Pura Besakih (Mother Temple)
पुरा बेसकिह
The Mother Temple of Bali, the great sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Agung where the Balinese worship Sang Hyang Widhi in the Trimurti, linked above all to Shiva
Besakih, Bali, Indonesia
Pura BesakihAlso known as: Besakih Temple, Pura Penataran Agung Besakih, Mother Temple of Bali
Pura Besakih (Mother Temple)
पुरा बेसकिह
Era
An ancient sanctuary on Mount Agung whose sanctity the Balinese trace to the sage Markandeya and beyond into pre-Hindu antiquity; developed across the centuries into the Mother Temple of Bali, above all under the Gelgel and Klungkung kingdoms
Architecture
A Balinese Hindu temple complex of the mountain type: more than twenty pura in terraces up the slope, built of stone and brick with black-thatched meru towers, split gateways (candi bentar) and the great lotus-throne (padmasana) at the centre
Special
Besakih keeps the daily and ceremonial worship of a living Balinese temple, its rhythm set by the Balinese ritual calendars, the 210-day pawukon and the lunar saka year. The greatest occasions are the odalan anniversaries of the many pura, the island-wide Bhatara Turun Kabeh, and the rare purification ceremonies Panca Wali Krama and Eka Dasa Rudra. Times and access vary with the ceremonies and with the state of the volcano; they should be confirmed locally.
The Sacred Legend · पवित्र कथा
High on the western slopes of Gunung Agung, the great volcano that the Balinese hold to be the navel of the world and the seat of the gods, stands Pura Besakih, the Mother Temple of Bali. It is not a single shrine but a vast complex, a family of more than twenty pura climbing the mountainside in terraces, their black-thatched meru towers rising against the forest and the smoking peak above. At its heart is Pura Penataran Agung, the great central temple, whose triple lotus-throne, the padmasana, is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the one supreme God of Balinese Hinduism, worshipped here in the three faces of the Trimurti, with Shiva at the centre. Besakih is the holiest and the largest of all the temples of Bali, the pura to which every Balinese may turn, above the temples of village, clan and family. Where an ordinary Balinese temple belongs to a community, Besakih belongs to the whole island; its rites are the rites of all Bali, and the greatest of its ceremonies, held only once in a hundred years, are held for the purification of the world. The Balinese say that here the mountain, the temple and the gods meet, and that to worship at Besakih is to worship at the source. The Balinese do not worship a distant, foreign god. Their faith, Agama Hindu Dharma, is Hinduism grown for a thousand years in the soil of Bali, its own in language, offering and ceremony, yet rooted in the same Sanatana Dharma as the temples of India. At Besakih the supreme God is honoured on the lotus-throne, the mountain is revered as sacred, holy water flows from the springs of Agung, and the daily flowers are laid out on their little palm-leaf trays as they have been for centuries. It is a living temple, worshipped every day and filled to overflowing at the festivals, and it stands, in the Balinese heart, as the mother of all their sanctuaries.
Sacred Designationपवित्र पदनाम
Sacred Origin Storyपवित्र उत्पत्ति कथा
Source: The Balinese Hindu tradition (Agama Hindu Dharma) of the sanctity of Gunung Agung and the founding of Besakih
The Balinese hold Gunung Agung to be the greatest of mountains, the axis and navel of their world, the abode of the gods and the seat toward which the whole life of Bali is oriented. Directions in Bali are reckoned not by north and south but by kaja, toward the mountain, and kelod, toward the sea; the mountain is the sacred pole of the island, and Besakih is the temple set upon its holy slope.
The founding of the sanctuary is traced in tradition to the sage Rsi Markandeya, who is said to have come from Java with his followers to open the forests of Bali and to have planted sacred metals in the ground at the site as an offering to the powers of the mountain. The place he named, tradition holds, gives Besakih its name, linked to Basuki, the great serpent, and read as a word of safety, prosperity and well-being, so that the very name of the Mother Temple carries the sense of the welfare of Bali.
At the heart of the complex the supreme God, Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, is worshipped on the padmasana, the lotus-throne, in the three aspects of the Trimurti: Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer and transformer, who at Besakih and in Balinese devotion holds a place of the first rank. The many pura of the complex are dedicated to the gods and to the ancestral and clan divinities of Bali, so that the whole of Balinese religion is gathered on the mountainside, from the supreme God on his throne to the guardians of the directions and the deified ancestors of the great houses.
Besakih is thus the meeting-place of the mountain, the gods and the people. The Balinese come to it as to the source of their faith, and its greatest ceremonies are performed not for one village or one family but for the balance and purification of the whole island and the world, that the powers above and below be held in harmony and the life of Bali be kept whole.
Sources cited:
- Balinese Hindu tradition (Agama Hindu Dharma)
- Traditional account of Rsi Markandeya and the founding of Besakih
- Balinese cosmology of Gunung Agung as the sacred mountain
Other Traditions · अन्य परंपराएँ
The layered antiquity of the site
Scholarly Context
Pura Besakih is the pre-eminent temple of Balinese Hinduism, the religion the Balinese call Agama Hindu Dharma. This is a genuinely Hindu tradition, sharing its gods, its Sanskrit-derived vocabulary and its roots in Sanatana Dharma with the Hinduism of India, yet shaped over a thousand years into a wholly Balinese form, with its own offerings, its own ritual calendars, its own priesthood and its own architecture. It reached the island through the long connection of Bali with Hindu Java, above all the Majapahit empire, and survived on Bali when Java turned to Islam, so that Bali remains today the great living home of Hinduism in Southeast Asia. Besakih stands at the summit of the Balinese temple hierarchy. Below it lie the temples of village, clan and household; above them all it is a Pura Kahyangan Jagat, a temple of the whole world, the Mother Temple to which the whole island belongs. Its central temple, Pura Penataran Agung, is built up in terraces with the padmasana, the lotus-throne of the supreme God, at its heart; the surrounding pura are associated with the gods of the directions, with the great clans and dynasties, and with the deified ancestors, gathering the whole structure of Balinese religion on the one mountainside. The temple's history is bound to the kingdoms of Bali, above all to Gelgel and its successor Klungkung, whose rulers made Besakih the central state sanctuary and developed its great ceremonies. Chief among these are the periodic purifications: Panca Wali Krama, held roughly once a decade, and Eka Dasa Rudra, the greatest of all Balinese rites, held roughly once a century for the balance and purification of the world. The eruption of Gunung Agung in 1963, during the Eka Dasa Rudra of that year, and the sparing of the temple as the lava passed close by, are held by the Balinese as a sign of the sanctity of the place. Eternal Raga presents Besakih as the living Mother Temple of Bali, honouring the accuracy of the Balinese tradition on its own terms, the padmasana, the meru, Sang Hyang Widhi and the great ceremonies, rather than assimilating it to the temple practice of mainland India, while noting the shared root in the one Sanatana Dharma and the strong Balinese association of the temple with Shiva.
Historyइतिहास
Pura Besakih is the Mother Temple of Bali, the largest and holiest of the island's temples, a complex of more than twenty pura rising in terraces on the south-western slope of Gunung Agung, the sacred volcano that dominates the east of the island. Its sanctity the Balinese trace to the sage Rsi Markandeya, held to have founded the sanctuary and to have planted sacred offerings in the ground, and behind him into the ancient reverence for the mountain itself, so that Besakih is at once an old mountain sanctuary and the central temple of Balinese Hinduism.
Balinese Hinduism, Agama Hindu Dharma, reached the island through its long connection with Hindu Java, above all the Majapahit empire, and it was under the Balinese kingdoms that followed, the Gelgel dynasty and its successor at Klungkung, that Besakih was raised to its place as the central state temple of the island. Its rulers patronised the complex, developed its shrines and its great ceremonies, and set it at the summit of the Balinese temple hierarchy, above the temples of village, clan and household, as a Pura Kahyangan Jagat, a temple of the whole world.
