Tirta Empul & Healing Bali Water Blessing
Tirta Empul is a sacred temple in Bali that has been around since 926 AD and is still being actively used to this day, welcoming local Balinese communities as well as tourists to experience this special site.
The temple has several holy springs which are said to have been created by The God Indra and believed to be blessed water that could purify those who bathe there.
Tirta Empul is dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu God of water. In the Balinese language, Tirta Empul loosely translated means water gushing from the earth, which for this reason Tirta Empul is regarded as a holy spring. The Tirta Empul Temple includes shrines to Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, as well as one for Indra and Mount Batur. It is considered one of the five most holy temples in all of Bali and is considered one of the holiest water sources in Bali.
Although it is a sacred place of worship to the locals, tourists from all over the world are welcome to experience the beauty and participate in the purification rituals.
The Tirta Empul Experience
The Tirta Empul Holy Water Temple is located in the village of Manukaya, not far from Ubud. Tirta Empul is quite a large temple complex and it takes at least 30 minutes to an hour to explore the entire site. Just as at other temples and sacred sites around the island, you will need to put on a sarong before entering the premises.
From here you can wander around the temple freely. The temple is divided into three different sections: Jaba Pura (front yard), Jaba Tengah (central yard) and Jeroan (inner courtyard). The most famous part is Jaba Tengah as this is where the pools are located and the purification ritual takes place.
The holy springs here bubble up into a large, crystal-clear pool within the temple and gush out through 30 waterspouts into the two sacred purification pools. Local Balinese and Hindu worshippers stand in long lines in the pools waiting to dip their heads under the waterspouts in a purification ritual known as melukat.
Bathers start in the pool on the left side standing in the pool to the waist under the first water spout. Once they have cleansed themselves under the first spout they join the next queue. This process is continued until they have cleansed themselves under each waterspout.
Holy Bali Water & Ceremony
Holy Water or Tirtha has been a part of Balinese daily life forever; even Bali Hinduism is also known as “Agama Tirtha” or the religion of holy water. It is believed to have high powers and can help to heal the sick, cleanse impurities, ward off evil or demonic forces and more. Holy water is part of every ceremony, from daily offerings in the family compounds to elaborate temple festivals. Tirta, the holy water, is seen as a doorway to God – to ensure that all offerings and humans are able receive divine blessings.
Traditionally, a water blessing is given by a priest who sprinkles holy water over the head of a devotee and offers the water to drink three times. Holy water is obtained from natural springs. For important ceremonies and during pilgrimages, holy water will even be collected from different sacred sites spread across Bali.
Water in Balinese culture and religion is not only important because it serves as holy water in rituals, but also for its prominent role in the ecosystem. The complex irrigation system that distributes the water from the mountains into the many rice fields, has even become a Unesco world heritage.
Water is a sign of fertility and prosperity. Water is the building block for life and represents fullness. Balinese understood that water needs to be revered and used wisely by the communities to ensure a rich harvest of rice, the source of material well-being.
Hear from Linda’s experience at Tirta Empul on her Bali Retreat…
“I liked the process on the water blessing where you were saying goodbye to old anger, hurst and mistakes and you washed it all away, and then you embraced your new objectives.”
Linda, April 2022
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