The Nirartha Legacy in Bali

The promulgation of Hindu and Buddhist doctrines in Bali is attributed to a number of key historical figures typically Brahman priests from Java and their disciples or descendants. A famous early example is the 11th century reformer Mpu Kuturan (actually more of a Mahayana Buddhist than Hindu Brahman), but perhaps the most renowed of all is 16th century Javanese priest Danghyang Dwijendra, otherwise known as Nirartha. Nirartha came to Bali from Kediri is East Java, in 1537, in the aftermath of the collapse of the Majapahit empire. Legend has it that he made the crossing from Java on leaf of the keluwih tree. Upon landing near Negara in the kingdom of Jembrana he sat down to rest under an ancak tree-the ancak is a relative of the banyan under which the Buddha famously meditated-and his followers subsequently built a temple on the site, the Pura Ancak, today`s Pura Prancak. The Newly Arrived Magically Powerful High Priest Nirartha was invited to settle in Mas by local prince, Mas Wilis, but news of his teachings soon reached the ascendant royal house of Gelgel and an emissary was dispatched to bring the Padanda Sakti Wauh Rauh or ` Newly Arrived Magically Powerfull High Priest`, to court.

Once installed at the palace of Gelgel, Nirartha concentrated on matters of ritual practice, especially those connected with marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, death and the post-mortem purification of the soul. He still found time, however, to embark upon several missionary journeys through Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa. During his travels he founded many temples, while the children of his several marriages, both in Java and in Bali, became the progenitors of important Brahman clans, whose descendants still rank among the most important Brahmana families in Bali today. Nirartha`s Temple Building Programme Between 1546 and 1550 Danghyang Nirartha traveled all over Bali, teaching as he went and founding temples along the way. The famous temple of Tanah Lot, in the former kingdom Tabana, is one such sanctuary. It is said that on one of Nirartha`s journeys round Bali, he chose to sleep at this unusual rocky outcrop on the shores of the Kingdom of Tabanan and later recommended that a temple be built there. A Passion for Padmasana As well as founding new temples, Danghyang Nirartha also encouraged the building of Padmasana at many of the existing temples he visited. These he dedicated to Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, the Supreme Being or Ultimate Godhead. The Padmasana at the Pura Taman Puleh, in Mas rests on top of a stone turtle, representing the mythical earth-supporting chelonian, Bedawang Nala. The two serpents coiled around the latter`s body are said to stand for man`s earthly needs. The last padmasana to be built by Danghyang Nirartha was at Pura Uluwatu on the western most tip of the built Peninsula, and it was here that he achieved his apotheosis, or liberartion (moksa), from the endless cycle of rebirth, to become one with the infinite.