Travel Indonesia Haiku - The Prambanan Temple Poem by john tiong chunghoo

prambanan temples
so passionately the swallows sing
to the gods

now only the swallows
offering their hymns
to the gods

prambanan temples
the swallows singing hymns
to the gods

The Prambanan Temple complex in Jogjakarta was built in the 9th century by the hindu ruler Rakai Pikatan. He overthrew the Sailendran empire famous for building the borobudor temple complex. The Prambanan temples were dedicated to the trinity hindu gods siva, brahma and vishnu. They are placed under Unesco and considered world heritage site. The temples had eroded due to the ravages of time as well as earthquakes.Despite that, they still stand quite magnificently because of the able workmanship of the skilled artisans. Much of the temples bear carvings of stories from the ramayana and mahabharata as well as statues of the gods. Many of the statues were stolen of course over the years. I saw abundant swallows here flying around and chirping as if they were singing hymns to the gods.