Pura Besakih
Pura Besakih is the most important Hindu shrine in Indonesia , located on the island of Bali , and the “mother temple” of all Balinese temples. The temple was probably founded in the 8th century and is located at around 950 meters above sea level on the southwest slope of Gunung Agung , a volcano that is still active . The entire complex consists of over 200 buildings, to which multi-level temple towers ( meru ), shrines ( pelinggih ), open pavilions ( bale) and other closed buildings. The princely families each have their own district. All village communities have their own temple areas or shrines within the extensive area, each of which is surrounded by a wall.
The holiest of the three large temple districts is the Pura Panataran Agung Besakih in the center, in which the one god Sanghyang Widhi Wasa is worshiped in Indian terminology as Trimurti - that is the Hindu divinity Brahma - Shiva - Vishnu .
Once a year, when the moon is full, a large festival attended by many Balinese believers takes place in this temple complex when the Rajas of Balis appear and sacrifice to their ancestors. Every hundred years according to the Balinese lunar calendar, the Eka Dasa Rudra is also celebrated here , a great sacrificial ceremony in which the universe is symbolically purified.
During the last Eka Dasa Rudra , the Gunung Agung broke out on February 18, 1963. Large areas of land were devastated, over 1,100 people died and 86,000 were left homeless. A hot rubble stream ( lahar ) came down east of the temple complex . During the eruption on May 18, 1963, most of the buildings were destroyed by an earthquake ; lapilli had already fallen on the plant beforehand .
Pura Besakih has been on the tentative list as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since October 19, 1995 , but has not yet been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
See also
literature
- Günter C. Vieten, Photos: Amos Schliack : Bali: The Roads of Redemption. In: Geo-Magazin , No. 7, Hamburg 1979, pp. 112-136 ISSN 0342-8311
Web links
- Pura Penataran Agung Besakih. Institute for Art History, Building Research and Monument Preservation, Vienna University of Technology, 2004
Individual evidence
- ↑ MT Zen, Djajadi Hadikusumo: Preliminary report on the 1963 eruption of Mt Agung in Bali (Indonesia). In: Bulletin Volcanologique , 27 (1964) pp. 269-299, here pp. 275, 283.
- ↑ Entry on the tentative list
Coordinates: 8 ° 22 ′ 17.8 ″ S , 115 ° 27 ′ 4.3 ″ E