The central temple, Pura Penataran Agung, is built up in seven terraces, its great lotus-throne, the padmasana, dedicated to the supreme God, Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, worshipped in the three aspects of the Trimurti with Shiva at the centre. The surrounding pura are associated with the gods of the directions, the great clans and dynasties, and the deified ancestors, so that the whole of Balinese religion is gathered on the mountainside. Its year is shaped by the Balinese ritual calendars, its many odalan anniversary festivals following one another, and its greatest rites, Panca Wali Krama and the once-in-a-century Eka Dasa Rudra, performed for the purification and balance of the world.
The living presence of the volcano is woven through the temple's history. Gunung Agung erupted violently in 1963, during the Eka Dasa Rudra of that year, and though the lava flowed close by, the temple was largely spared, an event the Balinese hold as a sign of the sanctity of the place. Further eruptions in 2017 to 2019 brought evacuations and closures. Through all of this Besakih has remained a living temple, worshipped every day and filled at its festivals, and it stands today, as it has for centuries, as the mother of all the sanctuaries of Bali, drawing the Balinese to worship at the source of their faith and visitors from across the world to its terraces beneath the mountain.
Historical Timelineऐतिहासिक कालक्रम
The slopes of Gunung Agung are revered as sacred from ancient times; terraced sanctuaries and stone seats at the site suggest an indigenous reverence for the mountain that precedes and underlies the later Hindu temple.
Scholars read the terraced structures as evidence that the sanctity of the site reaches back before the full flowering of Hindu Bali.
In tradition the sage Rsi Markandeya comes from Java, opens the forests of Bali and founds the sanctuary at Besakih, planting sacred metals in the ground as an offering to the mountain; the name is linked to Basuki, read as safety and prosperity.
The tradition of Markandeya links the founding of Besakih to the coming of Hindu religion and settlement from Java.
As Hindu religion takes root in Bali through its connection with Hindu Java, the sanctuary on Gunung Agung develops as a place of worship, its stone seats and shrines given increasingly Hindu form.
With the ascendancy of the Majapahit empire and the deepening of Javanese Hindu culture in Bali, Besakih rises toward its place as the central temple of the island, its shrines and terraces expanded.
The Majapahit connection brought to Bali the courtly Hindu culture that shaped its temples and ceremonies.
Under the Gelgel dynasty, which makes itself the paramount kingdom of Bali, Besakih is established as the central state temple of the island, its complex of many pura and its great ceremonies developed under royal patronage.
The Gelgel rulers set Besakih at the summit of the Balinese temple hierarchy as a temple of the whole realm.
The kingdom of Klungkung, successor to Gelgel and holding the senior place among the Balinese kingdoms, continues the patronage of Besakih and the celebration of its great purification ceremonies as rites of the whole island.
A great earthquake strikes Bali and damages the temples of Besakih along with much of the island; the shrines are subsequently restored, and the disaster is remembered in Balinese accounts of the age.
During the Eka Dasa Rudra of 1963, the greatest of Balinese purification rites, Gunung Agung erupts violently, killing many across the region; the lava flows close to Besakih but the temple is largely spared, an event the Balinese hold as a sign of the sanctity of the place.
The sparing of the temple as the lava passed close by is widely recounted in Bali as a miracle of Besakih.
The Eka Dasa Rudra is celebrated again in 1979, the once-in-a-century purification of the world held with great solemnity, restoring the full observance interrupted by the eruption of 1963.
The 1979 celebration is remembered as one of the greatest religious gatherings in modern Bali.
Besakih is placed on Indonesia's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage recognition, marking its standing as a monument of world importance alongside its role as a living temple.
Renewed eruptions of Gunung Agung raise the alert level, prompt the evacuation of tens of thousands from the region and the temporary closure of Besakih at times, before the mountain quietens again and worship resumes.
The 2017-2019 activity underlines that Gunung Agung remains an active volcano and that access to Besakih can be affected by its state.
Besakih remains the living Mother Temple of Bali, worshipped daily and filled at its many odalan and its great ceremonies, drawing Balinese pilgrims to the source of their faith and visitors from across the world to its terraces beneath Gunung Agung.
