Excavating Hindu Past - Hinduism Now, 16 November 2019

Hindus across Indonesia turned up in large numbers to attend the abhisekam ceremony performed at Prambanan Temple on November 12, which is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia and the second-largest in Southeast Asia (OpIndia.com). The abhishekam to clean and purify the temple site was held for the first time in 1,163 years to commemorate temple’s inauguration. Devotees took Pradakshina circumambulation of the temple site. The main rituals were held following the method mentioned in 25 inscriptions from the Mataram Kingdom era. Built-in the 9th century, the Prambanan Temple includes three temples illustrating the Ramayana and dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Lord Shiva. The temple compound is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Archaeological Survey (ASI) of India has been granted permission to excavate at the fort of Purana Qila in its bid to unearth hidden artefacts beneath the historical site, as per a report in the New Indian Express. Along with Purana Qila, eight other heritage sites in Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana were given the go ahead for re-excavation. The ASI believes that a village named Indrapat existed at the site until 1913, which is the direct descendant of Mahabharata’s ‘Indraprastha’, founded by the Pandavas as their capital. The fort of Purana Qila stands upon on a site with over 2500 years of history.