The Borobodur Temple as a MANDALA

Empires such as Bagan, Ayutthaya, Champa, Khmer, Srivijaya and Majapahit are known as "mandala" in
this sense. Our temple is the second largest Buddhist temple in the world after Angkor Wat. Constructors
erected this monument in the shape of a mandala and an opening Lotus flower on a square base (118 x
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118 m) that smoothly turns into a circle.

Borobudur has eight tiers: the five lower ones are square, whereas the three upper ones are round. The
shape of the building itself resembles a mandala and represents a scheme of the universe according to
Buddhist beliefs, where heaven and earth are united. On the upper tier there are 72 small stupas around a
big central stupa. Every stupa is bell-shaped. Inside the stupas, there are Buddha statues.
The temple complex contains 1,460 bas-reliefs with religious motifs. Relief panels describe the world of
passions and the world of human perceptional development. Gradually ascending the helical serpentine
road, a traveller perceives the world of matter and reaches the spiritual world.
The temple structure may be divided into three components:
 the temple base,
 the temple summit.
 the temple body,
The temple base is 118 x 118 m in width and 4 m in height. It is made of smooth plates with three tiers
and 20 corners. The temple body consists of five square platforms-tiers: the higher one ascends the
smaller every next tier is. The very first platform of the “monument body” is located 7 metres away from
the edge of the base. Every subsequent platform is shifted 2 metres relative to the previous platform. The
temple summit consists of three rounded platforms, on which 72 small stupas and the main stupa in the
centre are installed. The central stupa is the highest point of the monument, towering 35 metres above the
temple foot. It represents a bell-shaped stupa, 7 metres in height, topping the huge pyramid.
1.The lowest level of the temple complex, called Kamadhatu, represents the world of passions. 160
images of sensory manifestations have not been preserved to nowadays – we know about the existence of
those from ancient manuscripts only.

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2.The second level – the five tiers called Rupadhatu – symbolizes the real world and contains religious
themes. The entire history of Buddhism is reflected in sculptures and bas-reliefs. Here, there are 432
Buddha statues: 104 on the first and second terraces (each), 88 on the third terrace, 72 on the fourth, and
64 on the fifth.
3.The remarkable beauty is completed by the three upper rounded terraces. This is the Arupadhatu level.
There are 32 stupas on the lowest terrace, 24 on the middle, and 16 on the upper. A natural-sized statue of
Buddha is inside each of the stupas. The largest stupa – the symbol of eternity – finishes the building.
32+24+16 = 72: an interesting interpretation of the structure of the world.

10 th: The most interesting is the secret of the “tenth terrace”. It was discovered totally accidentally that
bas-reliefs are carved under the ground on Borobudur base walls, just like on the six lower terraces of the
stupa. About 1,500 square metres of valuable bas-reliefs have turned to be hidden under the ground. The
lower tier of the bas-relief describes the afterlife, and we can assume this was the reason why human eyes
were not supposed to see it. An enormous piece of work was deliberately concealed from people, since
only all-seeing deities could admire the bas-reliefs.

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There is an assumption that Borobudur was constructed in a shape of Buddha sitting on a Lotus flower. In
1949 geologists discovered deposits that were interpreted as the bottom of a lake. There is a probability
that the temple complex was located on a lake. By the constructors’ plan, the entire magnificence of the
temple was above the lake surface, and Buddha statue crowned the entire structure.

Buddhist monks who were building Borobudur implemented the idea of “a bible in stone”, having left the
knowledge to descendants for many centuries. Images on the walls told about Buddha’s life. Following
the way along the galleries, a person approached enlightenment. In order to read this textbook in stone,
one needed to cover almost 5 km. Visitors covered the way to the very top of the temple, moving
clockwise through all the eight tiers. Every platform represents a stage of education on the way of
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transition from the earthly plane to the heavenly plane.

Biggest Mandala in the world

Borobudur is biggest Mandala in the world, when You see from sky You can see the Mandala, if You see
further, You can see 3 Temple in one straight line ( Mendut Temple, Pawon Temple and Borobudur
Temple ) betwen that, there is Elo river and Progo river and it was built at 8th century

Thus, most likely the architecture of the Borobudur is based on a Javanese variant of Buddhism, for if we
look at the decoration in greater detail we obviously can confirm that its origin is based on Indian
mythology and Buddhist iconography, however, we can also clearly see how these fundamental elements
have been strongly combined with local (that is, Javanese) influences. The style in which the characters
are depicted on the Borobudur differ greatly from the traditional Indian (Buddhist) iconography. The

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statues are depicted in other bodily postures, and with less refined details as they have in India; the
Javanese obviously had a different idea of physical beauty and how this ought to be depicted, and that’s
why on the Borobudur the voluptuous curves of the body as familiar in Indian iconography are altered
according to local Javanese perception of beauty (by which the female body is dressed in more clothes,
and often can only be distinguished from the male body by the curves of their breasts).

