Dewi Tara





a princess
of ancient srivijaya
palembang

fell in love

 

with the builder
of borobodur, king samaratungga
let other kings
build a thousand temples
in one night

she longed for eternity


and sailed to sailendra
from their union, new conquerors
ruled nusantara

for a millennia

by ninotaziz. all rights reserved


At Borobodur, Java

___________________________________

For Brian. And the G-Man.
Inspired by dVersepoets

Dewi Tara was a princess of Srivijaya in Sumatera, Indonesia. She married the Sailendran king Sumaratungga, who in the ninth century completed the largest Bhuddist temple on earth, today known as Borobodur. The bas-relief above adorns the Borobodur temple. Generally they illustrate the Jataka tales and other literature. However, on the third tier, if I am not mistaken, they depict actual scenes from the Sailendran court life.

I visited Borobodur in June this year with my daughter Inas. Without a guide, I despaired at ever finding the actual illustrations (miles of them all around the temple) I was interested in, i.e. the above scenes. But I did! Just about the time I was to give up, I turned the corner and found, first the ship! Then the court life illustrations. The pot above, is proof that centuries later, and we still love the same beautiful things in life. I have such terra-cotta pots in my garden and the house.


Inas, at the site of Prambanan
where 1000 temples were built in a night
(I'll tell you about it one day, Brian)



18 comments:

  1. a 1000 temples in one night, wow...i wonder if that played into why they reigned for so long....very interesting tale ninot...

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    1. Happy birthday my good friend. I tweeted the legend of 1000 temples for you...

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  2. ..love the long words that the tongue twirls..yet it is only 55 words and a great story or is it legend..I must check it out?!

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    1. Katy, it is a legend highly based on history of the Sailendra kings and the Srivijaya maritime empires - the ruling houses from the 8th to the 13th century in this region.

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  3. I have travelled to Indonesia twice and unfortunately did not visit Borobodur ~ The culture and stories are very rich and full of color ~ Thanks for sharing this, including the pictures (your daughter is lovely) ~

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    1. Ha ha …she is, Grace and is the most talented baker! I took her to Borobodur because she wanted to be an architect all her life…The mother in me shuddered while we were walking the streets of Yogjakarta. Everyone turned to look at her...

      Indonesia is a treasure trove of legends.

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  4. What a fascinating legend....and beautiful temple! I agree with Grace..your daughter is a beautiful young woman.

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    1. Thank you Mary. Yes, the temples of Indonesia are lovely. And yes, the young lady was right at home here...

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  5. LOVE this! So glad you found them after all your looking - what a reward. And you treated us with such lovely poetry and images. Thank you!

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    1. Oh yes, Mystic Mom. I almost gave up!

      Glad you liked it.

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  6. Mystic_Mom
    I just LOve historical 55's
    Thank you for visiting, and playing
    You are welcome back anytime
    Have a Kick Ass Week-End

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    1. Hi G Man! Happy to have visited your blog, and I will return!

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  7. Loved this, the poem, the spectacular photos, the explanation. How wonderful to have made that trip together. A memory for a lifetime.

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    1. Darling Sherry, you are so right. I would remember it for a lifetime.

      We had a trishaw ride with Pak Kapir, he took us through pebbled back lanes and to an art studio with the Merapi Mountain in the background...

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    2. And a conversation with the royal puppet shadow maker, each word etched in my memory. He was very taken up by Inas...

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  8. This was just wonderful.. and I must say the names just blended beautifully into your text.. great.

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    1. Thank you Björn. The names are daunting at times, and I am glad you found it right at home with the text.

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  9. So awesome, you found it just when you were giving up. I'm sure you saw many lovely things, and this was icing on the cake!

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