Page:The Pamphleteer (Volume 8).djvu/84

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80
Discourse of the Hon. T. S. Raffles.

figures, containing historical scenes and mythological ceremonies, supposed to be representations of a principal part, either of the Ramayan or Mahabrat. The figures and costume are evidently Indian; and we are at a loss whether most to admire the extent and grandeur of the whole construction, or the beauty, richness and correctness of the sculpture.

The name, and resemblance of the images which surround this temple to the figure of Budha, has induced an opinion that it was exclusively confined to the worship of that deity; but it should be noticed, that in the immediate vicinity of this large temple, and evidently connected with it, are the remains of several smaller temples, constructed much after the fashion of the temples at Prambanan, and containing a variety of sculptures and images of the Brahminical worship. A large but mutilated stone figure of Brahma was found in a field hard by; and as there are images similarly resembling Budha to be found at Prambanan, it would seem, that if they are ascertained to represent that deity, these buildings must have been erected at a period when the worship was not separated.

Although the general design of this temple differs from those at Prambanan, a similar style of sculpture and decoration is observable; and the same may be also traced in the ruins at Singa Sari, situated in the Residency of Pasaruan, where are still to be found images of Brahma, Mahadewa, Ganesa, the Bull Nandi, and others, of the most exquisite workmanship, and in a still higher degree of preservation than any remaining at Prambanan or Boro Bodo.

One of the most extraordinary monuments in this quarter, however, is an immense colossal statue of a man resting on his hams, of the same character as the porters at Prambanan, lying on its face, and adjacent to a terrace, on which it was originally placed. This statue measures in length about twelve feet, breadth between the shoulders nine feet and a half, and at the base nine feet and a half, with corresponding dimensions in girth, cut from one solid stone. The statue seems evidently to have fallen from the adjacent elevated terrace; although it is difficult to reconcile the probability of its having been elevated to such a station, with reference to any traces we now have of the knowledge of mechanics by the Javanese. To have raised it by dint of mere manual labor would appear, at the present day, an Herculean task. The terrace is about eighteen feet high. A second figure, of the same dimensions, has since been discovered in the vicinity of the above; and, when the forest shall be cleared, some traces of the large temple to which they formed the approach may probably be found. Not far from Singa Sari, which was once the seat of empire, and in the district of Malang, are