Tirta Empul Temple, Hindu water temple in Tampaksiring, Indonesia
Tirta Empul is a Hindu water temple in Tampaksiring, Gianyar, Indonesia, built around a natural spring. The complex includes several courtyards with carved gates, a main shrine, and two long stone basins fed by thirty pipes channeling clear spring water.
The site was founded in 962 during the Warmadewa dynasty, when Balinese rulers declared the spring a religious center. Over the centuries the complex remained a place for purification rituals and was expanded several times to accommodate more pilgrims.
The temple takes its name Tirta Empul from the sacred spring within and draws devotees daily who cleanse themselves under the flowing waters. The Melukat ceremony follows a set path through the pools, with each spout believed to address a different form of inner purification.
The bathing pools lie in Jaba Tengah, the central courtyard, reached after passing Jaba Pura; the inner Jeroan sanctuary is entered separately. Bathers move along the row of spouts in order, and the two pools are named Pengelukatan, Pebersihan, Sudamala and Pancuran Cetik. In August 2017 visitors were advised not to use the bathing facilities after E. coli contamination was reported.
The spring feeds the Pakerisan River, and the temple's name means "holy spring that arises from the ground." Balinese legend credits the god Bhatara Indra with creating it: he struck his spear into the earth to revive warriors poisoned by King Mayadenawa's toxic spring.
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