Singosari Temple
Singosari Temple
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4.0
113 reviews
Excellent
26
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44
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37
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6
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The_Pale_Ridah
Gladesville, Australia1,951 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
Built to honour the last & greatest king of the Singosari Dynasty, Kertanegara. King Kertanegara is famed in modern times for insulting a great figure in Asian, Middle Eastern, Persian & European history, the Mongol Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan-the most ruthless ruler the human race has ever known. Kertanegara had refused to pay the Mongol, who had just conquered all of China, a yearly tax to avoid being destroyed. Instead, Kertanegara imprisoned, tortured & cut off the ears of Kublai’s ambassador & sent him back to the great Khan with his face branded by a hot iron. The great Khan didn’t think this was very nice & replied with a Mongol army of 30,000 Chinese soldiers who crossed the seas to teach Kertanegara some Mongol hospitality.
The ensuring drama lead to disaster, ending in Kertanegara’s betrayal, humiliation & death, the defeat of his army, destruction of his city & the end of the Singosari kingdom & dynasty. If you ask me its a pretty heavy price to pay for cutting someone's ears off. Eventually, Kertanegara’s son-in-law Raden Wijaya prayers to Hindu god Shiva, lord of destruction were answered & got his revenge on the Mongol army, revenge on his father’s betrayers & from the ashes of the Singosari kingdom they created the Majapahit Empire, eventually becoming the largest empire in the history of all South East Asia controlling more land than current day Indonesia crossing into parts of Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines & New Guinea.
Candi Singosari was built after the Mongol invasion of Java, presumably after Kertanegara’s son-in-law Raden Wijaya had established the city of Majapahit. In this sense, Candi Singosari can be considered one of the oldest surviving structures of the Majapahit Empire, if not the oldest.
Nowadays located in the middle of a sleepy suburban area of Malang, the slow encroachment of houses over hundreds of years has reduced the prestige of this temple. Today it seems more like a local monument than a great shrine to one of Java’s greatest rulers, if not the bravest. Unfortunately Kertanegara is less known than Kermit the Frog & his shrine is now only a 20 mins pit-stop on most tour itineraries. Interestingly, Kertanegara openly practiced a tantric version of both Hinduism & Buddhism which involved entering a trance while drooling & mumbling, basically like drinking too much Tequila & talking a lot. This fusion of the 2 religions is reflected in the statues that decorate the temple. There are many broken statues & bas reliefs in the yard which look easy to steal, in any other country they would be in a museum but quite frankly will most likely end up in someone’s private collection.
Singosari was the location of the discovery in 1829 of the statue of Prajnaparamita, goddess of transcendent wisdom. This is the Indonesian National Museum’s most famous & the most beautiful statue reportedly of Ken Dedes, the first queen of Singosari, who men murdered each other over. It was taken to the Netherlands for 160 years until they returned it in 1978.
The ensuring drama lead to disaster, ending in Kertanegara’s betrayal, humiliation & death, the defeat of his army, destruction of his city & the end of the Singosari kingdom & dynasty. If you ask me its a pretty heavy price to pay for cutting someone's ears off. Eventually, Kertanegara’s son-in-law Raden Wijaya prayers to Hindu god Shiva, lord of destruction were answered & got his revenge on the Mongol army, revenge on his father’s betrayers & from the ashes of the Singosari kingdom they created the Majapahit Empire, eventually becoming the largest empire in the history of all South East Asia controlling more land than current day Indonesia crossing into parts of Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines & New Guinea.
Candi Singosari was built after the Mongol invasion of Java, presumably after Kertanegara’s son-in-law Raden Wijaya had established the city of Majapahit. In this sense, Candi Singosari can be considered one of the oldest surviving structures of the Majapahit Empire, if not the oldest.
Nowadays located in the middle of a sleepy suburban area of Malang, the slow encroachment of houses over hundreds of years has reduced the prestige of this temple. Today it seems more like a local monument than a great shrine to one of Java’s greatest rulers, if not the bravest. Unfortunately Kertanegara is less known than Kermit the Frog & his shrine is now only a 20 mins pit-stop on most tour itineraries. Interestingly, Kertanegara openly practiced a tantric version of both Hinduism & Buddhism which involved entering a trance while drooling & mumbling, basically like drinking too much Tequila & talking a lot. This fusion of the 2 religions is reflected in the statues that decorate the temple. There are many broken statues & bas reliefs in the yard which look easy to steal, in any other country they would be in a museum but quite frankly will most likely end up in someone’s private collection.
