Pura Tirta Empul Temple is one of the biggest and busiest temples in Indonesia and it is located about 40 minutes northeast of Ubud.
Tirta Empul Temple was built in 962 A.D., and its name in Balinese refers to the “Holy Spring”, which today represents one of the most sacred places in Bali.
We combined our trip to Pura Tirta Empul with a visit to the nearby Gunung Kawi Temple. But first, we visited Tirta Empul.
The Tirta Empultemple complex is divided into three main sections.
Jaba Pura
The first section is called “jaba pura”, where the local people give offering to the gods (dishes made of palm leaves containing various things such as rice, betel leaves, aromatic sticks, and coloured flowers – 4 colours for 4 gods ).
Jaba Tengah
The next section is called “jaba tengah”, which houses three pools of sacred water. There are thirty spouts in the area, where locals clean themselves performing Melukat ritual. It is believed that the holy water – “tirta” – removes evil spirits, brings prosperity and cleanses the body and the soul.
- Prepare things for your offering – a basket made of palm leaves with flowers, rice and a stick of incense.
- Sit on the stupa in front of the altar and offer your prayer to the gods, the water spirits, and the spirits of your parents. Make sure you keep the offering as close as possible to your heart. Then, make a wish and add the offering on the altar next to the other offerings.
- Now you are ready to enter the holy pools where a total of 30 spouts are. You should start from the second from the left (the first one is for children under 10). But first, you have to dress into another sarong (to rent on is 10,000 IDR).
The ritual repeats at each spout. Join you hands and recite the mantra “Ooom” three times. Gather the water in your hands and rinse your head and face three times (body and soul cleansing). Then you drink three times from the palm of your hand and spit the water out (getting rid of negative and bad things). Then drink three times from the palm of your hand and swallow the water (for healing). Everything is done three times because we pray to the three gods – Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Finally, you put your head under the fountain (for protection and prosperity) and go to the next fountain. Skip the 11th and 12th spout -they are for rituals regarding the dead ones.
When you complete the first pool, you will move to the second one and continue. - Finally, you move to the last pool which cleanses the body of any illnesses. I was told it is the most powerful one.
- As soon as you exit the pool, repeat the prayer and thank the gods, the water spirit and the spirits of your parents.
Jeroan
The last section of the temple is called “Jeroan,” where the Hindus in white robes come to pray together after giving sacrifices and cleansing baths. At the end of the prayer, the priest sprinkles the holy water at them. At the end of the ceremony, a few grains of rice, which symbolizes life for the Balinese, are pressed onto their forehead and neck.
A visit to Tirta Empul water temple is an uplifting experience not only for the Hindus. I enjoyed it a lot. It was interesting to see how such an active temple actually works and to try one of their rituals myself. Before I leave Bali, I will definitely go back there again.
2 comments
Very interesting post and photos, hope to visit this beautiful country soon!
Great pics! I’ve also switched to a healthier lifestyle and training with SportMe running app for my first 5k race. Sneaking in my running routine into my travel destinations is super challenging, and your blog posts are super inspiring.