Kala-Makara Gate, Borobudur, Java, Indonesia — The ornate stairway gates at each cardinal direction feature kala (monster face) and makara (sea-creature) decorations typical of Javanese Hindu-Buddhist temple iconography. The combination of Indic religious traditions with local Javanese artistic sensibilities gives Borobudur a distinctive visual identity distinct from Buddhist art elsewhere in Asia.
© Photo Dharma from Penang, Malaysia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
