More than twenty years later I finally visited the place which turned out to be Aditya Jaya Pura, a Hindu temple. The temple was built in seven stages, where the first stage of construction began in 1972, and the last stage was carried out five years later in 1997.
The land used for this temple complex was arguably very wide, filled with a number of Balinese-style buildings and ornaments. Some areas of the place of worship were quite protected from the heat of the city of Jakarta by the presence of large, tall and shady trees around the area.
The front gate is in the form of a candi bentar (the upper parts are not connected) to enter the middle area of Pura Aditya Jaya, which is connected to ByPass street or Jl Jenderal Ahmad Yani, seen from the parking area which can accommodate quite a lot of cars. However, the gate seems to be opened only on certain occasions.
Daily access to the temple is via an alley on Jl. Daksinapati Raya, Rawamangun Golf Street. When entering the temple area from the east, there were a number of thatched roofs gazebos with four poles wrapped in poleng cloth, cloth patterned with chess boards. In the area outside the temple, called Nista Mandala or Jaba Sisi, there's the Waiting House, a small bookstore that sells books on Hinduism, a canteen, Bale Gede and a kitchen.
At Aditya Jaya Pura Rawamangun there's a fairly large temple in the main area or Utama Mandala. The Utama Mandala is the most sacred place in a temple, and not all temples allow visitors who do not want to worship to enter the area.
The Paduraksa gate (the upper parts are connected) separates the central area with the main area of Pura Aditya Jaya Rawamangun Jakarta. This gate has one main door in the middle which is named Kori Agung and two additional doors, one each on the left and right sides. The middle area of the temple called Madya Mandala or Jaba Tengah contains a building called Bale Wantilan, which is used to prepare ceremonies or to store equipments needed in ritual ceremonies or Pujawali.
Bale Wantilan is also used as a stage where sacred dances are performed. While in the outer area of Pura Aditya Jaya there's a large, shady banyan tree that could provide comfortable protection for visitors, in the middle area there were no large trees. As a substitute there'is a bale which can be a shelter from the hot sun and rain.
On that hot afternoon, a young mother and her child were seen praying in an open area in the Utama Mandala section. The atmosphere was rather quiet because of its location was a bit far from the main road, making worship in this place could be done solemnly.
One of the statues that attracted my attention in Pura Aditya Jaya Rawamangun was the statue of Lady Saraswati, the wife of Lord Brahma. The statue of the goddess of science and art is located deep within the Utama Mandala area, just behind a smaller temple on the right wing of the pura.
Near that statue there's a pond on which there's a live turtle which was quite large. Turtle is almost always present in every temple, even if only in relief or statue form. His greenish eyes had a black line that cut through the middle of his eye spots, and there was a beautiful line on his neck.
Of course, it is very pleasing that the Hindu community has this large temple in Jakarta, not only can they use it to perform religious rituals, but it is also good for the general public who want silence and peace of mind in a temple amidst the bustle of traffic and hard life in this metropolitan city.
The address of Adhitya Jaya Pura is located at Jl. Daksinapati Raya No. 10, Rawamangun, East Jakarta. Phone 021-4705758, 4752750. GPS Location : -6.19547, 106.87492, Waze.
Label: East Jakarta, Jakarta, Pura, Travel
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