Sojiwan Temple is located in Kebon Dalem Kidul Village
Sojiwan Temple is located in Kebon Dalem Kidul Village, Prambanan District, Prambanan Regency. It is one of the few Buddhist temples in the Prambanan area, believed to have been built around the ninth or tenth century AD, in parallel with the construction of nearby temples. The Central Java Cultural Heritage Conservation Center has taken great care in restoring and arranging the beautiful surroundings of the temple.
What makes Sojiwan Temple unique are its numerous relief panels that depict stories of animals. These stories aren’t just charming—they also convey timeless moral lessons that remain relevant and practical in daily life.
Several interesting discoveries have been made through investigations of the temple area. One notable feature is the moat surrounding the temple, parts of which run through a nearby residential area. Within this ditch, archaeologists have uncovered statues, fence posts, loose stones, temple structures, and other artifacts, some located in the residential neighborhoods south of the main temple.
Temple stones have also been found beyond the moat, particularly in the villages of Sojiwan and Kalongan, located to the east and south of the temple complex. Some of these stones have even been repurposed by locals as yard fences for homes. Other Sojiwan Temple artifacts, such as Dwarapala statues, have been relocated to Klaten Square, while brief inscriptions are preserved in the Jakarta National Museum.
Sojiwan Temple is situated on the Siwa Plateau, an area rich in both Buddhist and Hindu temples. This cultural landscape reflects the harmony and tolerance that our ancestors practiced centuries ago—values that are increasingly important in modern Indonesian society as we continue to embrace diversity.
The Prambanan area holds the potential to become a national archaeological park due to the variety of temple designs and sizes. The architectural significance of these temples, including their scale and form, suggests that the region could also become a national museum dedicated to temple architecture.
With its fully restored main temple, Sojiwan is now the fifth-largest Buddhist temple in Central Java. A visit to Prambanan Temple is incomplete without stopping by Sojiwan Temple, where visitors can appreciate not only the beauty of the temple but also the peaceful rural setting that surrounds it.
