State and temple
The performance of rituals and the physical maintenance of the
temples demand considerable resources, and throughout the temple's
history these have been at least partly provided by the state.
During pre-colonial times, the relationship between state and
temple was expressed in a largely Hindu. idiom of religion and
statecraft, but in the course of the 20th century this changed
to one couched in legal and constitutional terms.
The earliest history of Besakih consists of legendary accounts
that associate the temple with the great priests of the Hindu
traditions in Bali, beginning with Rsi Markendya. In the 15th
century two ancient edicts inscribed on wood, now regarded as
god-symbols of an important deity of Pura Penataran Agung, indicate
heavy state involvement.
The Gelgel and Klungkung dynasties (15th to early 20th centuries)
regarded Pura Besakih as the chief temple of the realm, and deified
Gelgel rulers are enshrined in a separate temple here, called
Padharman Dalem.
Through the turmoil and shifting politics of the 19th century,
which saw the rise of Dutch power on the island, the temple was
seriously neglected. The great earthquake of 1917 completed its
destruction, but at the same time galvanized the Balinese, who
then rebuilt the temple with Dutch assistance. Control was maintained
by the princely houses, who were responsible for rituals and maintenance.
After independence, the regional government of Bali took over
responsibility. Only in recent years has the Hindu community itself
taken on a greater share of the burden involved in the temple's
upkeep.
Cosmic rites of purification
The involvement of the Balinese with Pura Besakih is at no time
more in evidence than during the great purificatory rites known
as Panca Walikrama and Eka Dasa Rudra. Ideally these are held
every 10 and 100 years respectively, but in practice they have
been irregular. The Panca Walikrama was held in 1933,1960,1978
and most recently in 1989.
The Eka Dasa Rudra, greatest of all rituals known in Balinese
Hinduism, is an enormous purification rite directed to the entire
cosmos, represented by the 11 (eka dasa) directions. Rudra is
a wrathful form of Siwa, who is to be propitiated. It has been
held twice this century, once in 1963, and again in 1979. The
Eka Dasa Rudra of 1963, held at a time of great political tensions,
was an extraordinary catastrophe, for right in the midst of the
month-long festival Mt Agung erupted with violent destructive
force for the first time in living memory. Such a strange coincidence
prompted various interpretations, the most common being that the
deity of the mountain was angry, perhaps over the ritual's timing.
According to certain sacred texts, the rite should be held when
the Saka year ends in two zeros. Such was the case in 1979 (Saka
1900), and it was decided to hold the Eka Dasa Rudra once again.
The mountain remained calm and hundreds of thousands attended
the main day of celebration, including President Suharto. This
marked Besakih's new-found status as the paramount Hindu sanctuary
not only for Bali, but for all of Indonesia. |
