borobudur

borobudur is a ninth century mahayana budhist monument in magelang,central java,indonesia.the monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platform and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 budha statue.a main dome located at the centre of the top platform,is surrounded by 72 budha statue seated inside perforated stupa.the monument is bath a shrine to the lord budha and a place for budhist pilgrimage.the journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top throug the three level of budhist cosmology,namely kamadhatu ( the world of desire ) ,rupadhatu ( the world of forms ) and arupadhatu ( the world of formlessness ).during the journey the monument guides the pilgrims throug a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.evidence suggests borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of budhist and hindhu kingdoms in java and the javanese conversion to islam.worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by sir thomas stamford raffles,the then british rule of java,who was adviced of its location by native indonesians.borobudur has since been preserved throug several restorations.the largest restorations project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the indonesians goverment and unesco.following which the monument was listed as a unesco world heritage site. borobudur is still used for pilgrimage once a year budhist indonesia celebrate vesak at the monument and borobudur is indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.