What You'll Seeदर्शन में
The controlling image of Besakih is not a single carved figure but the padmasana, the lotus-throne, the great empty seat raised on high in the central temple of Pura Penataran Agung and dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the one supreme God of the Balinese. In Balinese Hinduism the supreme God is beyond form, and the padmasana honours him as a throne prepared for the divine presence, worshipped in the three aspects of the Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, with Shiva holding a place of the first rank in Balinese devotion. To understand the iconography of Besakih is first to understand this: that the heart of the temple is a throne of the formless God, and that the temple is oriented not to an image but to the sacred mountain rising above it.
Around this centre the complex speaks in the distinctive forms of Balinese temple architecture. The meru, the multi-tiered pagoda towers with their black palm-fibre thatch, rise in odd-numbered levels, the tallest with eleven roofs, standing for the mountain and the cosmos and for the gods and deified ancestors to whom they are raised. The split gateway, the candi bentar, opens the way into the outer courts, and the roofed gateway, the kori agung or padu raksa, leads into the inner sanctum, guarded by carved figures and by the powers of the threshold. The courts rise in terraces up the slope, from the outer to the most sacred, so that the very plan of the temple is an ascent toward the mountain and the divine.
The many pura of the complex carry their own dedications, to the gods of the directions, to the great clans and dynasties of Bali, and to the deified ancestors, and their shrines, thrones and towers are adorned with the rich carving of Balinese sacred art, with guardian figures, floral and cosmic motifs, and the cloths, parasols and ornaments of living worship. On festival days the shrines are dressed in yellow and white and gold, wrapped in sacred cloth, crowned with offerings, so that the stone of the temple disappears beneath the colour and abundance of the living rite.
The deepest object of reverence remains the mountain itself. Gunung Agung stands above the temple as the seat of the gods, and the whole of Besakih is turned toward it, so that the worshipper at the lotus-throne worships with the sacred peak before him. The iconography of Besakih is thus the iconography of a mountain sanctuary: the formless God on his throne, the many gods and ancestors in their meru and shrines, and above all the holy volcano to which the temple is the door.
Distinctive Practicesविशिष्ट परंपराएँ
Canang Sari, the Daily Flower Offering
कानांग सारी, दैनिक पुष्प भेंट
Daily, throughout the temple
The most constant practice of Balinese worship is the offering of the canang sari, the small square tray woven of palm leaf and filled with flowers of many colours, a little rice, and a stick of incense, laid out and sprinkled with holy water at the shrines, thresholds and seats of the gods. At Besakih these offerings are set out through the day, so that the whole complex is dressed in fresh flowers and the smoke of incense.
The canang sari is the daily gift of the Balinese to the gods, an act of gratitude and of the maintaining of harmony between the human world and the divine. Its colours and its arrangement carry meaning, the flowers of the directions offered to the gods of the directions, and its making and placing is itself an act of devotion, most often by the women of Bali, repeated through every day. To offer the canang is to keep the balance the Balinese call for in all things, and at Besakih, the Mother Temple, the daily offering joins the household devotion of Bali to the great sanctuary of the island.
Tirtha, Holy Water, and the Pemangku
तीर्थ, पवित्र जल, और पेमांगकु
In every act of worship
Balinese Hinduism is sometimes called Agama Tirtha, the religion of holy water, and tirtha is central to the worship at Besakih. Water drawn from sacred springs, blessed by the priests, is sprinkled on offerings, on shrines and on the worshippers, and received in cupped hands to drink and to touch to the head. The temple's own priest, the pemangku, conducts the daily worship, prepares the offerings and the holy water, and mediates between the worshipper and the god of the shrine.
Holy water carries the blessing and the purifying grace of the gods, and its receiving completes the act of worship, cleansing the worshipper within and marking the descent of the divine favour. The pemangku, the temple priest, is the keeper of this worship, the one who prepares the offerings and calls down the god, and through whom the ordinary devotee approaches the shrine. The centrality of tirtha and the ministry of the pemangku mark the worship at Besakih as wholly Balinese, an approach to the divine through blessed water and consecrated offering rather than through the forms of mainland Indian ritual.
