246 TOUR tfROM SOURABAYA, THROUGH KEDIRI, &C. 
tlie place. The era alluded to will be of course that used in 
Java, viz., that of Salivahana which is 7i years behind that of 
Christ. This is a comparatively modern date, and being 
only 120 years previous to the destruction of Majapahit, must 
belong to its palmiest day. It cannot, however, escape at¬ 
tention that this superb temple at Panataran, supposed to be 
of Brama, skilfully built of hewn rock, and embellished with 
well executed historical designs, far surpasses any of the re¬ 
mains of brick buildings found in the neighbourhood of the 
ancient capital of Majapahit; in short that it evinces a higher 
knowledge of the arts, a greater influence of religious feeling, 
in order to have procured the unwearied exertions and labour 
of a people in rearing so elaborate an edifice. It must be 
remembered that this date is not found upon tlie main build¬ 
ing, where it is natural to suppose the founders would have 
placed it, had they been desirous thus to commemorate their 
undertaking. On the contrary it is placed upon a detached 
and subordinate small temple, of a style of architecture totally 
different, and varying from the other buildings here, in the 
circumstance of having an interior chamber. For what statue 
this chamber was designed, it is now impossible to say, as 
the occupant has disappeared. This Chandi itself is still 
very perfect, but being small and substantially built is cal¬ 
culated to endure for a long time, so that it is impossible to 
draw any inference respecting its antiquity as compared with 
the main temple from the mere state of the materials, for 
though the latter often shows considerable dilapidation, this 
has been caused by its affording better hold for the roots of 
trees, which have been the cause of disruption, whilst the 
chiseling of the sculpture remains yet so perfect. It however 
strikes me that this, as well as others of the subordinate 
buildings, have been introduced at various successive periods, 
and were probably the fruits of the pious labours of different 
monarchs or men of influence. The want of plan or unifor¬ 
mity in the distribution of the parts is further corroborative of 
this idea; the designers of the main temple had too much 
taste to have crowded together the other buildings in the way 
in which we now find them, nor is it likely that they would 
have housed over any other god, immediately in front of the 
feet of their own great Brama, standing in the open air. 
This inscribing of dates appears to have first come into 
fashion in the 13th century; none of the finest monuments of 
Java present any—there are none at Boro Budur, Prambanan 
nor Singo Sari, but several of 1200 and odd, have been found, 
in Kediri on stone monuments or zodiacal cups, whilst in the 
following century they become very frequent amongst the 
