Pura Puncak Penulisan Temple

The location of this temple holds no mystery. Anyone familiar with Google Maps can input the program's name for the religious complex into the navigator and obtain the location of Pura Puncak Penulisan. By the way, nowadays, Pura Puncak Penulisan is not only a place of worship for Balinese people. It is also a valuable research site where historians and archaeologists work, as Puncak Penulisan and its surroundings keep the secrets of ancient Bali.

The Puncak Penulisan Temple complex is also known as Pura Tegeh Kahuripan. There are several translations of this name, one of which is "the center of life." It is believed to be located on the edge of the outer large caldera of Batur.

Considered the oldest Balinese temple, its exact construction date remains unknown. Some claim the modern temple was completed in 1016 CE, while other sources state that the temple's formation began around three hundred years BCE during the Bronze Age.

After its completion, the temple became a mountain sanctuary for the ruling Pejeng Bedulu dynasty, remaining so until Bali was conquered by the Javanese Majapahit kingdom in 1343. Afterward, the central temple of Bali became the Besakih Temple of the new Gelgel dynasty.

Situated at an altitude of 1,745 meters above sea level, it towers over the internal caldera of Batur, which reaches a height of 1,717 meters.

Within the temple, bronze plates are preserved, engraved with decrees of kings, elements of Hindu and Buddhist teachings. Some inscriptions have endured to this day. The temple houses a total of 262 statues, with notable figures being representations of the famous Balinese king Udayana and Mahendradatta, his Javanese-born queen, who ruled in the 11th century. Their descendants later became kings of East Java and Bali.

The temple also features numerous lingam statues, symbols of fertility and embodiments of the god Shiva.

The temple complex includes several sanctuaries: Pura Danu, Pura Taman Danu on the third terrace, Pura Ratu Penyarikan on the fourth terrace from the west.

Further away on the sixth level is Pura Ratu Daha Tua on the western side, and at the top on the seventh level is Pura Panarajon on the eastern side of the mountain peak. This uppermost temple is dedicated to the god of the Sanghyang Grinatha mountains, one of the manifestations of the god Shiva.