Worship at the Sacred Mountain
पवित्र पर्वत पर उपासना
In the orientation of all worship
The whole of Besakih is turned toward Gunung Agung, and pilgrimage to the Mother Temple is itself an ascent toward the sacred mountain that the Balinese hold to be the seat of the gods. Worshippers climb the terraces of the complex, from the lower courts to the most sacred, in a movement kaja, toward the mountain, that carries the meaning of drawing near to the divine.
In Balinese cosmology the mountain is the sacred pole of the world, the abode of the gods and the ancestors, and the sea the realm of the lower powers; life is lived between them, and worship is directed kaja, toward the mountain and the divine. To worship at Besakih is therefore to worship at the highest and holiest point of this sacred geography, at the temple set upon the slope of the greatest mountain, so that the ascent to the shrine and the turning toward the peak are themselves acts of devotion, the drawing near of the worshipper to the seat of the gods.
The Great Purification Ceremonies
महान शुद्धि समारोह
Panca Wali Krama (about once a decade); Eka Dasa Rudra (about once a century)
Besakih is the place of the greatest ceremonies of Bali, held not for a village or a family but for the whole island and the world. Panca Wali Krama, held roughly once in ten years, and above all Eka Dasa Rudra, held roughly once in a hundred years, are vast rites of purification and of the restoring of balance between the powers above and below, gathering priests, offerings and worshippers from across Bali in ceremonies of immense scale and solemnity.
Balinese religion is a constant work of holding harmony between the seen and unseen worlds, and the great ceremonies at Besakih are this work at its highest reach, the purification not of a person or a place but of the whole island and the cosmos, the setting right of the balance on which all life depends. Eka Dasa Rudra, the offering to Rudra in his eleven forms, is the greatest of these, held only about once a century, and its celebration is a landmark in the life of Bali, an event a Balinese may hope to witness only once in a lifetime. To take part is to share in the renewal of the world.
Did You Know?क्या आप जानते हैं?
Pura Besakih is the Mother Temple of Bali, the largest and holiest temple complex on the island, a family of more than twenty pura climbing the slopes of Gunung Agung.
Balinese Hindu tradition
At its heart, in Pura Penataran Agung, the great lotus-throne (padmasana) is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the supreme God, worshipped in the Trimurti with Shiva at the centre.
Balinese Hindu tradition
Besakih stands on the slopes of Gunung Agung, the highest volcano of Bali, which the Balinese hold to be the sacred pole of their world and the seat of the gods.
Balinese cosmology
Its greatest rite, Eka Dasa Rudra, is held only about once a century for the purification of the world; Panca Wali Krama is celebrated roughly once a decade.
Balinese Hindu tradition
When Gunung Agung erupted violently in 1963, during that year's Eka Dasa Rudra, the lava flowed close to the temple but largely spared it, an event the Balinese hold as a sign of its sanctity.
Accounts of the 1963 eruption
Balinese Hinduism, Agama Hindu Dharma, is sometimes called Agama Tirtha, the religion of holy water, for the central place of blessed water (tirtha) in its worship.
Balinese Hindu tradition
The temple's black-thatched meru towers rise in odd-numbered tiers, the tallest with eleven roofs, standing for the mountain, the cosmos and the gods to whom they are raised.
Balinese temple architecture
Bali is the great living home of Hinduism in Southeast Asia; the faith survived on the island when neighbouring Java turned to Islam, and Besakih is its central sanctuary.
History of Hindu Bali
Besakih is a Pura Kahyangan Jagat, a temple of the whole world, standing above the temples of village, clan and household as the temple to which all Bali belongs.
Balinese Hindu tradition
The founding of the sanctuary is traced in tradition to the sage Rsi Markandeya, and its name is linked to Basuki, the great serpent, read as a word of safety and prosperity.
