Ratu Boko's Palace
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Ratu Boko's Palace is a remaining of monastery and King Boko's palace that was built around 8th century in Yogyakarta, Indonesia under the reign of Rakai Panangkaran, descendant of Syailendra dinasty. This palace is one of many Buddha temples in Indonesia. The King, Rakai Panangkaran, embraced Buddhism while the majority of his people embraced Hinduism. The original name of this palace is Abhayagiri Vihara (means a temple on a peaceful hill). This palace is located 196 m above the sea level, from which one will be able to see city of Yogyakarta and Prambanan temple with Mount Merapi as the background.
It is believed that this temple was built for seclusion purpose. The total area of this palace is about 250,000 m² wide. This palace consists of monastery, temples, square terrace, and ponds. Those ponds are used by the royal family of King Boko for bathing purpose.
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[edit] Main Gate
It is read on the main gate Panabwara that was written by Rakai Panabwara, descendant of Rakai Panangkaran. He carved his name there in order to legitimate his authority of this palace.
[edit] Candi Batu Putih
Literally, Batu Putih means white stone. There is a temple of white stone about 50 m from the main gate. Near to this temple, tourists will be able to find a square area (about 26x26 m) with two terraces. The function of that building is to burn corpses.
[edit] The Amerta Mantana
Amerta Mantana is a name of the well located inside Ratu Boko's Palace. It is believed that the water of Amerta brings luck for anyone who uses it. Hindu people use it in Tawur Agung ceremony, one day before the Nyepi day, to support the achievement of self purify and to return the earth into her initial harmony.
[edit] Buddhism Hinduism
At the eastern part of the palace, lies two caves that were formed of sediment stones. The upper cave is called Gua Lanang (Male Cave) and the lower cave is called Gua Wadon (Female Cave). In front of Gua Lanang, there is a pond and three effigies. Based on the research, the effigy is known as Aksobya, one of Buddha Pantheons.
Even though it was built by a Buddhist, there are Hindu elements in it. This can be seen from the presence of Lingga and Yoni, Ganesha statue, and golden plate with the writing "Om Rudra ya namah swaha" on it as form of worship to Rudra as the other name of Shiva. This proved that the Hindus and Buddhist live together with tolerance.
