Danghyang Nirartha, also known as Pedanda Shakti Wawu Rauh, was a Shaivite religious figure in Bali and a Hindu traveler, during either the 15th [1] or the 16th century. [2] He was the founder of the Shaivite priesthood in Bali. [3]
Nirartha is also called Pedande Sakti Wawu Rauh [4] (the newcomer of Holy Priest); in Lombok he is known as Pangeran Semeru, and in Sumbawa as Prince Sangupati. [5]
A representative of elite social milieus, [6] Nirartha was a disciple of Muslim saint Syekh Siti Jenar. [7] Jenar was a Javanese member of the Wali Sanga (revered Muslim saints) in Java who proned a more mystical approach of sufism, [8] called pantheist Sufism (union of man and God, wujûdiyah, manunggaling kawulo gusti) - which opposed shariatic Sufism such as that of Sunan Kudus. [9]
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Balinese texts define Nirartha as “a poet, intellectual, wonderworker, and advisor to rulers”, [6] a well-travelled innovator or reformer. [10] He was sent by the Javanese royal court of Majapahit to Bali. Balinese oral accounts give his arrival in Bali in 1492, during the reign of King Waturenggong of Gelgel. [11] [lower-alpha 1] He brings the support of the spiritual world (niskala) - and the sanction of Java's earthly powers - to confirm Dalem Baturenggong's Gelgel kingship over Pasuruan, Blambangan, Puger, Bali, Nusa Penida, Sasak, and Sumbawa. He was to select a local priest who would lead the rajasurya or aswameda ceremony hosted by King Dalem Watu Renggong for the occasion. [13]
Some accounts of the life of Nirartha say that he came into conflict with I Krahdng, sometimes called the king of Lombok. Krafeng Jarannika is reported to have died in about 1700 while resisting Karangasem's rule of Lombok. [2]
A tradition, well known amongst brahmana in Bali, is that wetu telu Islam (a mix of Islam and animism) was brought to the Sasaks as the teachings of Nirartha or Dwijèndra, the ancestor of the Balinese brahmana siwa. One of the versions is that Nirartha disguised himself as Pangèran Sangupati in Lombok to found Islam there, and as Tuan Seméru or Suméru in Sumbawa to spread similar teachings there. Another version is that Pangèran Sangupati is a different person from Nirartha and may have been a Sasak pupil of his. [14]
Nirartha's travels in Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa are recounted in a lontara called Dwijendra Tatwa. [15]
Admittedly he was still in Bali and alive in 1537: he penned a colophon attached to a copy of the kakavinSumanasāntaka, which states that “the copy was completed on 14 July 1537 in Bali, at the sima Kanaka by one whose parab was Nirartha”. [11] One year before that, in 1536, according to the Dwijendratattwa and the Babad Brāhmaṇa he completed a work called Mahiṣa Mĕgat Kūng. [16]
Nirartha was responsible for facilitating a refashioning of Balinese Hinduism. He was an important promoter of the idea of moksha ( freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth) in Indonesia. He founded the Shaivite priesthood that is now ubiquitous in Bali, and is now regarded as the ancestor of all Shaivite pedandas. [3]
He introduced in Balinese Hindu temples the shrine (padmasana) of the empty throne as an altar to the supreme god Acintya [17] or Shiva, [18] as a result of Shaivite reformation movement. [17] The temples on the coasts of Bali were augmented with the padmasana shrines by the dozen during Nirartha's travels. [19]
Bali had been hit with many plagues in the years before. Some myths state that he made the journey from Java to Bali on top of a pumpkin, giving rise to the taboo among some Balinese Brahmins on the consumption of pumpkins. [20] The legend says that Nirartha presented the king with a hair from his head, stating that this would remove the sufferings. [20] This hair was placed in a temple which became a prominent Shaivite pilgrimage spot in Bali. [21]
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a "tail" to the southwest, about 70 kilometres across and a total area of about 4,607.38 square kilometres including smaller offshore islands. The provincial capital and largest city on the island is Mataram.
West Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. The area of this province is 19,675.89 km2 (7,596.90 sq mi) which consists of two main islands, namely Lombok Island and Sumbawa Island as well as several other small islands. The two largest islands in this province are the smaller but much more populated Lombok in the west and the much larger in area but much less densely populated Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. It shares maritime borders with Bali to the west and East Nusa Tenggara to the east.
The Sasak people live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 3.6 million. They are related to the Balinese in language and in ancestry, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are predominantly Hindu. Sasak people who practice pre-Islamic beliefs are also known as Sasak Boda in reference to the name of the Sasak people's original religion, Bodha.
The Balinese people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Bali. The Balinese population of 4.2 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok and in the easternmost regions of Java.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Indonesia, based on civil registration data in 2023 from Ministry of Home Affairs, is practised by about 1.68% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to Islam from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism, which was previously the dominant religion in the region, mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.
The Sasak language is spoken by the Sasak ethnic group, which make up the majority of the population of Lombok, an island in the West Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It is closely related to the Balinese and Sumbawa languages spoken on adjacent islands, and is part of the Austronesian language family. Sasak has no official status; the national language, Indonesian, is the official and literary language in areas where Sasak is spoken.
Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home to the ancient Hindu pilgrimage temple Pura Tanah Lot, a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography.
Sunan Kudus, founder of Kudus, is one of the Wali Sanga, of Java, Indonesia to whom the propagation of Islam amongst the Javanese is attributed.
Sunan Sitijenar is, according to the Babad Tanah Jawi manuscripts, one of the nine Wali Sanga to whom Indonesian legend attributes the establishment of Islam as the dominant religion among the Javanese, Indonesia's largest ethnic group.
Gelgel is a village (desa) in the regency (kabupaten) of Klungkung, on Bali, Indonesia. The village, near the coast four kilometers south of the regency capital Semarapura, contains some structures of cultural interest and is known for its pottery and handwoven ceremonial songket cloth.
Achintya, also known as Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa and Sang Hyang Tunggal, is the Supreme God of Indonesian Hinduism, especially on the island of Bali. Achintya is equivalent to the metaphysical concept of Brahman of Indian Hinduism and is the Supreme God in traditional wayang theatre. All gods, goddesses, and existence are believed to be the manifestation of the Achintya in Balinese Hinduism.
The History of Bali covers a period from the Paleolithic to the present, and is characterized by migrations of people and cultures from other parts of Asia. In the 16th century, the history of Bali started to be marked by Western influence with the arrival of Europeans, to become, after a long and difficult colonial period under the Dutch, an example of the preservation of traditional cultures and a key tourist destination.
East Lombok Regency is a regency of the Indonesian Province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is located on the island of Lombok, of which it comprises the eastern third ; the administrative capital is the town of Selong. The Regency covers an area of 1,605.55 km2 and had a population of 1,105,582 at the 2010 Census and 1,325,240 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,404,343.
Dalem Baturenggong, also called Waturenggong or Enggong, was a King (Dalem) of Bali who is believed to have reigned in the mid 16th century. He is in particular associated with the golden age of the Balinese kingdom of Gelgel, with political expansion and cultural and religious renovation. In Balinese historiography he represented an epic vision of kingship that served as a model for later rulers on the island.
Dalem Segening was a king of Bali who reigned in the first half of the 17th century, his exact dating being still uncertain. He belonged to a dynasty which originated from Majapahit on Java, and ruled from the palace (puri) of Gelgel.
Dalem Di Made was a king of Bali who may have reigned in the period 1623–1642. He belonged to a dynasty that claimed descent from the Majapahit Empire of Java, and kept residence in Gelgel, close to Bali's south coast.
A Pura is a Balinese Hindu temple and the place of worship for adherents of Balinese Hinduism in Indonesia. Puras are built following rules, style, guidance, and rituals found in Balinese architecture. Most puras are found on the island of Bali, where Hinduism is the predominant religion; however many puras exist in other parts of Indonesia where significant numbers of Balinese people reside. Mother Temple of Besakih is the most important, largest, and holiest temple in Bali. Many Puras have been built in Bali, leading it to be titled "the Island of a Thousand Puras".
The Kingdomship of Bali was a series of Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that once ruled some parts of the volcanic island of Bali, in Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. With a history of native Balinese kingship spanning from the early 10th to early 20th centuries, Balinese kingdoms demonstrated sophisticated Balinese court culture where native elements of spirit and ancestral reverence combined with Hindu influences—adopted from India through ancient Java intermediary—flourished, enriched and shaped Balinese culture.
A Meru tower, or pelinggih meru, is the principal shrine of a Balinese temple. It is a wooden, pagoda-like structure with a masonry base, a wooden chamber, and multi-tiered thatched roofs. The height of Meru towers represents the Hindu Mount Meru. Meru towers are usually dedicated to either the highest gods of the Hindu pantheon, the local pantheon, or a deified person.
Pura Dasar Buana is a Balinese Hindu temple or pura located in Gelgel, Bali, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Semarapura. Pura Dasar Buana is one of the Pura Dang Kahyangan Jagat, a temple which was built to honor a holy teacher of Hindu teaching. Pura Dasar Buana honored Mpu Ghana, a Brahmin who arrived to Bali from Javanese Majapahit to teach Hinduism in the island.
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