Traditional account of Rsi Markandeya
Visitor Accessप्रवेश जानकारी
Besakih is a living Balinese Hindu temple, and its inner shrines and courts are reserved for worshippers. Visitors are welcome to enter the grounds and to walk among the terraces and gateways of the complex, but should understand that they are guests at an active place of worship, not merely a monument. All visitors must be properly dressed: a sarong and a sash (selendang or senteng) tied at the waist are required to enter the temple grounds, over modest clothing that covers the shoulders and knees; sarongs and sashes can usually be hired or are provided at the entrance. During ceremonies, and within the inner sanctums, access is limited to worshippers, and visitors should keep to the areas open to them and follow the directions of the temple. Visitors should also be aware of the local guide and donation arrangements at Besakih, which have at times been a source of confusion; a set entrance ticket now applies, and it is wise to confirm what is and is not required before going. Above all, remember that Besakih stands on an active volcano: check the status of Gunung Agung before travelling, as eruptions have closed the temple in the past.
Spiritual Basis
The reservation of the inner shrines for worshippers rests on the nature of Besakih as a living temple of Agama Hindu Dharma, where the sanctums are consecrated to the gods and the offerings, holy water and rites are the worship of the Balinese. To enter the inner courts is to enter a place set apart for the divine presence, and this is kept for those who come as worshippers, in the proper state and dress, and under the ministry of the temple's priests. The requirement of the sarong and sash is not a formality but a mark of respect and of ritual propriety: to stand before the gods one must be properly girded, the sash tied to separate the pure upper body from the lower, and the body covered in modesty. In coming to Besakih, the Mother Temple of the island, the visitor enters the most sacred ground of Balinese religion, and the observances of dress and conduct are the honouring of that sanctity.
Contemporary Context
Besakih is at once the central living temple of Bali and one of the island's most visited places, and it holds these two roles together. For the Balinese it is the Mother Temple, the goal of pilgrimage and the site of the greatest ceremonies; for visitors from across the world it is a wonder of terraced shrines beneath the volcano. A programme of works in recent years has reshaped the approach, parking and facilities of the site to manage the great numbers who come. The management of guides, tickets and donations at Besakih has at times drawn complaint, with visitors pressed for payments or for guides they had not sought; a set entrance arrangement is now in place, and visitors do well to confirm the official ticket and to be courteous but clear about what they wish. Through all of this Besakih remains, in its heart, a temple: the terraces fill with worshippers at the odalan and the great rites, and the daily offerings are laid out beneath Gunung Agung as they have been for centuries.
Practical Guidance
Come to Besakih dressed modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and put on a sarong and sash at the entrance; these are required to enter the temple grounds and can usually be hired or are provided. Enter as a respectful guest, keep to the areas open to visitors, and do not enter the inner sanctums or disturb worshippers, above all during ceremonies. Menstruating women, by Balinese custom, do not enter the temple. Confirm the official entrance ticket and be aware of the local guide and donation arrangements; a guide is not compulsory, and it is fine to decline courteously. Come early in the day for calmer air and clearer views of Gunung Agung, and treat the offerings, shrines and cloths with care, stepping around the canang sari laid on the ground. Above all, check the status of the volcano before travelling: Gunung Agung is active, and eruptions have closed the temple and the surrounding area in the past. Photograph respectfully and never climb on the shrines or place yourself above a priest or an offering.
Festivalsत्योहार
Odalan (temple anniversaries) and Bhatara Turun Kabeh
ओदालन (मंदिर वर्षगाँठ) और भटारा तुरुन काबेह
Through the year, by the Balinese calendars
Each pura of the great complex keeps its own odalan, the anniversary of its consecration, so that Besakih celebrates through the year; the greatest of these is Bhatara Turun Kabeh, 'the gods descend together', an island-wide festival when all the deities are held to come down to the Mother Temple and the whole complex fills with worshippers.
Eka Dasa Rudra
एक दश रुद्र
About once a century (saka calendar)
The greatest of all Balinese ceremonies, held roughly once in a hundred years at Besakih for the purification and rebalancing of the whole world; an offering to Rudra in his eleven forms, celebrated with immense scale and solemnity, an event a Balinese may hope to witness only once in a lifetime.
Panca Wali Krama
पंच वली क्रम
About once a decade (saka calendar)
A great purification ceremony held at Besakih roughly once in ten years, for the balance and well-being of the island; a rite of the whole of Bali, second only to Eka Dasa Rudra, gathering priests, offerings and worshippers from across the island.
