Sari (Indonesian: Candi Sari also known as Candi Bendah), is an 8th century Buddhist temple located at Dusun (hamlet) Bendan, Tirtomartani village, Kalasan, Sleman regency, Yogyakarta. It is located about 130 meters north east from Kalasan temple. This temple was a two story building with wooden beams, floors, stairs completed with windows and doors; all from organic materials which now are decayed and gone. It is strongly suggested that the original function of this building was a vihara (Buddhist monastery), a dwelling place for monks.[1] The temple's name Sari or Saré translated as "to sleep" in Javanese also confirmed the habitation nature of the building.
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Historians suggested that this temple built around the same time with Kalasan temple. The Kalasan inscription dated 778 AD, pranagari script written in sanskrit, mentioned about the temple was erected by the will of Guru Sang Raja Sailendravamçatilaka (the Jewel of Sailendra family) that succeed to persuade Maharaja Tejapurnapana Panangkaran (in other part of the inscription also called as Kariyana Panangkaran) to construct a holy building for the goddess (boddhisattvadevi) Tara and also build a vihara (monastery) for Buddhist monks from Sailendra family's realm. Panangkaran awarded the Kalaça village to sangha (Buddhist monastic community).[2] Based from this inscription, candi Sari probably served as monastery for monks served the Buddhist temple dedicated for Tara (Kalasan temple) nearby.
The ruins were discovered in early 20's, and in 1929, the effort to reconstruct the temple began and finished in 1930. However it was incomplete because many parts are missing including outer base that surrounds the temple, also the extended front room and front stairs that once projected from the east wall of the temple.[1]
The temple is consist of three parts; the base, the body, and the roof. The temple took rectangular plan with the size 17.30 meters north-south, and 10 meters west-east, and soaring 17 meters in height. Only some parts of base remains, the outer base stoneblocks is missing. The entrance door is located at the eastern side with gate adorned with Kala and elephant carving. The windows are surrounds the walls and consist of lower and upper rows, also founds a horizontal middle "belt" lines around the wall, suggesting that it was a two story building.[1]
The interior was consist of three rooms; north room, central room, and south room, each measures 3 meters x 5.8 meters. These three rooms are connected with doorways on eastern side of the room according to north-south axis. On the wall of each room founds rows of extruding stone blocks which used to support wooden beams and wooden floor separated upper and lower floor. At some parts of this extrude stones there is diagonal ones which probably the place where wooden stairs once installed upon.
The upper level was probably used by monks for meditation or worship. Some suggest upper rooms were used as the place for monks to stay, rest, or sleep, while the lower rooms was the place for worship. On lower rooms, there is some elevated parts where statues once inhabited the inner sanctuary was placed, but now the statues are gone. On side walls found niches, probably to place oil lamps. In the inner part of each window founds holes to install wooden window bars.
These rooms were topped with three horse-shoe arched niches adorned with Kala-makara and crowned with three rows of stupas. Between these arched niches founds rain water drainage and "jaladwara" water spouts took form of a giant sitting on a snake.
The outer wall is richly decorated with Buddhist deity figures. External decoration includes Tara with flowers and Bodhisattvas with musical instruments.[3] These figures is arranged in two upper and lower rows placed on each sides of windows consists of 36 figures of Boddhisattvas and Taras; 8 in east side, 8 in north side, 8 in south side, and 12 in west side of the outer wall. This Buddhist figures are usually founds holding red or blue lotus with graceful rested pose known as "tribhangga" with peaceful and serene facial expressions. Also founds the images of Kinnara-Kinnari adorned the walls. However unlike the common image of Kinnara as heavenly creature with upper part of human and lower part of bird, the unusual image of kinnara is founds on northern wall, depicted as winged deity figures similar to common depiction of angels.
On the outer wall of the temple found the traces of plaster called vajralepa (lit: diamond plaster). The same substance also founds in nearby Kalasan temple. The white-yellowish plaster was applied to protect the temple wall, but now the plaster has worn off.
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