Besakih Temple as the Biggest Temple in Bali 


    Bali With The World, INDONESIA. The name of Besakih temple comes from the word of Basukih or Basuki. In the ancient Javanese language, Basukih or Basuki means salvation. However, according to the mythology of Samudramantana, Basukih or Basuki means a dragon that coils Mandara mount. Besakih temple was built based on the concept of Tri Hita Karana (the balance concept among nature, humans, and Gods). 

    According to the Purana book, the Besakih temple was built by a holy priest with his followers in 11th century. They come from East Java. The name of the holy priest is Rsi Markandya. Before they built the temple, firstly Rsi Markandya put and buried Panca Datu (5 different elements as the symbol of the universe) in the basement of the temple. It was conducted to protect the process of temple building from evil spirits. The five different elements are gold, silver, bronze, copper, and diamond.      

    Besakih temple is the biggest temple in Bali and often called as the mother of the temple in Bali. It is located in Besakih village, Rendang district, and Karangasem regency exactly on the slope of Agung mount. It is approximately 60 km northeast of Denpasar. 

    In the complex of the Besakih temple, there are 202 shrines, 5 main temples, and 18 other temples in the complex of Besakih temple. The five main temples are:

1. Batu Madeg Temple: It is located at the north and dedicated to Wisnu.  

2. Gelap Temple: It is located at the east and dedicated to Iswara.

3. Kiduling Kreteg Temple: It is located at the south and dedicated to Brahma.

4. Ulun Kul-Kul Temple: It is located at the west and dedicated to Mahadewa.

5. Penataran Agung Temple: It is located at the center. There are 3 shrines in the temple and dedicated to Siwa, Sadha Siwa, and Parama Siwa or often called as “ Tri Purusa". 

As one of the famous tourist objects in Bali, the complex of Besakih temple is completed with some supporting tourism facilities, like:

1. Restaurants, that offer many kinds of Indonesian and International foods.  

2. Souvenir shops, that offer many kinds of handicraft products.

3. Food stalls, that offer many kinds of traditional foods.

4. Wide parking areas.

5. Toilets and so on. 




Reference: Mr. Sudarma (English Teacher of Prima Santhi English Course) 
Writer and Editor: Padma Negara 


Location: Kabupaten Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Saba Beach, an Interesting Beach in Gianyar, Bali        Bali With The World, INDONESIA . Saba beach is a good and beautiful beach located in Saba village, Blahbatuh district, Gianyar regency. It is a black sandy beach which has beautiful water. Saba beach is located between Purnama beach and Keramas beach. Purnama beach is at the west, and Keramas beach is at the east of Saba beach.       Many people come to this place, especially on Sunday. People are usually jogging and relaxing on this beach. Sometimes, there are also some tourists both domestic and foreign tourists coming to this place. They have holidays, take photos for pre-wedding, and other things. There are some villas around this beach where tourists can stay. There is also a place of horse riding rental  that tourists can rent to do horse riding along the beach.       In Saba beach, there is a temple where the people usually pray and do a ceremony. At certain times, there is also a big ceremony that usually called Melasti
Read more
Image
  Ngaben or Cremation Ceremony in Bali       Bali With The World, INDONESIA. One of the cultures in Bali is Ngaben or cremation ceremony that has been known by many people in Indonesia and the world. But not many of them know the meanings and the aims of this ceremony. Ngaben ceremony is one of the ceremonies held by Hindus in Bali and it includes as Pitra Yadnya ceremony that means a ceremony dedicated to ancestors.      According to Indonesia Wikipedia, the Ngaben ceremony has several aims. Conceptually, it has meanings and aims as follows: by burning the corpse or its symbol then drifting the ash to the river or sea, it means to release the soul from the shackles of worldliness. So it will be easier to unite with God.       Burning the corpse is also the ceremonial series to return all elements of Panca Maha Bhuta (5 elements of the human gross body) to each origin in order not to block the journey of Atma (soul) to Sunia Loka. For the family side, the ceremony is a symbolization t
Read more
Image
Indonesia as a Big Country in the World, and  the  Origin of Its Name       Bali With The World, INDONESIA.  Indonesia is one of the countries in South-East Asia and it’s a country that has thousands of islands that consists of big and small islands. The capital city of Indonesia is Jakarta. Indonesia gained its independence on August 17 th  1945 who is proclaimed by Bung Karno as Indonesia's first President with Bung Hatta as Indonesia's first Vice Preident.       According to Indonesia Wikipedia, the word “Indonesia” comes from Ancient Greek, they are “Indus” refers to the Indus river in India and “Nesos” means “Island”. So, the word “Indonesia” means “Indian islands”. It refers to equations between those two nations (Indonesia and India). In 1850, an England ethnologist, George Windsor Earl initially proposed the name Indunesia and Malayunesia for residents of “Hindi Islands or Melayu Islands”.       Since 1990, the name of Indonesia became more general in educations or acad
Read more