The Odd World Info

Image by Wibowo Djatmiko (Wie146) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 Besides Borobudur and Mendut, Pawon temple is one of the precious relics in Magelang Regency, Central Java. Pawon temple is quite small and it is situated in the settlement area of the village. According to some sources of information, this temple was built in the 8th century. In the days of ancient Mataram kingdom, Pawon temple still functioned as the sacred place of worship. Nowadays, it still takes part in Vesak festival. In old Javanese language, pawon means ash. People say that this temple was used for keeping the ashes of king Indra, his ancestors and king Samaratungga in Syailendra dynasty. The temple that is also called Brajanalan is considered to be the place for keeping the thunder god’s weapon. Brajanalan is the Sanskrit word and has become the name of the village where Pawon temple is situated in. Pawon temple was built in the combination of Javanese Hinduism and Indian architectural style.  It ...

Image by Edi Wibowo - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 Mendut is a 19th century Buddhist temple that is quite popular in Indonesia. It is about three kilometers from Borobudur temple. The name Mendut is derived from the word Venuvana that means a temple in the bamboo forest. Mendut temple was built in the reign of king Indra of Syailendra dynasty in 824 AD. In the Karang Tengah inscription, King Indra built a sacred building named Venuvana that means bamboo forest. Venuvana was interpreted as Mendut Temple by J.G. de Casparis. When it was first discovered in 1836, the entire structure was still in its original shape except the missing roof. No one knows where the roof has gone. The Dutch authorities started the restoration in 1897 and ended in 1904. The first restoration was far from perfect. However, it succeeded in reconstructing the foundation and the body of the temple. The restoration work was continued by Van Erp in 1908. Van Erp led the reconstruction of perfecting the roo...

Image by Michael Gunther - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 The Rat Temple is a very special temple because the water and its bricks have a magic power that is able to drive rats and mice away and predicts the approach of the rainy season. It is located in Temon village, Trowulan subdistrict and it’s about 13 kilometers from the south of Mojokerto city. It’s around 600 meters from Bajangratu temple. While you reach the main road of Mojokerto-Jombang, turn east and pass Segaran pool. The Rat temple is on the left side of the road. The Rat Temple was discovered in 1914 after being buried in the ground for centuries. The villagers reported to the regent that they suffered a severe rat attack. They found that all the rats came from a large mound of earth. After the mound was removed, the villagers saw an ancient temple in the ground and they named it The Rat Temple. A lot of farmers come to the Rat Temple for water because they believe that it has the efficacy of eliminating rat plag...