The ever youthful Rishi and a devotee of Lord Shiva is believed o have established Hinduism in Bali,Java and Indonesia.
Shrines called Candis were established by the followers.
““In the veins of every one of my people flows the blood of Indian ancestors and the culture that we possess is steeped through and through with Indian influences. Two thousand years ago people from your country came to Jawadvipa and Suvarnadvipa in the spirit of brotherly love. They gave the initiative to found powerful kingdoms such as those of Sri Vijaya, Mataram and Majapahit. We then learnt to worship the very Gods that you now worship still and we fashioned a culture that even today is largely identical with your own. Later, we turned to Islam: but that religion too was brought by people coming from both sides of India’
–Suharto Sukarno (1901- 1970) The first President of Indonesia.
Candi refers to a structure based on the Indian type of single-celled shrine, with a pyramidal tower above it, and a portico.
Candi refers to a structure based on the Indian type of single-celled shrine, with a pyramidal tower above it, and a portico.The term Candi is given as a prefix to the many temple-mountains in Indonesia, built as a representation of the Cosmic Mount Meru, an epitome of the universe. However, the term also applied to many non-religious structures dated from the same period, such as gopura (gates), petirtaan (pools) and some of habitation complexes. Examples of non-temple candis are the Bajang Ratu and Wringin Lawang gates of Majapahit. The Candi Tikus bathing pool in Trowulan and Jalatunda in Penanggungan slopes, as well as the remnants of non-religious habitation and urban structures such as Ratu Boko and some of Trowulan city ruins, are also considered candi.
“Between the 7th and 15th centuries, hundred of religious structures were constructed of brick and stone in Java, Sumatra and Bali. These are called candi. The term refers to other pre-Islamic structures including gateways and even bathing places, but its principal manifestation is the religious shrine.”
The term “candi” itself derived from Candika one of the manifestations of the goddess Durga as the goddess of death.[3] This suggested in ancient Indonesia the “candi” has mortuary function as well as attributed with the afterlife. The association of the name “candi”, candika or durga with Hindu-Buddhist temples is unknown in India and other Indonesia’s Southeast Asian neighbours such asCambodia, Thailand, or Burma. The historians suggested that temples of ancient Java also used to store the ashes of cremated deceased kings or royalties. This is also in-line with Buddhist concept ofstupa as the structure to store Buddhist relics including the ashes and remnants of holy Buddhist priest or the Buddhist king, the patron of Buddhism. The statue of god stored inside the garbhagriha (main chamber) of the temple often modelled after the deceased king and considered as deified self of the king portrayed as Vishnu or Shiva according to the concept of devaraja. The example is the statue of king Airlangga from Belahan temple portrayed as Vishnu riding Garuda.
Citation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_Indonesia#Arrival_of_Hinduism
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