Sewu

Description

Sewu (from Old Javanese Sewu, Javanese: ꦱꦺꦮꦸ, romanized: Sèwu) is an eighth-century Mahayana Buddhist or Hindu located 800 metres north of Prambanan in Central Java, Indonesia. The word for a Hindu or Buddist temple in Javanese is "candi" (from Kawi caṇḍi), hence, the common name is "Candi Sewu". Candi Sewu is the second largest Buddhist temple complex in Indonesia; Borobudur is the largest. Sewu predates is located near the "Loro Jonggrang" temple at Prambanan. Although the complex consists of 249 temples, this Javanese name translates to 'a thousand temples,' which originated from popular local folklore (The Legend of Loro Jonggrang). Archaeologists believe the original name for the temple compound to be Manjusrigrha.