Singosari was the location of the discovery in 1829 of the statue of Prajnaparamita, goddess of transcendent wisdom. This is the Indonesian National Museum’s most famous & the most beautiful statue reportedly of Ken Dedes, the first queen of Singosari, who men murdered each other over. It was taken to the Netherlands for 160 years until they returned it in 1978.
Written June 12, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raymond W
Townsville, Australia4,509 contributions
Feb 2011 • Couples
There are quite a number of ancient ruins in the area around the highland town of Malang. Easily the pick of them is this one, Candi Singosari. There were seven kings of the Singosari Dynasty, a short, ill-fated line who ruled East Java during the 13th century. Most of them died bloody deaths, often motivated by revenge. It is worthwhile reading up on the back stories of the Singosari kings if you intend to come here, as they read like the plots of a Shakespearean tragedy. This one became the funerary tomb of the last Singosari king, King Kertanegara. The shrine houses a fine statue of him, surrounded by lilies. A couple of hundred metres are a couple of massive dwarf statues, which are thought to mark the former entrance of Kertanegara's palace.
Written October 7, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ermin C
Quezon City, Philippines1,006 contributions
Oct 2014 • Solo
Candi Singosari is the funerary temple of Kertanegara, the last king of the Singhasari kingdom. Today it is surrounded by houses, although it has a spacious lawn of its own. The facade had three arch-shaped doorways, the middle one leads to the inner chamber. A side niche contains a statue in situ. The kala on the top were finished well, but the lower kala are rough and unfinished.
A distance from the temple lie two gigantic statues of dwarapala - the largest in Indonesia. The immense size of these statues lead one to imagine how the original stone blocks were dragged into position. The dwarapala are garlanded with skulls and armed with ceremonial clubs. The right-hand dwarapala has his right hand in a sort of gesture. Both giants loom over the neighboring houses.
The Singosari complex is worth a visit for any history buff, but any traveler would have fun with the giant statues!
A distance from the temple lie two gigantic statues of dwarapala - the largest in Indonesia. The immense size of these statues lead one to imagine how the original stone blocks were dragged into position. The dwarapala are garlanded with skulls and armed with ceremonial clubs. The right-hand dwarapala has his right hand in a sort of gesture. Both giants loom over the neighboring houses.
The Singosari complex is worth a visit for any history buff, but any traveler would have fun with the giant statues!
Written October 25, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
eaker_face
Sydney, Australia87 contributions
Apr 2014 • Friends
Candi ini memang sangat menarik. The carvings are interesting and it is still used by local hindus as a site of worship. The grounds are well-kept. The main problem is it is right next to a main road so it is quite noisy and not very relaxing to walk around and appreciate the beauty of the place.
Written April 4, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
faozanrizal
Berlin, Germany3,428 contributions
Dec 2011 • Solo
it is very sad to see the ancient ruin in a very bad management, some statue are missing the head and some relief also stolen :( this temple is too close to the houses and the main street of the village. in the area close from the temple we can also see some ancient statue called Buta or giant statue in singosari, this two is really big stone carved and again very bad manage , many stupid graffiti on its rock and statue. even some local and Balinese always pray and make some offering here still the management is so poor.
Written December 31, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
awicaks
Jakarta, Indonesia50 contributions
This is very precious herritage yet ill managed. It needs more serious attention by the government to provide better information and to build awareness of visitors.
Written December 31, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Odyssey53372644678
Malang, Indonesia1 contribution
Dec 2020
This is an interesting place to know a part of the historical heritage of the Singosari Kingdom. One of a big kingdom ever at the East Java, Indonesia (Nusantara) on last century.
Written November 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Leisure93
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia150 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
This temple is a very old temple in Malang. Its a small place. Great to see this ancient temple and its well maintained. Prayers are still done here. Recommended if you like history.
Written November 30, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marilynne C
Frankston, Australia231 contributions
Jul 2016 • Solo
Easy to find and surrounded on three sides by by houses, it is a small grassed area with a well maintained garden. No information available so read up first. Don't miss the two massive dwarapala statues 200 metres further down the road.
Written August 21, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bernard N
Jakarta, Indonesia46 contributions
Mar 2016 • Business
You can learn more about religious side of the people.
i think its need more attention from the government to make this site fully renovated.
i think its need more attention from the government to make this site fully renovated.
Written March 14, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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