Kebaruan dalam penelitian ini adalah mendapatkan
penjelasan mengenai bagaimana penggambaran adegan karma pada relief Karmawibhangga serta mengapa tumbuhan yang
digambarkan sangat variatif spesiesnya. Hal ini akan memberikan petunjuk berkaitan
dengan pemaknaan tumbuhan dalam sebuah tema cerita pada relief candi. Apakah tumbuhan
yang dipilih untuk digambarkan dalam satu panil mempunyai keterkaitan dengan
pengambaran karma. Ataukah penggambaran
tumbuhan tersebut merupakan bentuk kreatifitas seniman yang menggambarkan tumbuhan
dalam panil relief naratif sebagai pengisi ruang dan pembatas panil. Dengan
demikian, dapat disampaikan di awal bahwa pemaknaan tumbuhan berkaitan dengan
teknis/ dekoratif, penanda lingkungan, ataupun simbolis/ religius.
Borobudur Temple Compounds is a world cultural heritage and was designated by UNESCO in 1991. The complex consists of three temples, Borobudur Temple, Pawon Temple, Mendut Temple and its surrounding area. One of the significant physical attributes of the three temples is narrative relief. Borobudur Temple has narrative reliefs depicting ancient Javanese life in the IX-X centuries. The narrative reliefs carved on Borobudur Temple based on Buddhist religious manuscript, including Karmawibhangga, Lalitawistara, Jataka, and Gandawyuha. The narrative reliefs at Borobudur Temple are archaeological data that can be used, one of which is data for the reconstruction of the Old Javanese environment. This research will discuss in depth the law of karma and the depiction of plants in Karmawibhangga's narrative reliefs as the main data. The species of the plant on the reliefs are then identified, their existence is interpreted based on the inscriptions and literary texts that are relevant to find out their meaning.
Charles Sanders Peirce's semiotics will be used to analyze signs related to the depiction of plants in the Old Javanese period which are related to the theme of the Karmawibhangga reliefs. The triadic model and Peirce's trichotomy concept will be used to determine signs consisting of a representament, object, and interpretant. The main data in this research are 123 panels of Karmawibhangga relief on Borobudur Temple in which depictions of plants with the theme of the law of karma are found as representaments. Signs in Peirce's semiotics are physical forms that represent other things that can be captured by the five senses. Object is something referred to by a sign in the form of the Mahakarmawibhangga manuscript, while someone's thoughts about an object referred to by a sign are interpretants. In the next scheme for interpreting plants, it is necessary to identify plant species from its morphological characteristics.
The novelty from this research is an interpretation of the law of karma in the Karmawibhangga reliefs and why plants are depicted in various species on the Karmawibhangga reliefs. This will provide information regarding the meaning of plants in a story theme of narrative relief. Whether the plants chosen to be depicted in one panel have a connection with the depiction of karma. Or the depiction of plants a form of artist creativity that depicts plants in narrative relief panels as space fillers and panel dividers. Thus, it can be stated at the beginning that the meaning of plants is related to technical/decorative, signifier of the environment, or symbolic/religious.
Kata Kunci : Relief Karmawibhangga, Candi Borobudur, Tumbuhan, Semiotika Peirce