Balinese temple


A Balinese temple, also known as a pura, is a Bali-style temple, it serves as the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built following rules, style, guidance, and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island of Bali, where Hinduism is the predominant religion, however, many puras exist in other parts of Indonesia where significant numbers of Balinese people reside. Mother Temple of Besakih is the most important, largest, and holiest temple in Bali. Many Puras have been built in Bali, leading it to be titled "the Island of a Thousand Puras."

Etymology

The term pura originates from the Sanskrit word, meaning "city," "walled city," "towered city," or "palace," which was adopted with the Indianization of Southeast Asia and the spread of Hinduism, especially in the Indosphere. During the development of the Balinese language, the term pura came to refer to a religious temple complex, while the term puri came to refer to a palace, the residence of kings and nobles, similar to Javanese kratons.

Design and layout

Unlike the common towering indoor Hindu temples of the Indian subcontinent, puras are designed as open-air places of worship within enclosed walls, connected with a series of intricately decorated gates between their compounds. These walled compounds contain several shrines, meru, and bale. The design, plan, and layout of the pura follow the trimandala concept of Balinese space allocation.
Three mandala zones are arranged according to a sacred hierarchy:
  1. Nista mandala : the outer zone, which directly connects the pura compound with the outer realm and the entrance to the temple. This zone usually takes the form of an open field or a garden that can be used for religious dance performances, or as an additional space for preparations during religious festivals.
  2. Madya mandala : the middle zone of the temple, where the activity of adherents takes place, and also the location for supporting facilities of the temple. In this zone usually, several pavilions are built, such as the bale kulkul, bale gong, wantilan, bale pesandekan, and bale perantenan, the temple's kitchen.
  3. Utama mandala : the holiest and the most sacred zone within the pura. This enclosed compound, and typically the highest, usually contains a padmasana, the towering lotus throne of the highest god, Acintya ; the pelinggih meru ; and several pavilions such as bale pawedan, bale piyasan, bale pepelik, bale panggungan, bale murda, and gedong penyimpenan.
However, the layout rules for arrangements of the facilities of the two outer zones, nista mandala and madya mandala, are somewhat flexible. Several structures, such as the bale kulkul, could be built as outer corner tower; also, the perantenan could be located in the Nista mandala.

Gates

There are two types of gates within Balinese architecture: the split gate, known as candi bentar, and the roofed tower gate known as paduraksa or kori agung. Both types of gates have specific roles in Balinese architectural design. Candi bentar is the gate used in the nista mandala, while the kori agung is employed as the gate between the madya mandala and Utama mandala inner compounds.
The rules for gate types are also valid for nonreligious compounds such as puri, nobles' and kings' residences.

Types of pura

There are several types of pura, each serving certain functions of Balinese rituals throughout the Balinese calendar. The Balinese temples are arranged according to the physical and spiritual realm of Balinese people, which corresponds to kaja-kelod sacred axis, from mountain tops to the realms of gods, hyang spirits, the middle fertile plain the realm of humans, and other beings, all the way to the beach and ocean, and the many realms in Indonesia.
; Pura Kahyangan Jagad
; Pura Tirta
; Pura Desa
; Pura Puseh
; Pura Dalem
; Pura Mrajapati
; ''Pura Segara''

Nine directional temples

The nine directional temples
of Bali mark the eight cardinal directions,
to which is added the center point.
They are the nine holiest places of worship on the island. Built at strategic locations, they are meant to protect the island and its people from evil spirits.
These temples belong to every Balinese on the island. They are:
The "six sanctuaries of the world" are the six holiest places of worship in Bali. According to Balinese beliefs, they are the pivotal points of the island and are meant to provide spiritual balance to Bali. The number of these most sacred sanctuaries always adds up to six, but depending on the region, the specific temples that are listed may vary. A list of the Sad Kahyangan may include:
Bali has several important "sea temples", which were founded in the 16th century by a Majapahit sage from Java named Nirartha, to honour the gods of the sea. Each of the temples is traditionally said to be visible from the next, forming a 'chain' around the coast of Bali. Many of the most important sea temples are located along the south-west coast of the island. The temples' positions were meant to provide a chain of spiritual protection for the island.
Listed counterclockwise from Nirartha's legendary point of arrival in Bali, the seven most prominent Balinese sea temples are:
  • Pura Pulaki near Pemuteran, northeast of Gilimanuk.
  • Pura Gede Perancak, 10 km south of Negara.
  • Pura Rambut Siwi, 18 km east of Negara
    A legend says that at this site, Nirartha gave a lock of his hair, which was worshipped. Rambut Siwi translates as 'worship of the hair' and the tale is reminiscent of the Buddhist story of Gautama giving eight hairs to Tapussa and Bhallika, which are now enshrined at Shwedagon.
  • Pura Tanah Lot, 11 km north-west of Canggu and 13 km south-west of Tabanan city, where two puras were built on a coastal rock overlooking the Indian Ocean as a shrine to honor sea deities..
  • Pura Luhur Uluwatu, at the southwestern extremity of the Bukit Peninsula. This is the only Balinese sea temple that is also one of the six Balinese directional temples.
  • Pura Mas Suka, at the southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula, near Greenbowl Beach.
  • Pura Sakenan on Serangan island, an island south of Denpasar, between Tanjung Benoa and Sanur.

    Dang Kahyangan

's history, which in Bali is commonly called the History of Gede and recals his Dharmayatra, is written in a lontar called Dwijendra Tatwa. 34 temples are mentioned in this document; they are called Dang Kahyangan Temples, as well as those built to honour Nirartha.
Some of them are: