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History
BESAKIH was built on a terraced site where prehistoric rites, ceremonies, and feasts once took place. Perhaps it was here where the spirit of the great, angry mountain, which loomed menacingly above the island, received pagan sacrifices. Certain timeworn megaliths in some of the bale are reminiscent of old Indo-Polynesian structures. Hindu theologians claim the temple was founded by the 8th century missionary Danghyang Markandeya, a priest credited with introducing the tradition of daily offerings (bebali) and the concept of a single god. His son, Empu Sang Kulputih, was the temple's first high priest. The first record of the temple's existence is a chronogram dated AD 1007, possibly describing the death ritual for King Udayana's queen, Mahendradatta. This inscription also reveals that Besakih was used as a Buddhist sanctuary. 'Lontar' books dating from the Majapahit Kingdom indicate Besakih's significance during the 14th century, and several 15th-century wood tablets refer to state support of Besakih, confirming its preeminence. Besakih's central Pura Penataran Agung, the largest on the island, functioned as a funeral temple for the Gelgel dynasty's deified kings and as the central state temple for the entire island. Gelgel rulers are today enshrined in their own temple here, the Padharman Dalem. For centuries worship at Besakih was the exclusive privilege of rajas, not commoners, and the difficult trek here in former times reinforced the ardor of the devotional act. The great 1917 earthquake destroyed the temple complex, but it was subsequently restored by the Dutch to its original form (only two structures survived this quake). Besakih was again heavily damaged on 17 March 1963 by a Gunung Agung eruption. The complex has since been extensively restored and now encompasses a mix of old and new buildings. Because it is a state shrine, the provincial and national governments pay for its upkeep. |
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