Pura Hulundanu Batur, Bali

Past the Kalanganyar village in Kintamani district in Bali off the main road is Pura Hulundanu. This is on the three main temples, "Tri Kahyangan Jagat" meaning "the heaven of the universe". The other two being Pura Besakih and Pura Lempuyang.
This temple is the second most important after Pura Besakih which is said to be the "Mother temple".

The temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, goddess of lakes and rivers. Danau is lake and Dewi is goddess. Hulu means head so Hulundanu means head of rivers and lakes and refers to lake Batur.
Lake Danu is considered a sacred river and people use its water for any religious ceremony.

The caldera formed by Mount Batur erruption, got filled by water over a period of time thus forming a huge lake.  The village of Batur along with temple was built by the lakeside.
In 1926, a violent eruption of Mount Batur destroyed the village and the temple, just saving the 11-tiered meru dedicated to goddess. The villagers moved the temple to its present location along with 11-tiered meru.

Mount Kintamani

Kintamani and Lake Batur

Lake Batur, from where water is taken for any kinds of cermonies.

entrance to temple

With the backdrop of thick forests and Mount Batur, the temple looks ethereal

Bentar or split gate on right and Kori agung or paduraksha or the roof towered gate on left of picture

These gates lead to the innermost sanctum of temple.

another side gate

The 11-tiered meru tower of the temple dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvati

In addition to the above temple, there are many temples in the complex.

temples dedicated to Ganga and Yamuna

Temple of Ganga, makar (crocodile) her mount on the sides

3-tiered meru is for Ida Ratu Ayu Kentel Gumi who protects the plants from ailments

On the north-east corner of temple is Padmasana which is an empty throne on top of a cosmic turtle (Bedawang) which carries teh universe on its back.

Padma: lotus, Asana: throne. On this throne sits Ida Sang Hyng Widi Wasa, who is the Supreme God.

The base of Padmasana Vasuki and Anantbhoga, the nagas(serpents) who coil on top of turtle to absorb the shocks of earthquakes. Serpents also denote the world of demons.

a religious ceremony inside the temple

Padmasana

bale pepelik (offering pavilion)

Ida Sang Hyang Widi Wasa, the Supreme God who is represented on an empty throne or Padmasana

Wantilan (meeting or discussion pavilion) with AUM at entrance on top

Wantilan is a meeting or discussion hall and is placed just outside the temple premises

Wat Saket, Bangkok

Hardly can anyone miss a white and golden wat on top of a small hillock in Bangkok. That's Wat Saket, short form of Wat Saket Ratch Wora Vihara. This is one of Bangkok's oldest temples and is located outside the old Rattanakosin island of the city.

Apart from the Phra Borom Bunphot or Phu Khao Thong, the golden mountain, there are many other things to see here.

History of Wat:

• The temple was named Wat Sa Kae during its construction in the Ayutthya era ( 1351 - 1767).
• The name got changed to Wat Sa Ket when King Rama I (1737-1808), established his kingdom in Bangkok.
• The meaning of the word translates to "wash hair". It is said that the King washed his hair here before entering the city after returning from war.
• This wat has always been the most important temple for Thailand and the ruling Chakri Dynasty. Therefore, this place is renovated timely.
• As this area was outside the city, it became a place to cremate bodies of cholera victims which ravaged the city of Bangkok during King Rama II's rule (1809-1824). I would be writing about it in detail later in my post.
• The grandson  of King Rama I, King Rama III (1824-1851) decided to built the pagoda but the soft soil of Bangkok could not support the sturcture and it collapsed.
• The structure remained neglected for quite some time which turned the area into a hillock. Locals started calling it as "Phu Khao Thong". Khao meaning a mountain.
• Later, King Rama IV (1851-1868), revived the construction of a small pagoda on "hilltop". The construction was completed during the rule of his son, King Rama V (1868-1910), who gave temple the royal name, Suwan Banphot or the Golden Mount.
• In 1940s, concrete weight bearing walls were built to support the pagoda and protect against soil erosion.
• In the early 20th century, the wat was refurbished with carrara marble( Italian marble). Buddha relic (teeth) were also enshrined there.
• The huge complex of Borom Bunphot or the Golden Mountain, has in addtion, Phra Uttharot's viharn, ordination hall or ubosot in the north. The south part of the complex has monk kutis, Bodhi tree, Asoka pillar.

My husband while travelling came across this book, remembering that I was writing a post on Wat Saket, he sent me picture of the book and also what the wat looked like more than 200 years back.

Wat Saket across Klong Ong Ang, 1865

Khlong Ong Ang or ong Ang canal was dug during the reign of King Rama I, when Bangkok was made the capital of Thailand.

It is the oldest waterways and is now one of the major tourist attraction. 

Both sides of the canal become active on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with street food, shopping stalls.

entrance ticket of 50 THB

344 steps to climb atop 80 meter high hillock

The low steps are very easy to climb

on the way up

a big gong

bells along the path

Buddha images on entrance

I forgot to take the picture of entrance where a sign says that you don't need to take off your shoes. The reason being that the exit is from the other side and you don't come back to this place.

