Mrapen

Mrapen (Indonesian: Api Abadi Mrapen) is an eternal flame in Indonesia that is the result of natural geologic activity. The Mrapen eternal flame is located in Manggarmas village, Godong District, about 26 kilometers from Purwodadi Grobogan, Grobogan regency, Central Java. This eternal flame was created through natural geological phenomena; the leaking of natural gas from the ground. It was unknown when the gas leakage was ignited, but the Mrapen flame was already known in the 15th century Demak Sultanate era. It was mentioned that the sacred kris heirloom dagger of Demak Sultanate was forged in the Mrapen flame.[1]

The Mrapen flame is considered sacred in Javanese culture, and it is used in the annual Waisak Buddhist ceremony, where it is brought to the Mendut and Borobudur temples together with sacred water from the Umbul Jumprit spring. Beginning with the inaugural GANEFO in 1963, the flame of Mrapen has traditionally been incorporated into the torch relays of multi-sports events held in the country, such as the Southeast Asian Games. During the 2018 Asian Games torch relay, the Asian Games flame (which originated from New Delhi, India—host city of the inaugural 1951 Asian Games) was combined with a flame from Mrapen in a ceremony at the Prambanan temple.[2]