The Borobudur is one of the greatest architectural achievements of Indonesia. The largest Buddhist monument in the world, it is, in essence, a giant stupa built on a hill. Its construction took about 50 years, during which time its design was altered at least four times. Click on the red dots to see how Borobudur would have looked at each stage of its construction.

Stage One The first stage took place before Buddhism had become firmly established in Java. Construction probably began in 780 AD, to build a small, three-terraced structure on which another structure was erected and then destroyed. This first stage may have been associated with Preclassic rituals connected to the worship of ancestral spirits.

Stage Two It may be coincidental that the Buddhists, who began the second stage of the monument, chose this site, and accommodated their design to the pre-existing land form merely to save time. However, an alternative explanation is that the designers of Borobudur chose to build on this spot precisely in order to associate themselves with the symbolism already established there.

In this second stage two more square terraces, and one round one were added, and the stairways were changed. These alterations created three upper galleries containing relief images.

Stage Three More thorough changes were made during the third stage. A new foot was added to the monument, covering the reliefs of the original bottom terrace. The top round terrace was removed, and replaced with a new set of three round terraces. A large stupa was placed on top of the upper terrace, and a number of smaller stupas placed on all three round terraces.

Stage FourOnly minor changes were made during the final stage. These included the addition of new reliefs to the lower terrace, which created a fourth gallery, and changes were made to the stairways and arches.

In spite of all these alterations, the symbolism of the monument remained the same, the alterations being mainly decorative. The ground plan of the monument, seen from above, clearly forms a mandala pattern. Mandalas are diagrams in which deities are placed in particular locations forming rings or concentric circles. These diagrams have multiple purposes, including the function of aiding meditation, and delineating sacred space from which evil forces are excluded.

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