Candi Gumpung, Buddhist temple in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia
Candi Gumpung is a Buddhist temple in Muaro Jambi built with a main sanctuary and a secondary shrine, enclosed by protective walls. The site displays a carefully organized layout that combined religious and defensive purposes.
The temple was built between the mid-9th and early 10th centuries and contains inscriptions in ancient Kawi script along with Chinese ceramics from the Song Dynasty. These artifacts reveal close cultural connections between Southeast Asia and China during this era.
Golden plates with inscriptions cover the temple grounds, bearing mantras and names from the Vajradhatu Mandala tradition. These sacred carvings reveal how worshippers expressed their Buddhist beliefs through written rituals.
Visitors enter through the eastern gate to access the temple grounds and explore the scattered archaeological structures. Wearing appropriate shoes is advisable as the pathways can be uneven and parts of the original structure remain under excavation.
Archaeological excavations uncovered inscriptions with rounded letter forms and distinctive hooks on certain characters, indicating skilled handwriting. These fine details in script design suggest that only trained scribes created these sacred texts.
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