Galungan and Kuningan
गालुंगान और कुनिंगन
Every 210 days (pawukon calendar)
The great festival cycle of the Balinese, celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma, when the ancestral spirits are held to return; observed across Bali and at Besakih, with the penjor bamboo poles raised and the temples adorned, Kuningan closing the cycle ten days after Galungan.
Nyepi (Balinese Day of Silence) and the saka New Year
न्येपि (बाली मौन दिवस) और साक नववर्ष
March (around the saka new year)
The Balinese New Year of the saka calendar, preceded by great purification rites and the melasti procession of temple objects to the water, and marked by Nyepi, a day of total silence, stillness and fasting across the island; the observances of the turning of the year are kept at Besakih as the central temple of Bali.
Traditional Offeringsपारंपरिक अर्पण
Primary Offerings
Canang sari (the daily flower offering)
कानांग सारी (दैनिक पुष्प भेंट)
The canang sari, a small palm-leaf tray filled with flowers of many colours, a little rice and a stick of incense, is the daily offering of Balinese worship, laid out at the shrines and thresholds of Besakih and sprinkled with holy water. It is the most constant gift of the Balinese to the gods, an act of gratitude and of the keeping of harmony.
Banten (offering assemblies)
बंतेन (भेंट समुच्चय)
Banten are the larger assembled offerings of Balinese ritual, built up of woven palm leaf, rice cakes, fruit, flowers and other elements into complex structures, prepared for the ceremonies of the temple. The greater the rite, the more elaborate the banten, rising to the vast offerings of the island-wide festivals, each form carrying its meaning within the ritual.
Tirtha (holy water)
तीर्थ (पवित्र जल)
tīrtha
Holy water, tirtha, is central to Balinese worship, so much so that the religion is sometimes called Agama Tirtha. Drawn from sacred springs and blessed by the priests, it is sprinkled on offerings and worshippers and received to drink and to touch to the head, carrying the blessing and purifying grace of the gods and completing the act of worship.
Gebogan (tall fruit and cake offerings)
गेबोगन (ऊँची फल और केक भेंटें)
The gebogan is the tall offering of fruit, cakes and flowers built up on a tray and carried on the head by the women of Bali to the temple on festival days, a pillar of colour and abundance set before the shrines. It is among the most striking of Balinese offerings, the fruit of the land raised up in gratitude to the gods.
Dupa (incense) and lamps
दुपा (धूप) और दीप
dhūpa
Incense, dupa, is lit in every act of Balinese worship, its rising smoke bearing the prayer and the essence of the offering upward to the gods; lamps and fire likewise attend the rites. The smoke of incense carries the flowers and the prayer to the divine, and the lit stick set in the canang sari is part of the daily offering itself.
Bunga and kwangen (flowers and the folded offering)
बुंगा और क्वांगेन (पुष्प और मुड़ी भेंट)
puṣpa
Flowers, bunga, are held in the fingers and offered up in prayer at Besakih, and the kwangen, a small cone of banana leaf holding flowers and a little money, is used in the act of worship, raised to the forehead as the prayer is made. The flower lifted between the fingertips is the simplest and most immediate of the Balinese offerings to the gods.
Unique to This Temple
Worship at the Padmasana of the Mother Temple
मातृ-मंदिर के पद्मासन पर उपासना
What is particular to Besakih is that the offering is made at the Mother Temple of Bali, at the great padmasana of Pura Penataran Agung, the lotus-throne of the supreme God, on the slope of the sacred mountain. The offerings a devotee brings, the canang, the banten, the flowers and the holy water, are the same the Balinese bring everywhere, but here they are laid before the highest and holiest seat of the island's faith, in the temple to which all Bali belongs. At the greatest ceremonies, above all Panca Wali Krama and the once-in-a-century Eka Dasa Rudra, the offerings rise to a scale beyond all ordinary rite, vast structures of banten built up over months and gathered from across the island, laid before the gods for the purification and rebalancing of the whole world. To offer at Besakih is thus to join one's small daily gift to the great offering of all Bali, at the source of the island's worship beneath Gunung Agung.