Emerald Buddhas on one side

model of wat

images outside the chamber where relics are enshrined

There is a small flight to stairs, take off your shoes before entering.

inside the chamber, relics brought from India are said to be enshrined here

the golden chedi is surrounded by Buddha images on four sides

Buddha images lined up for each day of the week. Devotees pray to the image coinciding with the day of your birth.

a Thai woman praying

image covered in gold leaves below the stupa

wooden panel with Chinese zodiac symbols

A sign pointing to stairs takes you to the roof of this wat where a golden pagoda stands.

On four corners of the gilded pagoda stand the guardians

On four corners of the roof, stand golden structures

view of Bangkok from above

small bells hang all around the temple's roof which chime with the breeze

There is another way to go down.

sign while coming down

another sign

I was in a fix, which way to go. We decided to go to Luang Por To first and then go further down.

an information board 

Vultures of Wat Saket:

Going down the steps towards Phra Luang Por To, we saw metallic vultures all over the place. This quite amused us.

During the rule of King Rama II (1809-1824), there was an epidemic of cholera, leading to deaths of more than 30,000 people. There was a tradition of not cremating their dead within the city walls and since this temple was outside the city, the place was considered just appropriate.

The temple got over burdened by the number of dead bodies and could not cremate all of them. The families left the bodies in the open. This attracted the vultures who started coming in large numbers to eat the dead bodies.

Every dry season, there were spurt in cases which spiked during the reign of King Rama III(1824-1851)

The last spread of this disease was in 1881.

For around 6 decades, vultures hovered the skies of Bangkok.

vultures sitting all over

small shrine while going down

devouring the dead

wall behind must have had pictures or names of dead

Wat Luang Por To:

The 5.33 meters high and 3.2 meters wide gilded image of Buddha was constructed during the reign of King Rama III. It was a cast-iron statue which was very different to the stucco statues built during those times.

Owing to its massive size, it was called "Luang Por Tho".

The image of Luang Por To sits in bhumisparsh mudra (calling earth to witness), and faces towards Mahanak canal and provides happiness and joy to all.

Just beneath the image, are Buddha's footprints.

There was this structure just near the temple, but there was no information on this.

Guan Yin on the side while going down

a small shrine on way down

torkay gecko soaks in the sun

almost down...

Lucky Buddha:

On the right, near a Bodhi tree is the Lucky Buddha.

The image is seen Buddha sitting on a lotus in Bhumisparsh mudra or calling the earth to witness. Lotus brings good fortune or luck.

Wishes written on golden petals asking Buddha to fulfill their wishes.

golden leaves hang from tree

small shrine on an old mound

more images

information regarding the wat

old part of wat

Luang Phor Dam or Black Buddha:

The image sitting in subduing Mara or bhumisparsh mudra belongs to early Rattanakosin period. As the name misleads, "Black Buddha" is not black but praying at this image protects one from black magic. An amulet of Luang Phor Dam can change a person's  luck from bad to good.

Bamiyan museum:

At the base of temple, a cave like structure is a recreation of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

Bamiyan museum

entrance

Huge standing image of Buddha

view of the room

Cremation hall:

The complex has a cremation hall.

wreaths placed outside cremation hall

Wat Saket Ratch Wora Maha Wihan:

Between the cremation hall and ordination hall is the wihan.

large seated Buddha, Phra Ruang behind the main image in wihan. It was placed during the rule of Rama V and was brought from Wat Dusit.

The standing image inside the viharn is Phra Attharat Srisucot Thosopol Yanabophit and is said to be the tallest in Bangkok.

It was built around 700 years ago. The image stands in Abhay mudra or dispelling fear.

The image was moved by King Rama III from Wihan Thong, Phisanulok to this Wihan.

tree with silver leaves for devotees to write their wishes

tree with golden leaves

The Ordination hall or ubosot:

A boundary with four entrances on four sides leads to ordination hall or ubosot from wihan.

decorated door connecting viharn to ubosot

Crossing this door, there is a cloister with Buddha images. There are similar entrance doors on all four sides.

Golden Mountain behind, entrance from vihar to ubosot on side

163 moulded and stucco Buddha images in the cloister

They are assumed to be placed here at the time of renovation during King Rama III.

The roof has porcelain tiles and the pediment in the center is decorated with Vishnu riding on Garuda which is the logo of Chakri Dyanasty.

Vishnu on his mount, Garuda on ubosot gable

Sema stone

Around the hall, in eight directions are one of the most beautiful sema stones I have ever seen.

main Buddha image inside ubosot

The huge stucco statue is covered with gold and is in a dhyaan mudra, meditative posture.

The walls are covered with murals with a theme pertaining to the life of Buddha.

The image is 79 meters high.

mural projecting life in heaven, earth and hell behind the principal Buddha image

lowest level has people in pain and hunger, middle level has life on earth and topmost level shows celestial beings.

The above mural Buddha, sitting on a throne in Bhumisparsh mudra, beckoning mother earth or Phra Mae Thorani or Dharini who is wringing water from her hair below to witness his victory over Mara.

Sermon hall, Ho Trai:

Outside the wihan, ordination hall and cremation ground across the road is sermon hall, Ho trai or scripture hall.

Sermon hall and Ho Trai or scripture hall

Scripture hall

Loy Krathong festival which takes place every year on 12th night of lunar calendar, usually in late October or early November. During this time, the wat is draped with a red cloth. People go in large numbers to attend the festival and earn merits.

Timings:  7AM to 7PM

entrance fee: 50 TBH to the top of chedi