The ruins of the temple were rediscovered in the late 19th century by Alfred Wallace, on his way to Wonosalam to collect plant samples.
Rimbi Temple is a Syiwa temple, seen from reliefs containing Tantri teachings carved at the foot of the temple. Presumably this temple was built in the middle of the 14th century, as a tribute to the Tribhuwana Tunggadewi Jayawisnuwardhani who ruled Majapahit in 1329-1350.
This assumption is based on the discovery of two statues of Dewi Parwati, which is thought to be a reflection of the Goddess Tribhuwana. Both statues are currently stored in the Trowulan Museum and the National Museum.
The temple which was built facing east seems to have never been renovated. The whole building is made of andesite stone. More than half of the body and roof of the temple has been destroyed, as if vertically sliced, but the legs can still be said to be intact.
The foot of the temple looks like two tiers, divided by protruding seams. The part of the foot which is located above the seams rather protrudes inward so that its size becomes smaller compared to the lower leg. Between the upper legs and the body of the temple is also limited by seams with decorations that protrude out at each corner.
The body of the temple is also smaller compared to the legs, so it looks like there is a hall that surrounds it. But now, as with most of the roof and body of the temple, the stairs up to the hall have also collapsed, so that only the corridor on the south side can be seen from below.
On the upper legs as well as the outer walls of the temple's body that still remains there is no sculpture. However, around the foot of the lower part of the temple is filled with a range of relief panels of animal stories.
The reliefs carved with a very beautiful and smooth flat technique (wayang style) can be said to be still intact. To read it the prasawiya technique is used (counterclockwise), starting from the north side.
At the edge of the yard there are stones of temple ruins neatly arranged fencing the temple. On the east side, right in front of the temple is lined with 3 pieces of statues that attract attention because of their enormous size.
The height of each piece is around 125 cm. Which is located in the middle of the ranks is a piece of the head of a giant statue, while on the left and right there is a piece of statue that looks like a chest at the neck.
Source: http://candi.pnri.go.id/jawa_timur/index.htm
Photo: Special
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