Offerings at Besakih follow the Balinese Hindu tradition, with the canang sari, banten, holy water (tirtha), fruit and incense central, prepared and offered under the ministry of the temple's pemangku and made at the shrines of the Mother Temple. Though the temple is strongly linked to Shiva and shares its root with the pan-Shaiva tradition of India, its lived worship is wholly Balinese; the schema category 'shiva' marks the affinity, not a mainland Indian ritual form. Eternal Raga presents these practices as a devotional tradition; specific arrangements should be confirmed at the temple.
How to Reachकैसे पहुँचें
Besakih lies on the south-western slope of Gunung Agung, in Rendang, Karangasem regency, in the east of Bali, and is reached by road; Bali has no passenger railway.
By air: Ngurah Rai (Denpasar) International Airport, in the south of the island, is the gateway to Bali, roughly 60 km from Besakih by road, a journey of about two hours depending on traffic. From the airport the temple is reached by hired car, driver or tour.
By road: Besakih is reached from Denpasar and the southern resorts, and more directly from Klungkung (Semarapura), the old royal town below the temple, by the road that climbs toward the mountain. Roads wind up through terraced country and villages to the temple car parks below the complex.
On arrival: from the parking area visitors proceed to the entrance, where the ticket, sarong and sash are arranged, and then up into the terraces of the complex; the ground rises steeply, and the walk to the higher courts is a climb, so comfortable footwear is wise.
Many visitors come as a day trip from the south of Bali or combine Besakih with the temples and sights of the east, such as Tirta Empul, Klungkung and the eastern coast; check the state of Gunung Agung before setting out, as the volcano's activity can affect access.
Plan Your Visitयात्रा की योजना
🌤 Best Season
The dry season, roughly April to October, is the best time to visit Besakih, when the skies are clearer and Gunung Agung more often visible above the temple; the mountain frequently draws cloud, and mornings in the dry months give the best chance of a clear view of the peak. The wet season, roughly November to March, brings rain and cloud to the slopes, and the higher terraces can be misty and slippery, though the country is green and the temple quieter. The temple sits at altitude on the mountainside and is cooler than the coast; a light layer is useful, especially in the morning. Coming early in the day is best in any season, both for the calmer air and clearer views and to be ahead of the tour groups. The great festivals, above all the island-wide Bhatara Turun Kabeh and the rare purification ceremonies, are extraordinary times to witness the temple alive with worship, though also the most crowded.
👘 Dress Code
A sarong and sash (selendang or senteng) are required to enter the temple grounds, worn over modest clothing that covers the shoulders and knees; they can usually be hired or are provided at the entrance. Dress respectfully as at a living place of worship. Menstruating women, by Balinese custom, do not enter the temple.
📱 Phones & Photography
Photography is generally permitted in the grounds of the complex, but should be respectful: do not photograph worshippers or priests without leave, do not enter the inner sanctums for a picture, and never climb on the shrines or place yourself above an offering or a priest. Keep phones silenced and follow any restrictions during ceremonies.
🏨 Accommodation
There is simple accommodation and homestays in the villages around Besakih and in the nearby town of Rendang and the Sidemen valley, for those who wish to stay near the mountain, wake to its views and visit early. Klungkung (Semarapura), below the temple, and the eastern towns offer further options. Many visitors stay in the resorts of the south of Bali, around Ubud, Sanur or the coast, and come to Besakih as a day trip; a wide range of hotels is available there. Staying nearer the mountain rewards those who wish to see Besakih quietly, before the tour groups arrive, and to take in the eastern temples and countryside at leisure.
Sacred Soundsपवित्र ध्वनि
Did You Know? · क्या आप जानते हैं?
The same translation error that turned '33 Koti' into '33 crore' in Hinduism also happened in Buddhism. The Chinese translation of Buddhist texts rendered 'Sapta Koti Buddha' (7 Supreme Buddhas) as '7 Crore Buddhas.' The Tibetan translation got it right: 7 types, not 7 crore. One Sanskrit word, misread across two major world religions, generated two identical misconceptions independently.
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