TANAH LOT TEMPLE

Welcome everybody, how are you today? Great! Let me introduce myself, my name is Ni Putu
Cetana Sri Handayani, you can call me by my Balinese name Putu, I’m your guide for this tour.
I’ll explain to you all about Tanah Lot Temple. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate
to ask me. Okay, let's get our tour underway.

Ladies and gentleman, firstly I want to tell you about the history of Tanah Lot Temple. In 1489,
Dang Hyang Nirartha or better known as Pedanda Sakti Wau Rauh, a High Priest of the
Majapahit Kingdom in East Java travelled to Bali to spread Hinduism. He arrived at the beautiful
area and established a site honoring the sea god, Dewa Baruna. Here, he shared his teachings to
Beraban villagers, only to face opposition from the village chief who soon gathered his loyal
followers to dispel Nirartha. The priest resisted, incredibly shifting a large rock he meditated
upon out to sea while transforming his sashes into sea snakes to guard at its base. The rock’s
original name, Tengah Lod, means ‘in the middle of sea’.

This is one of the uniqueness of Tanah Lot Temple compared to other Temples in Bali. Around
this temple, there are a number of caves in which live the legendary sea snakes colored black and
white which are believed to be the transformation of Dang Hyang Nirartha’s sashes. Before you
enter the caves, a priests will sprinkling holy water over your heads for purification. You will be
accompanied by a caretaker of the snake, and you can touch the snake, but be very gentle please.
These snakes are tame and considered as the guardian of the entire area from unseen evil forces.
Then there is also a natural spout exactly beneath the temple which is the source of holy water
for all the temples in the area.
The function of this temple can be realized from the function of the main temple building which
is located in the temple main area. The main temple building, which has 5 stories of roofs, is
intended to worship the God in His manifestation of Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, the sea
ruler. While the 3 storied roof temple building in the north part of this area is for worshiping
Dang Hyang Nirartha.

Well ladies and gentleman that's all about our tour program today. Thank you very much for
your attention and participation, hope you will enjoy the tour with our services. See you on the
next trip and god bless you all.

Source: http://www.baligoldentour.com/tanah-lot-temple.php,
http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/tanah-lot.htm