Astronomical aspects of sukuh temple, a fifteenth century hindu temple in Indonesia

Abstract

Sukuh Temple is a Hindu temple located at Karanganyar, Central Java, Indonesia, and was built in the fifteenth century CE during the Majapahit Kingdom, but after the fall of Majapahit when the influence of Hinduism had started to weaken and the Islamic Kingdom of Demak had begun to rise. This west-facing temple has three gates. In the first gate, there is a relief of a lingga and yoni (phallus and vagina), as a symbol of fertility. There is also a relief that refers to the year 1359 in the Saka calendar, which corresponds to CE 1437. The second gate has a relief that refers to the year of 1378 Saka/1456 CE. Beyond the third gate was the main building which was shaped like a truncated pyramid. It is possible that the buildings at Sukuh Temple were aligned with the Sun, as declination measurements of celestial objects above the temple indicate this.