We've all heard this tale before: the relentless pursuer, the unwilling beloved, and the lengths one will go to for love. But long before Greek myths told of Orpheus descending into the underworld or Tristan and Isolde’s ill-fated romance, Java had its own legendary love story. A story of magic, devotion, and an impossible task. This is the tale of Roro Jonggrang and Bandung Bondowoso, a love story that was anything but fairytale sweet.
A love story for the ages
Bandung Bondowoso, a mighty warrior prince, had just conquered the kingdom of Prambanan when he set his eyes on Roro Jonggrang, the daughter of the defeated king.
Strikingly beautiful yet unwavering in spirit, she had no intention of marrying the man who had destroyed her home. But rejecting a man like Bandung wasn’t easy. So, she devised an impossible challenge: build a thousand temples in a single night.
Undeterred, Bandung called upon supernatural forces, mystical spirits who labored through the night, raising stone upon stone, carving intricate shrines with unearthly speed. Panic set in for Roro as she saw the temples taking form before dawn.
Desperate, she woke her maidens, ordering them to pound rice and set fires to the eastern sky, mimicking the first light of morning. Moments before the last temple was finished, the spirits disappeared after being tricked by the illusion.
One temple missing
Bandung Bondowoso, blinded by anger, cursed Roro Jonggrang with great strength. He turned her into stone, keeping her permanently confined to the temple from which she was trying to flee.
Some claim that her grief still haunts Prambanan, where her silent form stands as the last of the thousand temples she once called for. Her tale, which whispers lessons about fate, defiance, and the weight of resistance, is not only inscribed on stone but also etched into time.
Strip away the magic, and doesn’t this tale still feel eerily familiar? A passion so intense it morphs into obsession. Power that demands submission.
The story is one about that thin, dangerous line between determination and control. Grand gestures aren’t always about love sometimes, they mask possession. Even now, centuries later, we still wrestle with the same battles between freedom and devotion.
Roro Jonggrang’s story isn’t just about temples, curses, or supernatural feats. It’s about resilience. About a woman who refused to be claimed who, in the end, became something immortal. Maybe that’s why her legend endures, because in a world that still struggles with power, choice, and autonomy, her defiance still speaks. She was turned to stone, yet her presence remains unshaken. And perhaps, in her silence, she tells a story louder than words ever could.
(For your information, based on the Ministry of Education and Culture of Indonesia (2020), the Sewu Temple Complex doesn’t actually have 1,000 temples. Instead, it consists of only 249 structures: 1 main temple, 8 gate temples, and 240 smaller auxiliary temples.)