The Legend of Loro Jonggrang

Once upon a time in Java Island, especially in Prambanan, there were two Hindu kingdoms, Pengging and Kraton Boko. Pengging Kingdom was a prosperous and welfare kingdom that was lead by a wise king named Prabu Damar Moyo who had a son named Raden Bandung Bondowoso.

Kraton Boko is a part of Pengging Kingdom jurisdiction who was lead by a cruel and fully anger king that is not a man but a giant who was a man eater, named Prabu Boko. However, Prabu Boko had a very beautiful daughter named Princess Loro Jonggrang. Prabu Boko also had a minister named Patih Gupalo and he was a giant too. Prabu Boko had a desire to revolt and has control over Pengging Kingdom. Therefore, together with Patih Gupalo, they gathered the power by training men to become soldiers and collect goods from civil people as provisions.

After they had enough with all preparation, Prabu Boko and all soldiers went to Pengging Kingdom to revolt. Then the war between Pengging and Boko Soldier happened in Pengging kingdom. A lot of soldiers died from both side. People of Pengging became suffer, hunger and poor.Knew that his people were suffering and there were lots of soldiers died, Prabu Damar Moyo sent his son, Raden Bandung Bondowoso to had a battle with Prabu Boko. The fighting between Raden Bandung Bondowoso and Prabu Boko was very furious. Because of the power of Raden Bandung Bondowoso, Prabu Boko can be defeated and died. When Patih Gupalo found out that his king has died, he ran away from the battle.

Raden Bandung Bondowoso chased him to Kraton Boko.When Patih Gupalo arrived at Kraton Boko, he reported about Prabu Boko to Princess Loro Jonggrang, that he was killed in the battle by a Pengging knight named Raden Bandung Bondowoso. Then the princess cried, she was very sad because of the death of her father. Raden Bandung Bondowoso finally arrived at Kraton Boko. He was surprised when he saw Princess Loro Jonggrang that she was very beautiful, so he could not help himself to not proposed her to become his wife.

However, Princess Loro Jonggrang did not want to marry Raden Bandung Bondowoso because he just killed her father. To refuse his propose, Princess Loro Jonggrang had a strategy. She had 2 requests should be fulfilled by Raden Bandung Bondowoso, then she would agree to marry him. The first request was that she asked him to make a well named Jalatunda. The second one was to make 1000 temples in one night. Raden Bandung Bondowoso accepted both requests. Immediately he started to make Jalatunda Well and he asked Princess Loro Jonggrang to see it when it finished.

Then, Princess Loro Jonggrang asked Raden Bandung Bondowoso to go into the well, and after that she ordered Patih Gupolo to pile up the well with stone. Both Princess Loro Jonggrang and Patih Gupolo thought that Raden Bandung Bondowoso had already died in the well, however Raden Bandung Bondowoso was still alive. He meditated and finally he could got out from the well safely.Raden Bandung Bondowoso was very angry with her action and he looked after her but because of her beauty, his anger became calm down.

After that, Princess Loro Jonggrang was asking Raden Bandung Bondowoso to do the second request which was to make 1000 temples in one night. Therefore Raden Bandung Bondowoso commanded genie to make the temples immediately. However Princess Loro Jonggrang intended to foil his effort to make the temples. She ordered the girls to pound and burn stubbles, so that it looked like the bright of sunrise which mean the morning had come and the light plus the noise made the cocks crowed loudly.Heard the cock crowd and people pounded rice and also saw the brightness in the east, therefore the genies were stop making temples.

The genies reported it to Raden Bandung Bondowoso that they could not continue built the temple because morning had come. Raden Bandung Bondowoso got the feeling that the morning had not come yet. He asked Princess Loro Jonggrang to count the amount of the temples and she came out that the total was only 999 temples, there was still 1 temple left. Therefore Princess Loro Jonggrang refused to marry Raden Bandung Bondowoso. Raden Bandung Bondowoso felt deceived then he became very angry and he cursed her "Loro Jonggrang, there is only 1 temple left, let you be the one to make it complete". It was a miracle, suddenly Princess Loro Jonggrang transformed to a stone statue. Raden Bandung Bondowoso also cursed the girls who lived around Prambanan that there would be no man want to marry those girls because they helped Princess Loro Jonggrang.

Until today, the stone statue of Princess Loro Jonggrang is still in Candi Prambanan. Based on what is believed by old people, the couple who are dating in Prambanan temple will be broke up.

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This legend is very famous in Java and correlated with Prambanan Temple (RoRo /Loro Jongrang Temple). Prambanan temple is located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and the one of the largest Hindu temples in South East Asia. It was build in 850 CE during Sanjaya Dynasty, not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918 and the main building was completed in around 1953.The compound of the temples is assembled of eight main shrines or candis, and more than 250 surrounding individual candis. The three main shrines, called Trisakti ("three sacred places"), are dedicated to the three gods: Siwa ( Shiva) the Destroyer, Wisnu (Vishnu) the Keeper and Brahma the Creator. The Shiva shrine at the center contains four chambers, one in every cardinal direction. While the first contains a three meter high statue of Shiva, the other three contain smaller statues of Durga, his wife, Agastya, a rishi, and Ganesha, his son.(source ; Wikipedia)
The Durga statue is famous with Jongrang or Roro/Loro Jongrang statue and Javanese peoples have a legend for this statue. This myth is always told by parent to their kids and never end until now. Some people believe it until now and believe that the temple complex of Prambanan carries an infamous curse which supposedly is casted upon its lovebird-visitors. Legend has it that if you visit the temple with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you and your lover will breakup shortly after.
Those story above, the complete legend of Roro Jonggrang, is part-copied from http://www.greatindonesia.com/

written and edited by: The soul of java team