A Mahayana Buddhist monument near Yogyakarta in Central Java, Indonesia, which is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. In the form of a stepped pyramid, constructed of local volcanic stone around and over a natural hill, it consists of six square and three circular superimposed terraces, crowned by a large stupa; measuring 123 metres square at the base and with a height of 35 metres to the top of the stupa. The monument was built as a place of meditation by Sail-endra kings from c780 onward and was completed about 80 years later by Sanjaya kings. The lower, square terraces, with their galleries containing 1300 reliefs, represent the World of Form (Rupadhatu), whereas the unadorned circular terraces above symbolize the World of Formlessness (Arupadhatii). There are 504 statues of the Buddha on the
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied