This temple of Kalasan is located in Kalibening hamlet, village of Tirtomartani, Kalasan district, Sleman regency. It stands visibly, 20m away, from the Jogjakarta-Solo highway, at the 13th km, surrounded by local dwellings. The location is easily reached by car or public transport. The temple is maintained by the Office of Archeological Services (Kantor Sejarah Peninggalan Suaka Purbakala, or SPSP) of Jogjakarta. A contribution is required upon entrance.

This impressive temple, on account of its size and decorations, is thought by archeologist to be one of masterpieces of its time. Its base is a rectangle of 45m sq wiyh protrusions in the form of Greek crosses. Its roof is an octagonal prism with one large stupa and 52 stupikas around it. Two side chambers are almost completely in ruin, one has literally no ornaments left, and only the last one, to the south, retains its decarations. At the facade you can see the most beautiful Kala motives in the region; the monster heads are a strange mix of animal and luxurious plants. The Kalas, celestial elements, are in opposition with the Makaras, which are aquatic elements. Notice the top of Kala heads surrounded by divine musicians.

Kalasan is constructed from andesites and retains its vajralepa (stucco layering), which was done skillfuly and with great care. There are many niches that once housed statues, many of which are now missing, but we can still admire the large number of bas-relief representing the Dhyanis Buddha as well as the lotus-carrying goddesses. An extraordinary world inhabits the temple: flowers, leaves, musicians carrying their instruments, elephants, lions, and so forth. You can enter the sanctuary that once must have housed a large bronze statue of Buddha.

An inscription discovered nearby make a reference to Buddhist priest asking the Sailendra dynasti, then in power, to build a shrine in honor of the goddess Tara as well as a monastery in 700 Caka year, or 778. It is this year that is retained as the constructing date of the temple, although it might well be that it was renovated many times since. It is interesting to notice that the cult of Tara Bodhisattva coming from India, made its first appearance in South-East Asia here and have been popular in Tibet.

Kalasan was renovated and excavated from 1927 to 1929 by the Dutch archeologist Van Romondt. Don’t leave without making a tour of the fragments around the temple: it gives the detail of the temple’s reliefs.

The locals believe that the guards of the temple are a great serpent and a beautiful woman. But until now these guards have never disturbed the human being that live around the temple. To protect themselves from these creatures, the villagers make offerings of flowers and food, especially for wedding and circumcision ceremonies. Another legend is about the stucco that covers the temple: it is believed to be made of egg whites protecting the temple from the weather.

Source: Situs-Situs Marjinal Jogja (Sanctuaires Retrouvés/ Sites Out of Sight) - M. Rizky Sasono, Jean-Pascal Elbaz, Agung 'Leak' Kurniawan (Enrique indonesia, Yogyakarta: 1997).

The temple is situated in the Sambisari hamlet, village of Purwomartani, Kalasan district, Sleman regency. It is easy to reach either by bus or by car: Take the highway that leads to Solo and turn left (north) at the 10th km. Go straight north on the asphalt road. Motorbike-taxis (ojek) are available at the junction to take you to the site. A ticket box stands at the entrance, where you pay the entrance fee.

This temple was discovered by a villager in 1966, but was not entirely excavated until 1987. It has the peculiarity of standing 6m under ground level, perhaps due to an eruption of Mount Merapi. Today the site is an agreeable place resembling a public park where students, lovers, or mothers go for a walk. The site is composed of a sanctuary and three secondary temples (perwara) facing it. The principal sanctuary faces west and its shape on the ground is a perfect square of 13.65x13.65m, 7m in height. The temple is rare for not having a proper foot; the base was its foot. It is surrounded by niches with Kala heads above tham, all housing the statue of Durga (at the north), Ganesha (at the east), and Agastya (at the west). At each side of the entrance, the empty niches once housed the statue of the guardians Mahakala and Nandiswar, now stolen. In the interior, a yoni (facing north) with ornaments of a naga and its lingga stands intact.

In front of the sanctuary, the secondary temples have lost their roofs, but a pedestal ornamented of a lotus flower is still visible in two of the temples. Notice, at the terrace, the presence of twelve stones in the form of flat mounds around the sanctuary (8 rectangular and 4 round ones) that could be the plinths of wooden pillars.

The temple is surounded by two entourages of white stone. The first, of a dimension of 50x48m, has four doors (the one facing north was discovered closed, without it being known why) and the terrace that it forms is girded by 8 linggas. The second entourage is not entirely unearthed, but we can see the whole of its north face. It is estimated, considering the statuary, that the temple is of the Shivaist Hindu religion and that the construction was in the IXth or Xth century, which makes it a contemporary of the Prambanan, Plaosan, and Sojiwan temples. Finally, don’t miss the very beautiful fragments of statues conserved at the pavilion at the left of the park’s entrance. The temple is until today used as a place of worship for the Hindu of the region.

It is said that a kyai (Muslim priest) appears in thr dreams of a villager named Karyowinangku, saying,”There is stone in your land”. A week afterwards the villager plowed his land and found seven stones. After observation by specialists, these stones was found to be part of the temple, Karyowinangku is of the opinion that the kyai was the spirit of his grandfather.

Source: Situs-Situs Marjinal Jogja (Sanctuaires Retrouvés/ Sites Out of Sight) - M. Rizky Sasono, Jean-Pascal Elbaz, Agung 'Leak' Kurniawan (Enrique indonesia, Yogyakarta: 1997).