Pura Ulun Danu Bratan

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan, or Pura Bratan, is a major Hindu Shaivite Shiva temple located near a water body in Bali, Indonesia. The temple complex is located on the shores of Lake Bratan in the mountains near Bedugul. The water from the lake serves the entire region in the outflow area; downstream there are many smaller water temples that are specific to each irrigation association (subak).[1]

A part of the temple complex, at the edge of Lake Bratan
Pura
Bratan
Location in Bali

The temple complex

In Bali, Hindu temples are known as "Pura", being designed as open-air worship places in walled compounds. The compound walls have a series of intricately decorated gates without doors for the devotee to enter. The design, plan and layout of the holy pura follows a square layout.[2][3] A typical temple is laid out according to ancient Lontar texts with three courtyards separated by low walls pierced by ornate gateways. The outer courtyard is for secular pursuits, with pavilions used for meetings, resting performers and musicians at festivals. Food stalls are set up here during festivals. The middle courtyard is a transition zone between the human and divine sections; here offerings are prepared and temple paraphernalia are stored. The inner courtyard is the site of the shrines and religious ceremonies. The shrines are known as merus and are square structures with brick bases and multiple pagoda-style thatched roofs; the number of roofs reflects the status of the deity, but is always an odd number.[4] Pura Ulun Danu Beratan is one of the nine 'Kahyangan Jagat' temples that are located across the Indonesian Hindu island Bali. The temple complex consists of five various shrines dedicated to other Hindu gods as well.

Built in 1633, this temple is used for offerings ceremony to the Balinese water, lake and river goddess Dewi Danu, due to the importance of Lake Bratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali. The 11-storey pelinggih meru in the complex is dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvathi. Buddha's statue is also enshrined in this temple. This temple is also called the "Bali temple on the Lake" because it looks as if it is floating when the Bratan river water rises.

See also

Notes
  1. Pringle, p. 16
  2. Brigitta Hauser-Schaublin (1993), Keraton and Temples in Bali, in Urban Symbolism (Editor: P. Nas), Brill Academic, ISBN 978-9004098558
  3. Hildred Geertz, The Life of a Balinese Temple, ISBN 978-0824825331, University of Hawaii Press
  4. Lesley Reader; Lucy Ridout (2002). The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok. Rough Guides. pp. 333–. ISBN 978-1-85828-902-1.

References
  • Pringle, Robert (2004). Bali: Indonesia's Hindu Realm; A short history of. Short History of Asia Series. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-863-3.

Bedugul travel guide from Wikivoyage

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.