#Besakih #PuraBesakih #Bali #balinesehindu #MotherTempleofBali This is the 4th episode of the new Indonesia – Vietnam series Through this video I am taking my viewers to the western slope of the Majestic Mount Agung – the most fearsome and sacred Volcano of Bali, where I visited the great Besakih Temple – The mother temple of entire Balinese Hindus. It is the most important, largest, and holiest temple of Balinese Hindus and one of a series of Balinese Temples. Perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by a Candi Bentar (split gateway), and beyond it, the Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard. The precise origins of the temple are unclear but its importance as a holy site almost certainly dates from prehistoric times. The stone bases of Pura Penataran Agung and several other temples resemble megalithic stepped pyramids, which date back at least 2,000 years. It was certainly used as a Hindu place of worship from 1284 when the first Javanese conquerors settled in Bali. By the 15th century, Besakih had become a state temple of the powerful Gelgel Dynasty Pura Besakih is a complex made up of twenty-three temples that sit on parallel ridges. It has stepped terraces and flights of stairs that ascend to several courtyards and brick gateways that lead up to the main spire or Meru structure, which is called Pura Penataran Agung. All this is aligned along a single axis and designed to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain which is considered sacred. The main sanctuary of the complex is the Pura Penataran Agung. The symbolic center of the main sanctuary is the Lotus Throne or Padmasana , which is therefore the ritual focus of the entire complex. It dates to around the seventeenth century A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people, also threatened Pura Besakih. The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters. The Balinese people regarded the saving of the temple as miraculous and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected. eremony is a Hindu ritual that is conducted to celebrate the We organise tailor made tours to Far East Asia countries - Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. If any one is interested in travelling with us, they may contact us on email: terryfyk@gmail.com or on whatsapp: +6281386138637.