading to another fight. Long story short, Vishnu intervenes, drinks the elixir, sides with the gods, and they ultimately defeat the demons, creating the universe with Indra as the main god.

• Representation in Angkor Wat:

  • Naga Balustrade: The long passageway leading to the temple features balustrades (railings) that are explicitly sculpted as the seven-headed Naga snake god, symbolizing the churning rope.

  • Mount Mandara: The gate structure above the entrance symbolically represents Mount Mandara, with the Naga balustrade appearing to be pulled on either side, enacting the churning process.

  • The entire outer gallery walls are covered with sculptures narrating this myth and other Puranic stories.