Jago temple

Javanese kings were thought to become gods when they died. Candi Jago is a monument to the deification of king Wishnuwarddhana (1249-1268 AD) of the Singasari kingdom (1222-1992 ).  Scholars are pretty certain of this, because it is chronicled in the Negarakrtagama that king Hayam Wuruk (1350-1389) of the Majapahit kingdom (1294-1478) paid his respects to his predecessor at Candi Jayaghu. The chronicle also states that Wishnuwarddhana became Amoghapasa - the highest god in Tantric Buddhism. A statue of this eight-armed god, which originally may have stood inside the temple, now has been put upright at the side of it, together with three kala heads, which used to look down on devotees from over the entrances.

Majapahit was founded by Wijaya, son of the last king of Singasari, after an intervention by the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan in the Javanese power struggles. This explains not only the interest of the rulers of Majapahit in the temple, but also that the style of the building and the reliefs in its present state belong to the last years of the Majapahit era. It is certain that the temple was renovated in 1350 AD and later years.

The building consists of three terraces on top of which rested the main temple body.  The name of the village where Candi Jago is located, Tumpang, refers to this design: in old Javanese “Tumpang” means “layered, tiered”. The temple opening faces North-west (towards the region of the dead). The two lower terraces extend far to the West, from where two staircases on the North and South end lead up to the next level.

Even after the modern restoration from 1976 to 1980 not much of the temple body remains. The interest of Candi Jago for modern visitors lies in the reliefs on the base. These reliefs are of both Buddhist and Hindu nature; religious beliefs at the time being a mixture of both.

The reliefs on the sides of the lower terrace have been identified as Buddhist stories:
The tale Kunjarakarna. The hero, Kunjarakarna, visits the underworld where he sees how deceased sinners are being tortured. Through his earnest search for enlightenment he succeeds in shortening the period of punishment of his friend Purnawijaya from 100,000 years to just nine days. And even these are waived by benevolent god Wairocana.
Several Tantric stories.

On the middle terrace are the following Hindu tales:
Arjunawiwaha, or The Marriage of Arjuna. This is a Javanese addition to the Hindu epos Mahabharata, written by Empu Kanwa in the 11th century in Kediri kingdom. The marriage - with seven heavenly maidens - takes place at the very end, after Arjuna has assisted god Indra killing the evil king Niwata Kawaca.
Parthayajna, another tale of he hero Arjuna, in which he seeks to strengthen himself spiritually for the goal of recovering his kingdom.

And another Hindu story is found on the upper terrace:
Kresnayana, relating the marriage of king Wishnuwardhana with Nararya Waning Hyun, which in symbolizes the marrige of the gods Wishnu and Sri.

The stories Partayajna and Kunjarakarna were written by Mpu Tanakung, who lived by the end of the Majapahit era. This proves that work was done on Candi Jago through most of this era.

It is a challenge to recognize scenes from the stories in the reliefs, which by the way read anti-clockwise or from left to right. When we visited Candi Jago a woman came running form a neighbouring house, and enthusiastically pointed out the more captivating scenes. She also sold us a booklet (in Indonesian) containing among others a synopsis of the Kunjarakarna, Parthayajna and Krsnayana tales. A version of Arjunawiwaha we found on the internet. So now we await an occasion to visit again, to try and see how much of the reliefs we can read.

Directions: Candi Jago is situated in the centre of Tumpang village. If you rent a 4WD tour from Malang to Bromo via “the back door”, you can conveniently make a stop at Candi Jago. Alternatively you can make the 22 km trip from Malang by minibus or own transport.
Leave Malang via Jalan Laksda Adisucipto heading east straight to Tumpang. Stay on the main road after you pass the entrance gate to Tumpang: "Masuk Kota Tumpang". The road changes names from Jalan Raya Jeru to Jalan Raya Malang Suko, then Jalan Raya Kauman. 200 m into Jalan Raya Kauman you find Candi Jago pointed out on your left hand.