Mrapen (Indonesian:Api Abadi Mrapen) is aneternal flame inIndonesia that is the result of natural geologic activity.
The Mrapen eternal flame is located inManggarmas village,Godong District,Grobogan Regency,Central Java, about 26 kilometers west ofPurwodadi, Grobogan.
This eternal flame was created through natural geological phenomena; the leaking ofnatural gas from the ground. It is unknown when the gas leakage was ignited, but it is thought to have been ignited sometime before the15th-century era of theDemak Sultanate as it was already known by then.
It is said that the sacredkris heirloom dagger of the Demak Sultanate was forged in the Mrapen flame.[1]The Mrapen flame is considered sacred inJavanese culture, and it is used in the annualWaisak Buddhist ceremony, where it is brought to theMendut andBorobudur temples together withsacred water from the Umbul Jumprit spring. Beginning with the inauguralGANEFO in 1963, the flame of Mrapen has traditionally been incorporated into the torch relays ofmulti-sports events held in the country, such as theSoutheast Asian Games. During the2018 Asian Gamestorch relay, the Asian Games flame (which originated fromNew Delhi, India—host city of the inaugural1951 Asian Games) was combined with a flame from Mrapen in a ceremony at thePrambanan temple.[2]
The flame went out on September 25, 2020; the cause of its extinguishing is being investigated. Officials are planning to relight the flame pending the results of this investigation.[3]