Penataran Agung Lempuyang Luhur : A World Class Temple

Hello and welcome to Ageless Rock, a channel for megalithic fans with megalithic lens to see things from megalithic perspective. Today, we're going to check out a country made up of 17,000 islands. It is called Indonesia. This archipelago country has an amazing array of megalithic sites that can rival Peru and Egypt. But today, we're going to visit Bali Island, which is famous among foreign tourists. Karangasem Regency in the eastern side of Bali has a unique cluster of megalithic temples unlike any other places in the world. This temple design is now an icon of Bali architecture, famously known as Gate of Heaven. Of all the gates of heaven, the most famous one is located at Abang District. It is called Pura Lempoyang Luhur Complex. Pura is a Sanskrit word typically means city. But in Bali, it means temple. Lempoyang comes from the word Lampu and Hayang. Lampu means light and Hayang is the monotheistic god of Bali, Java and Sunda area. Luhur means supreme or great. So, Pura Lempoyang Luhur can be translated to mean supreme god temple. Pura Lempoyang Luhur is also famous for being very close to Mount Agung, which is an active volcano. They are about 14 kilometers apart. This temple complex journey starts from Penataran Agung Lempuyang, which is already at 2,000 feet or 610 meters altitude. This is where you get to see three columns of stairs with two dragons on each side, leading up to three gateways known as Padu Raksa. These six dragons greet tourists from all over the world every day. If you're on top and looking down, you can see the split gate which is a temple called Candi Bentar. It has a breathtaking view of Mount Agung. The next stop is Pura Telaga Mas. Telaga means a well in Malay. But in Indonesia, it can mean a lake. In this case, this can mean golden pond because mas is short form of amas which means gold. This little temple with a little pond is more than what you think. It is a sacred pond and is believed to have healing power. From Pura Telaga Mas, you can proceed to Pura Lempuyang Madya. Madya means halfway. The Arabic origin can also mean gate of heaven. At this point, you are halfway to the peak of the complex which is Pura Lempuyang Luhur. However, Madya in Sanskrit can also mean awaken the shakti energy from within to achieve liberation as practiced in tantric yoga. The original religion before Hinduism is pretty animistic. The statues are completely on its own category. There are no Hindu statues or deities despite being known as a Hindu temple. Since you are there, it seems that Pura Telaga Sawang is a recommended drop by because it is just a few steps away. This photo is very unique to me because it shows that the bottom platform is made up of stones and mortars just like the pyramids in Mexico while the top shows perfect tight-fitting machine-cut with no gap type of masonry. Our next stop is Pura Puncak Bibis. By now, we are at about 2,800 feet or 853 meters above sea level. The temple complex is dedicated to Asintya who is also Sang Hayang Tunggal. Or in English can be translated as The Divine One who manifested as God Ishvara who resides on Bibis Peak. The next temple is Pura Pasar Agung Lempuyang at about 3,200 feet or 975 meters altitude. The air is fresh and the view is nice. But this temple is more for devotees than tourists. The final destination is Pura Lempuyang Luhur which sits on top of Mount Lempuyang at 1,175 meters above sea level. Coincidentally, it takes about 1,700 steps from the base to the top if you choose to walk on the stairs. At this altitude, it can get misty and cold. Though the top is the ultimate destination for devotees, it cannot be said the same for tourists who want a great panoramic view or expect a majestic religious monument. This summit was created for the one and only God of Balinese, not tourists. This temple group is one of the six most sacred sites in Bali known as Sat Kayangan Jagat or Six Sanctuaries of the World. Although there are seven temples for this Lempuyang temple complex, the base of the entire sacred system actually starts at Pura Dalem Dasar Lempuyang where Dalem means inside and Dasar means base. It is located at 1,150 feet or 350 meters above sea level. This division is according to Balinese cosmology where the base is known as Sang Ananta Boga. The middle level is the Madhya level which starts from Penantaran Agung. It is also known as Sang Naga Pasuki. The highest and the most sacred is known as Sang Naga Taksaka. When the syncretization of Balinese gods and Hinduism slowly became intertwined, the lowest level can also represent Brahma, the middle level represents Vishnu and the highest level represents Shiva. The gods and deities are clearly not even remotely close to Hinduism but when Hinduism became popular and accepted by majority, their monotheistic religion of one god, Sang Hayang Widiwasa, became equivalent to Shiva. With all the great constructions, we are actually left to wonder who created all this. The Balinese have been using these temples since forever. It was never covered with thick vegetation to the point of lost civilization and no Europeans rediscovered these temples. Balinese history is vague if you go back to 1000 years ago but yet these temples are believed to have been built around that time. As far as I know, if a civilization has so much time mining and smelting metals to make bronze, to make chisels, to heal bedrock, to make temples, it would have been a great kingdom. Primitive ancient stone monuments with modern thatched roof doesn't seem to make sense to me. But a 16th century king as depicted in 17th century by Joannes Jansonius is still on wooden wheel coach pulled by two buffaloes. If it was a great kingdom where citizens were busy building stone temples, there will be stone palaces for the kings and stone houses for the rich and noble. Instead, if you visit Bali about one century ago, you will think this is a primitive tribe. There are seven interesting stone monuments on top of seven different peaks. The entire complex is said to be Hindu temples but has only original Balinese gods and deities. Offerings placed on their heads since forever can be repeated over the centuries but smelting metals and chiseling bedrock to build temples are forgotten. A possible link to Empu-Kuturan as the builder is merely a belief. I think it is time to revisit our human history. Well, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed this short presentation on Pura Lempuyang Luhur. See you in the next video and have a wonderful day. This is Bernie Ong signing out. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om.