Buddhist Central Java
In the 8th C Central Java likely came under the supremacy of the Mahayana kingdom of Çriwijaya, located near Palembang on Sumatra. The King of Çrivijaya, like the Buddhist kings of Java, belonged to the Çailendra dynasty. The Canggal inscription of 778 dedicates the temple at Kalasan formally establishing a Mahayana Buddhist settlement.
The increasing Buddhist power is believed to be the impetus for migration of a group of Hindus to East Java. Evidence of this would be found in the construction of Candi Badut (760) near Malang. Candi Badut was likely dedicated to Agastya - 742-755.
Çrivijaya was a powerful Kingdom, controlling, apart from Java many other parts of the Indonesian archipelago and areas as far North as Cambodia. Çrivijaya controlled the throne of Cambodia, installing Jayavarman II as its ruler in 802. Cambodia ultimately gained independence from Çriwijaya. It was to be followed shortly by Java.
Even after the independence of Cambodia and Java, Buddhism continued to thrive on Sumatra. The reformer to Tibetan Buddhism, Atisha, is reported to have studied with Dharmakirti in Palembang. Dharmakirti is [in what sources; Krom 1923] described as 'the greatest sage of his time'.
In the 13th C the power of Çrivijaya weakened. The Siamese mounted attacks on North Sumatra, and the last king of Singosari, Kertanagara attacked Çrivijaya outright. Elsewhere on Sumatra the old Melayu kingdom revived under Javanese sovereignty. The later Minangkabau sultanate is believed to have originated from this state Melayu. Çrivijaya fell only in 1377 as the Majapahit dynasty set to expand their power. Majapahit did not care much for Palembang, however, and the city fell prey to Chinese pirates.
The centre of power of the Kingdom of Majapahit was on East Java, and this is where we have to find most temples from this era. On Central Java, two Majapahit temples are known to us, Candi Sukuh and Candi Ceta. Both of them are located on Mt. Lawu, East of Solo.