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BAT CAVE TEMPLE
Goa Lawah ( Bat cave temple ). The Cave in the cliff face is jampacked full of bats.In Bali there are many Lontar scrolls that are properly collected in some cultural and tourism department offices. The major temples in Bali were mostly built by Mpu Kuturan. In the 10th century Mpu Kuturan came to Bali at which time Bali was under the rule of Anak Wungsu. When he arrived, he found many beliefs in Bali then he developed the Tri Murti concept to unite all those beliefs. The arrival of Mpu Kuturan brought some changes in Bali, he particularly taught the people “ how to make the ceremony to God “. Besides it, he reconstructed the “ Kayangan Tiga “ ( three major temples ) at the villages throughout Bali, and also he strengthened the existence of Kahayangan Jagat ( public temple ) including the Goa Lawah temple.

The history :
In 1460-1550, Danghyang Nirarta came to Bali during the time of Raja Dalem Waturenggong. Nirarta came to Bali with a purpose to conducte “ Tirtayatra “. On his pilgrimage to the east, he stopped at Goa Lawah temple. In this temple he saw the beauty of mountain range and the beautiful flowers that decorated the cave. He walked into the cave which was inhabited by a thousand of bats and the single shrine of Padmasana was also built by Danghyang Nirarta.

The temple used to be guarded by Gusti Batan Waringin. It has a strong connection to the Besakih temple because the Goa Lawah temple as the way out of Ida Bhatara Hyang Basukih from Agung Mountain at Goa Raja temple. In the inscription of Sidhimantra tatwa said that there was a meeting story of sanghyang Basukih and Danghyang Sidhimantra. It is said that this cave has channel goes up to Goa Raja temple at Gunung Agung.

KEHEN TEMPLE
Pura Kehen, a state temple of the Bangli Kingdom, is one of the finest temples in east Bali, a little like a miniature version of Pura Besakih.

It is terraced up the hillside, with a great flight of steps leading to the beautifully decorated entrance. The first courtyard has a huge Banyan tree with a kul-kul entwined in its branches. The inner courtyard has an 11 roofed meru ( multi-roofed shrine ), and a shrine with thrones for the three figures of the Hindu trinity-Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. The carvings are particularly intricate.

In this Penyimpenan temple there are three inscriptions :
1.Date back to the 9th century and mentions Lord of fire, Lord of Karimana, Lord of Tanda and Manks, It’s in Sanskrit script.
2.Date back to the 11th century in ancient Javanese word mentioning Prime Minister Mpu Kuturan who lived in that century.
3. It’s said Lord Kehen/ Lord of fire in ancient Javanese word. The king who reined Bali in that time named Cri Adhikunti Ketana.
Mentioning to all inscriptions, mean the temple had been built in 9th century and had been enlarge in 11th century and at the beginning of 13th century.

BATUR & KINTAMANI
The village of Batur used to be down in the crater. A violent eruption in 1917 killed thousands of people and destroyed more than 60.000 houses and 2000 temples. The village was rebuilt, but Gunung Batur erupted again in 1926. the village was relocated up on the crater rim, and the surviving shrine was also moved up and placed in the temple “ Pura Ulun Danu “.

TIRTA EMPUL
The name “ Tirta Empul “ is derived from a large spring in the centre of the temple “ Tirta “ means holy water, and “ Empul “ means spring, so “ Tirta Empul “ means holy water spring. The temple was built around 962 AD during the rule of Candra Bayasinga king from the Warmadewa dynasty. It is divided into three main courtyards, those are : the front yard, the middle yard and the inner sanctum.

On the outer yard can be found two rectangular pools, each pool is fed by a line of 30 fountains that stretching from east to west and facing to the south. Each fountain has its own name and function. According to tradition, there is a fountain for spiritual purification, another for cleansing from evils, another is supposed to be an antidote for poison.

The pancuran cetik or fountain for poison is connected to the mythological battle between Mayadinawa king and Bhatara Indra. Mayadinawa was a king of Batu Anyar, Bedulu. In the ancient tale the king Mayadinawa was such a tyrant. He forbade the people to carry out their religions to request the blessing of God. The God heard about this tyranny, and lead by Indra they attacked Mayadinawa. In the end, he lost the battle and ran a way to hide in the forest in the north of the village Tampaksiring. With his magic powers, he created a spring of poison which caused many deaths amongst Indra’s troops who drank from the spring. In fury Bhatara Indra drove his spear into the ground at the point where the spring was bubbling up, this holy water was used to splash upon the afflicted troops and revive them from the grasps of death.

GUNUNG KAWI
Gunung Kawi access road leads to the river, via a large archway and 315 steps that wind down into the valley.

The origin of the name “ Gunung Kawi “ is not known, but Gunung means mountain, and “ Kawi “ means sculpture ( poetry ). Poetry in Bali is generally the reciting of the old historic tales, so this “ mountain “ most likely refers to the depth of history behind the ancient stone carvings in the riverside cliffs.

Bali’s golden of history was during the warmadewa Dynasty, when strong links were formed with java. The raja Udayana married a Javanese Princess, known as Gunapriya Dharma Patni. From this marriage came the sons Erlangga and Anak Wungsu. When Erlangga died in the year 1041, the rajadom of east Java was divided in two. A Bhuddist priest known as Empu Kuturan refused the royal mandate. Bali was ruled by the Raja Anak Agung Wungsu from 1049 to 1077, and under his rule was both prosperous and peaceful.

After the death Anak Wungsu his ashes were stored one of the shrines at Gunung Kawi. Opposite the group of shrines which now form the temple is a series of caves hewn out of rock, a monastery for Buddhist priests dating back to the 11th century. The giant carved monuments which look over the river were supposed to have been carved out of the rock by magic powers “ Empu kuturan is said to have used only his fingernails to sculpt these grand monuments to an era of spiritual giants.

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