By JANE PERLEZ

OROBUDUR, Indonesia — The ancient carved stone terraces of the Borobudur monument rise out of the plain of central Java like a grand wedding cake trimmed with hundreds of Buddha statues.

Raymond Bonner/The New York Times Borobudur, an ancient Buddhist monument in central Java, at daybreak. A shopping mall, called Java World, may be built nearby.   The New York Times Borobudur symbolizes the Buddhist civilization of long ago.

But the sanctity of the temple that symbolizes the Buddhist civilization that flourished here more than a millennium ago is under threat. Gov. Mardiyanto of central Java, a powerful local politician, has announced plans to build a mall that he says will provide a cleaner environment for the souvenir stands that jostle each other for space around the gateway to the monument.

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What especially offends the sensibilities of Indonesian conservationists is the governor's proposed name for the mall: Java World, a shade too close to Disney World, say the opponents. Moreover, they argue that Mr. Mardiyanto's plan for a tramway to take tourists from the mall to the base of the monument could shake the monument's foundations, which are already sinking year by year.

Angry local villagers have held protests. They asked Mr. Mardiyanto to attend a meeting with them under the shade of a banyan tree to explain why he wanted to introduce Western style commercialism to the monument that is the most popular tourist destination for Indonesians. For Indonesian schoolchildren, an excursion to Borobudur is a landmark event, far more so than a visit to a Hindu temple in the Westernized playground of Bali.

Mr. Mardiyanto told the protesters that he wanted to get rid of the shabby stalls and grubby ice chests of the soda pop vendors at the entrance to the monument.

The local leader of the protests, Sutanto, said he agreed that the hawkers give a tawdry image to a place that should be serene. But he said a fancy building would be worse.

"I don't want a big building with three stories," said Mr. Sutanto, who led a "poetry protest" that consisted of readings in honor of the monument. "I'm worried that if the mall is successful there will be an immigration of very rich investors and this will become like Fifth Avenue."

Mr. Sutanto added, "If you're tired in New York and you want a break, you won't want to come here for McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken."

Instead of building a substantial new structure, Mr. Sutanto proposed a low slung shelter with an attractive Javanese style roof.

To the critics' surprise, the governor agreed to put his plans on hold, pending further discussion.

The opposition says it is not letting up. In Jakarta, architects have sent letters to Unesco headquarters in Paris, saying that the governor's plans would desecrate the monument and destabilize its foundations.

In 1991, Unesco made Borobudur as a world heritage site, a designation that is supposed to protect it from commercial intrusions.

"We are concerned that the construction phase of a project of this size in this location would endanger the foundations of the temple," the Indonesian chapter of the International Council of Monuments and Sites told Unesco in a letter last month.

No written records have been found to explain why Borobudur was built. No ancient cities have been found on the surrounding plain.

The lack of evidence gives today's experts ample room for speculation. Some theorize that the builders of Borobudur, whose construction began about 770 and took about 60 years to complete, did not intend to create a temple. There is no obvious sanctuary as a place for worship; there are no rooms to store icons.

Rather, these experts believe the idea was to establish an extravagant showpiece that demonstrated the principles of Buddhism. With its intricate carved reliefs depicting the essence of Buddhism, the builders of Borobudur wanted "to engage the mind" and to "give a visual aid for teaching a gentle philosophy of life," an expert on the temple, John N. Miksic, wrote recently in a historical book, "Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas."

Like many archaeologically important monuments, Borobudur has gone through difficult phases. For reasons not entirely clear, it was abandoned in the 10th century. Four hundred years later Islam came to Indonesia via Arab traders.

For years Borobudur was overgrown by jungle. Early 19th-century drawings by a British artist show huge trees sprouting from its terraces. By 1850, cleared of some of the growth by the Dutch colonizers of Indonesia, it became a popular picnic spot. The Dutch went so far as to build a teahouse on its pinnacle.

Under the authoritarian rule of Suharto, the monument was restored. From 1974 to 1983, local farmers were marshaled into a labor force for dismantling and rebuilding, supervised by international engineers and archaeologists.

Most of the cost of the $25 million restoration was paid by Indonesia. To benefit from that investment, argues Marco Kusumawijaya, an architect in Jakarta, Indonesians should hold fast to the true character of Borobudur. "Aren't we supposed to show that we are a civilized nation that can take good care of what has been entrusted to us as an heirloom by one of the world's biggest civilizations and at least for another 1,000 years?" he asked.