Built for worship, Mendut Temple is dedicated to Buddha Sakyamuni with a pantheon of bodhisattva. Mendut is the oldest of the three temples including Pawon and Borobudur. The Karang Tengah inscription, the temple was built and finished during the reign of King Indra of Sailendra dynasty. The inscription dated 824 AD mentioned that King Indra of Sailendra has built a sacred building named Venuvana which means ''bamboo forest''. Dutch archaeologist JG de Casparis has connected the temple mentioned in Karang Tengah inscription with Mendut temple.
The temple located about three kilometres east from Borobudur. Mendut, Borobudur and Pawon all of which are Buddhist temples, are located in one straight line. There is a mutual religious relationship between the three temples. Today, during the full moon in May or June, Buddhists in Indonesia observe Vesak annual ritual by walking from Mendut passing through Pawon and ends at Borobudur.
In the chamber, you can see three big statues enclosed in the square-shaped temple: Sakyamuni (Sitting in cross legged pose with dharma cakra mudra position ; turning the wheel of dharma hand gesture), Awalokiteswara (A bodhi satwa as a human helper), and Maitreya (The savior of humans for the future).
Mendut Temple is located some 45 minutes northeast of Yogyakarta. It sits on a hill in the town of Muntilan in the Magelang District. Most travel agents in Yogyakarta offer the day-trip excursion to this temple as part of the tour to Candi Borobudur located nearby.
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