One of the places most visited in Bali is none other than Pura (Hindu temple) Tanah Lot which swept me off my feet when I first caught a glimpse of the breathtaking panorama. It was such a beautiful sight to behold. Tanah Lot is one of the best attractions in Bali till today. This Balinese Hindu temple stands majestically in the middle of the sea and constantly hit by gushing waves from the Indian Ocean. It’s located in Tabanan, about 20km from Denpasar. Pura Tanah Lot is famous for not only the sea shrine which is guardian gods of the sea but also the sacred snake said to be guarding the temple in a cave on the mainland. This temple has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries.
It was believed that Pura Tanah Lot was built in the 15th century by a priest named Nirartha. The priest was travelling along the south coast of the Indian Ocean when he caught a glimpse of the rock-island’s beautiful surroundings and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him, and brought him gifts that persuaded him to spend the night on the lovely island. Before he left the next day, he told the fishermen to build a shrine on the rock because he felt it to be a holy place to worship Balinese sea gods. Till today there is holy spring water that arises beneath the rocks which is deem to be sacred and guarded by priests. I and Raj got our blessings from the priest there sprinkling the holy water, some rice grains (Bija) pressed onto our foreheads with some Frangipani flowers.
The uniqueness of this temple compared to the rest is, the entire temple is surrounded by seawater during high tide. But on days of low tide, you can easily walk to temple. A giant snake purportedly protects the temple, which was created from Nirartha scarf when he established the island. The legacy of Tanah Lot believes that the snakes protect the temple from evil spirits. Therefore local people pay a great respect to the snakes. Even though this place has already been heavily flocked with tourists and shops, but its true beauty never ceases to amaze people from those who merely seek for pleasure to the ones who are searching for profound meaning of this very place.
We were told by our tourist guide that one of the best moments to go to Tanah Lot is during sunset. However that day we had plans to watch sunset at Jimbaran Bay with delicious seafood, so we did not stay longer. There were many stalls along the way from the entrance till the exit of the temple. Varieties of souvenirs, wood sculptures, stone art, batik attires, and food stalls were tempting as you know being a woman, it’s my natural flair to love to shop around but I had not much time for this and not much of a choice to overspent my cash. On the whole, I felt like I was in a paradise on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment