BALI GUIDE

BALI HISTORY

In the late 10th century, an East Javanese princess named Gunapriya married Udayana, a Balinese ruler of the Warmadewa dynasty. After this marriage, Javanese cultural influence over Bali became very powerful (bali attractions). The old Javanese language began to be used for official inscriptions, and a Javanese-style privy council was introduced, with members drawn from military commanders and from the Sivaite and Buddist priesthood.

Gunapriya and Udayana received posthumous titles meaning "She, who is immortalized [dhinarma] in Burwan" and "He, who is immortalized in Banuwka". The name Burwan, might be preserved in the village of Buruan, in Gianyar Regency. In a nearby village, Kutri, three temples [pura] contain images, are believed to be connected with several ancient royal figures. The most famous of these images is that of Durga [goddes of the underworld], slaying the demon Mardini, which is now kept in Kedharman Temple [Pura Kedharman]. This statue displays attibutes of early East Javanese sculpture. Several scholars have suggested that this statue may be the memorial image of Gunapriya, though there is no direct evidence for such an association. The location of Banuwka is still unknown as no extant village bears such a name. The connection between Java and Bali was strengthened when the eldest son of this couple, Airlangga, married a Javanese princess, daughter of King Dharmawangsa. After a struggle in which he defeated his enemies, who had destroyed the kingdom of his father-in-law, Airlangga was crowned as king of Java in 1037 (bali map). Thus, although Airlangga was born in Bali as the Balinese ruler's eldest son, he never ruled there. He attempted to have his own son crowned as king of Bali, but his petition through a priestly envoy was declined.

Dharmawangsa Marakata, Airlangga's younger brother ruled Bali from 1022 to 1025. His inscriptions depicted Dharmawangsa as a protector of his people who looked upon him as sources of legal justice. A statue of the Bodhisatva Amoghapasa at Kutri Village has been associated with Dharmawangsa (bali info). Other statues connected with ancient royal figures from this period include a Ganesha and a pair of sandals on the same block of stone; the sandals denote a god or royal person who for some unknown reason was not depicted directly. Anak Wungsu, the youngest child of Gunapriya and Udayana, then succeeded to the throne. However, the lapse of time between Dharmawangsa's last inscription and Anak Wungsu's first is very long; nothing was heard of Anak Wungsu until 1049. There was never any clear historical explanation whether other inscription existed, which have not been discovered, or whether there was a real power vacuum during this time. Despite this long delay, Anak Wungsu issued a large number of inscription: 28 are known (bali forum). They describe him as a compassionate ruler who always kept his mind on the perfection of the "mandala" [welfare] of the Bali island. His inscriptions have been found in South, Central and North Bali, demonstrating that his realm was geographically extensive.

Amongst the findings on Anak Wungsu is the site of Gunung Kawi [Poet Mountain]. The site of Gunung Kawi consist of a number of temple facades, as well as a number of meditation complexes carved out of soft volcanic tuff. The complex can be approached be a steep stairway and gate leading down into the narrow valley of Pakerisan River (bali vacation), which has carved a deep, narrow course lined with rock faces which lend themselves to be used as isolated ceremonial sites. On the North of the stairway, before crossing the river, is a group of four temple facades carved in relief. Across the stream is another group of five temple facades. One of these bears an inscription in Kadiri script: "haji lumah ing jalu" [the Lord who died at Jalu]. "Jalu" means "kris" or traditional Balinese dagger. So the inscription may refer to the precise spot. Scholars associate this personage with Anak Wungsu, based purely on the fact that palaegraphy has dated the inscription to the approximate period of his reign. The temple facades themselves are mentioned in an inscription from Dharmawangsa as "Sanghyang katyagan ing pakrisan mangaran ning amarawati", but perhaps the complex was not completed until the reign of Anak Wungsu. To the East of the temple facades is an ascetic's cloister and further East a long row of meditation niches. Anak Wungsu was succeeded by Sri Maharaja Sri Walaprabhu, believed to have ruled between 1079 and 1088. He issued few inscriptions. His importance role is that he first used the sanskrit title "Sri Maharaja", whereas the previous kings styled themselves as Sang Ratu or Paduka Haji.