If we consider the assumption of the Borobudur representing a maṇḍala, then the main stūpa signifies the
final destination of the spiritual path, which is situated in the center of the cosmos. At this point one
becomes united with the five transcendental Buddhas of the Formless Realm: Vairocana in the center,
Akṣobhya in the East, Ratnasambhāva in the South, Amitābha in the West, and Amoghasiddhi in the
North. This particular line-up corresponds with the Vajradhātu Maṇḍala and the Garbhadhātu
Maṇḍala in Tibet and Nepal. One could gain access to the center of the cosmos by entering
the maṇḍala from the outside, and gradually moving further inwards. In this context, a maṇḍala can be
interpreted as a palace with four entrance gates at the four cardinal points of the Universe, stretching the
entire cosmos. The palace is a metaphor for human manifestation in this world, which, by means of using
the maṇḍala as a meditation object, guides the practitioner to the ultimate (spiritual) goal in life.
Visualization techniques such as these are still being practised in Vajrayāna Buddhism today.

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Though the assumption of the Borobudur as a maṇḍala seems possible, this view remains yet impossible
to prove. In spite of the previously mentioned similarities with the maṇḍalas, there are, however, also
many differences. Beside the five transcendental Buddhas many other deities – both male and female –
are often seen depicted in maṇḍalas. However, neither of these deities can be found on the Borobudur.
Instead we do find many other depicted Buddhas on the Borobudur, but these do not display any of the
features similar to other male or female deities. Thus, the other Buddhas do not function as a mere
substitution for the various other deities (like guards, gatekeepers, goddesses of worship or Taras)
commonly seen in maṇḍalas. Therefore, we may assume, that, as already had been suggested, the
Borobudur displays a variant of Buddhism in the way it manifested in Java at the time of the reign of the
Sailendra dynasty. This particular local variant of Buddhism was based on Indian influences and
Mahāyāna Buddhism, which came to Java from China during the heydays of the Tang dynasty (618-906).
The unique combination of these aspects would eventually become the Buddhism of Java. Then there also
was the Hindu dynasty of Sanjaya that ruled on Java during the same period of the Sailendra dynasty. The
fact that the Sanjaya shared their power with the Sailendra dynasty – for example, through donations for
the construction of the Kalasan temple – illustrates, that, apart from its religious function, the Borobudur
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also formed an important expression of power.
The role of royal patronage and religious institution4
The Borobudur monument combines the symbolic forms of the stupa (a Buddhist commemorative mound
usually containing holy relics), the temple mountain (based on Mount Meru of Hindu mythology), and
the mandala (a mystic Buddhist symbol of the universe, combining the square as earth and the circle as
heaven). The style of Borobudur was influenced by Indian Gupta and post-Gupta art.In all the regions of
Southeast Asia, the arts flourished under the patronage of the kings. About the time of the birth of Christ,
tribal groups gradually organized themselves, after some years of settled life as rice cultivators, into city-
kingdoms, or conglomerations of villages. A king was thus little more than a paramount tribal chieftain.
Since the tribes had been accustomed to worshiping local spirits, the kings sought a new spirit that would
be worshiped by the whole community.

One reason that the gods of Hinduism and Buddhism were so readily acceptable to Southeast Asia was
this need for new national gods. The propagation of the new religions was the task of the kings, and
consequently the period from the 1st to the 13th century was a great age of temple building all over
Southeast Asia.

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Architecture, sculpture, and painting on the temple walls were the arts that flourished. In the ancient
empires of eastern Indochina and the islands, scholars of Sanskrit, the language of the sacred works of
Hinduism, became part of the king’s court, producing a local Sanskrit literature of their own. This literary
activity was confined to the hereditary nobility and never reached the people, except in stories from the
great Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Because the Hindu religious writings in Sanskrit were
beyond the reach of the common people, Hinduism had to be explained to them by Hindu stories of gods
and demons and mighty men. On the other side of the peninsula, in the Pyu-Burmese empire of Prome,
which flourished before the 8th century, there was no such development—first, because Hinduism was
never widely accepted in Burma and, second, because the more open Burmese society developed neither
the institution of a god-king nor that of a hereditary nobility. Although Pali scholars surrounded the king
in later Pagan, Pali studies were pursued not at the court but at monasteries throughout the kingdom so
that even the humblest villager had some faint contact with Pali teachings. While the courts of the kings
in Cambodia and Java remained merely local centres of Sanskrit scholarship, Pagan became a centre of
Pali learning for Buddhist monks and scholars even from other lands. As in the case of stories from the
Indian epics, stories of the Jatakas (birth stories of the Buddha) were used to explain Buddhism to the
common people, who could not read the scriptures written in Pali. Just as scenes from the great epics in
carving or in fresco adorned the temples in Cambodia and Java, scenes from the Jatakas adorned the
Pagan temples.
.
The patronage of the king and the religious enthusiasm of the common people could not have produced
the great temples without the enormous wealth that suddenly became available in the region following the
commercial expansion. With the Khmer and Javanese empires, the wealth was produced by a feudalistic
society, and so the temples were built by the riches of the king and his nobles, combined with the
compulsory labour of their peasants and slaves, who probably derived some aesthetic pleasure from their
work because of their religious fervour. Nonetheless, their monuments, such as Borobudur, in Java,
and Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, had an atmosphere of massive, all-conquering power. At Pagan, where
wealth was shared by the king, the royal officials, and the common people, the temples and the
monasteries were built by all who had enough not only to pay the artisans their wages but also to
guarantee their good health, comfort, and safety during the actual construction. The temples were
dedicated for use by all monks and lay people as places of worship, meditation, and study, and the kings
of Pagan did not build a single tomb for themselves. The Khmer temple of Angkor Wat and the
Indonesian temple of Borobudur were tombs in that the ashes of the builders would be enshrined therein;
the kings left stone statues representing them as gods for posterity to worship, whereas at Pagan there was
only one statue of a king, and it depicted him on his knees with his hands raised in supplication to the
Buddha. Consequently, the atmosphere that pervaded the temples of Pagan was one of joy and
tranquillity.
The mandala is likened by some to a "floor plan of the universe." The type most familiar in the West is
an intricately patterned painting on cloth or paper that often takes the general form of a circle within a
square.

The word "mandala" comes from the Sanskrit verbal root "mand" (meaning to mark off, decorate, set off)
and the Sanskrit suffix "la" (meaning circle, essence, sacred center).
The mandala's symbolic power can be traced back to millennia-old roots in Indian temple architecture,
which created sacred spaces linking the worshiper to the larger cosmos. In these temples, time and space
were represented in a vocabulary of circles and squares. Similarly, a mandala helps believers visualize the
universe and their place in it, often in relation to a specific deity found in the center of the image.

the evolution of the symbol has happened throughout Asia under the influence of various religious and
artistic traditions over a period of several thousand years-some complex; others quite simple offerering
proof of the continuing vitality of the mandala and its role in Buddhist devotions. The mandala is of
significant importance in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Both religions adopt the mandala as a peaceful

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and creative symbol. Hence, the speculative project finds a balance to build a memorial, which will
signify peace and harmony of the Tamil community. The scale of the mandala here is monumental
imposing the idea of spirituality and peace. Contemplating the mandala does not only provide insight into
reality, the Cosmos but also communion with it.
Mandala is the mystery that pervades all existence. Mandala alleviates suffering individually as well as in
society. Contemplation can help overcome antagonism, conflict, stress and even war. Bindu as a
symbolism is the beginning of the process that culminates into a mandala.
In Buddhism, the mandala is a ritual instrument, much like a mantra, used to assist meditation and
concentration. Throughout history, these pictorial temples--intricate, two-dimensional, multi-colored patterns
of concentric circles, squares, and other shapes--have signified the human need for wholeness, order, and
balance. But while many people of the West accept mandalas as representative of a cosmic force, few
understand they are meant to be blueprints as well. Indeed, a Tantric Buddhist meditator studies a two-
dimensional mandala like an architect, building up in his mind the image of a palace encompassing the
sacred principles of Buddhist philosophy.

MANDALA AND BUDDHIST TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE

The mandala in Buddhism is a cosmic model depicting Buddha’s dwelling place as the center of the
universe. Like in the Hindu temples, the structuring of the Buddhist temples has also been predominantly
based on the spiritual model of the mandala. Illustrations can be seen both in the form of two-dimensional
mandalas as well as three-dimensional mandalas. The two-dimensional mandalas which are drawings
composed of squares and concentric circles could be temporarily painted on various material or drawn on
the ground or sand or other natural substances using coloured powder. Customs involving ceremonious
gatherings along with prayers and chantings while drawing the mandalas are believed to alleviate
difficulties and be of greater good to an individual or a community. These ceremonies could even last up
to a number of days.
Three-dimensionally, the mandala diagram becomes a visual model of the built environment. In the
Buddhist worship place, the central space is significant having a statue of the Buddha fronted by a
worshipping space surrounded by walls. This is encircled by a circumambulating space. The
circumambulation pathway is a space of psychological awakening before reaching the spiritual pinnacle

MANDALA AND HINDU TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE

Although there have been various arguments by authors of Indian temple architecture like Stella
Kramrisch and Michael W. Meister about the applicability of the Vastu Purusha Mandala as a governing
device for temple architecture, it is safe to say that for formulating the layout of the temple, the Vastu
Purusha Mandala has been an imperative tool. Though the 8 x 8 grid or the Manduka Vastu Mandala has
been used in various temples of Indian architecture, it is to be noted that regional differences have played
a major influence on the workability of the mandala design throughout India.
Customarily, mandalas were spaces for the symbolic consciousness of universal theories which help in
the awakening of the individual psyche. The mandalas can be thought of as diagrams that function as a
cue to reach a contemplational state which is the primary aim of the tradition. The form of the temples
that are based on the regulating lines of the mandala were meant to create spaces that bring about a
“physical and spatial” communion between God and man.

A mandala a – literally "circle") is a geometric configuration of symbols with a very different ation. In
various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts,
as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid
to meditation and trance induction. It is used as a map (in Shintoism) in the Indian
religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism or Japanese religion of Shintoism representing deities, or in the
case of Shintoism, paradises, kami or actual shrines. In New Age, the mandala is a diagram, chart or
geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a time-microcosm of
the universe, but it originally meant to represent wholeness and a model for the organizational structure of

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life itself, a cosmic diagram that shows the relation to the infinite and the world that extends beyond and
within minds and bodies.

he basic form of hinduism mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point and
it is called also a yantra. Each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often have radial balance.
A yantra is similar to a mandala, usually smaller and using a more limited colour palette. It may be a two-
or three-dimensional geometric composition used in sadhanas, puja or meditative rituals, and may
incorporate a mantra into its design. It is considered to represent the abode of the deity. Each yantra is
unique and calls the deity into the presence of the practitioner through the elaborate symbolic geometric
designs. According to one scholar, "Yantras function as revelatory symbols of cosmic truths and as
instructional charts of the spiritual aspect of human experience"

Many situate yantras as central focus points for Hindu tantric practice. Yantras are not representations,
but are lived, experiential, nondual realities. As Khanna describes:

Despite its cosmic meanings a yantra is a reality lived. Because of the relationship that exists in
the Tantras between the outer world (the macrocosm) and man's inner world (the microcosm), every
symbol in a yantra is ambivalently resonant in inner–outer synthesis, and is associated with the subtle
body and aspects of human consciousness.

Political meaning

The Rajamandala (or Raja-mandala; circle of states) was formulated by the Indian author Kautilya in his
work on politics, the Arthashastra (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century BCE). It describes
circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's state.
In historical, social and political sense, the term "mandala" is also employed to denote
traditional Southeast Asian political formations (such as federation of kingdoms or vassalized states). It
was adopted by 20th century Western historians from ancient Indian political discourse as a means of
avoiding the term 'state' in the conventional sense. Not only did Southeast Asian polities not conform to

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Chinese and European views of a territorially defined state with fixed borders and a bureaucratic
apparatus, but they diverged considerably in the opposite direction: the polity was defined by its centre
rather than its boundaries, and it could be composed of numerous other tributary polities without
undergoing administrative integration.

Mount Meru
A mandala can also represent the entire universe, which is traditionally depicted with Mount Meru as
the axis mundi in the center, surrounded by the continents.
Wisdom and impermanence
In the mandala, the outer circle of fire usually symbolises wisdom. The ring of eight charnel grounds
represents the Buddhist exhortation to be always mindful of death, and the impermanence with
which samsara is suffused: "such locations were utilized in order to confront and to realize the transient
nature of life". Described elsewhere: "within a flaming rainbow nimbus and encircled by a black ring
of dorjes, the major outer ring depicts the eight great charnel grounds, to emphasize the dangerous nature
of human life". Inside these rings lie the walls of the mandala palace itself, specifically a place populated
by deities and Buddhas.

Five Buddhas
One well-known type of mandala is the mandala of the "Five Buddhas", archetypal Buddha forms
embodying various aspects of enlightenment. Such Buddhas are depicted depending on the school
of Buddhism, and even the specific purpose of the mandala. A common mandala of this type is that of
the Five Wisdom Buddhas (a.k.a. Five Jinas), the
1. Buddhas Vairocana,
2. Aksobhya,
3. Ratnasambhava,
4. Amitabha and
5. Amoghasiddhi.
When paired with another mandala depicting the Five Wisdom Kings, this forms the Mandala of the Two
Realms.

Practice
Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation.
The mandala is "a support for the meditating person", something to be repeatedly contemplated to the
point of saturation, such that the image of the mandala becomes fully internalised in even the minutest
detail and can then be summoned and contemplated at will as a clear and vivid visualized image. With
every mandala comes what Tucci calls "its associated liturgy ... contained in texts known
as tantras" instructing practitioners on how the mandala should be drawn, built and visualised, and
indicating the mantras to be recited during its ritual use.
By visualizing "pure lands", one learns to understand experience itself as pure, and as the abode of
enlightenment. The protection that we need, in this view, is from our own minds, as much as from
external sources of confusion. In many tantric mandalas, this aspect of separation and protection from the
outer samsaric world is depicted by "the four outer circles: the purifying fire of wisdom, the vajra circle,
the circle with the eight tombs, the lotus circle". The ring of vajras forms a connected fence-like
arrangement running around the perimeter of the outer mandala circle.
As a meditation on impermanence (a central teaching of Buddhism), after days or weeks of creating the
intricate pattern of a sand mandala, the sand is brushed together into a pile and spilled into a body of
running water to spread the blessings of the mandala. External ritual and internal sadhana form an
indistinguishable whole, and this unity finds its most pregnant expression in the form of the mandala, the
sacred enclosure consisting of concentric squares and circles drawn on the ground and representing that
adamant plane of being on which the aspirant to Buddha hood wishes to establish himself. The unfolding

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of the tantric ritual depends on the mandala; and where a material mandala is not employed, the adept
proceeds to construct one mentally in the course of his meditation."
Conclusions:

1. Borobudur in its base is a regular square with 118-m sides.

2. Such layout is used in meditative practices of Hinduism and Buddhism to intensify processes of inner
concentration during meditation.
3. The numbers 7, 72. were applied in the temple design and construction, which evidences the
availability of relevant knowledge at that time.
4. No wonder, the temple complex is under UNESCO protection, i.e. it is not available for further
studies.
5. If we look at Borobudur from above, we can see it represents a complete mandala.

6. The temple has 8 tiers: 5 square and 3 round ones. On the upper tier, there is the large stupa – a bell-
shaped monument with a statue of Buddha inside.
7. Borobudur is situated approximately 2,439.85 km (1,516.05 miles) away from Angkor Wat.

8. If we look at mutual disposition of some ancient religious sites from the North Pole, interesting
correlations may be observed.

9. At the upper tier there are 72 small bell-shaped, stupa-like towers located around the big central
tower.
10. Between Chandi Mendut and Borobudur there is the small Chandi Pavon – at a distance of
approximately 1,150 metres away from Mendut and 1,750 metres away from Borobudur. Disposition
of the structures complies with the golden ratio.

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 A mandala and a yantra

11. Mandala in the form of a circle with an indication of a square and a point in the centre, and a four-
sided pyramid with six steps and fourfold division;

12. Kali Yantra (translated from Sanskrit, “kala” means “time”; this word originates from the Indo-
European root that means spinning; a word that is close in its meaning in Russian is “kolo”); in Hindu
mythology it means cyclical creations and destructions of the Universe, rotation of time in the concept of
rebirth of the Soul and of a subject of fate.

REFERENCE
1.https://rgdn.info/en/borobodur._buddiyskaya_stupa
2. See Chapter
3https://www.indomagic.com/articles/art-material-culture/architecture/architecture-of-borobudur-
temple/
4. shttps://www.britannica.com/art/Southeast-Asian-arts/Indigenous-traditions

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