Madewasraya Rite at Tuluk Biyu Temple, Batur

Thousands of Hindu devotees thronged the Tuluk Biyu Temple, Batur Village, Kintamani to attend the Madewasraya rite, Saturday (7/10). This rite coincided with the full moon in the fourth month based on the Balinese calendar system.
The significance of the Madewasraya rite is serving as an endeavour to make closer relationship with and invoke the protection to the Almighty God. When the human has obtained such protection he could live securely and in prosperity. The Madewasraya rite of this year was executed in the most grandiose scale and it only is held once in ten years. The last one was held in 1996.

Based on the palm manuscript Air Hawang, this rite was first organized in the Çaka year 933 (1011 AD) during the administration of the King Udayana (Upacara Madewsraya di Pura Tuluk Biyu Batur, Wiana, 2006). It is mentioned that Bali was then stricken by contagious disease spreading out over the humans, cattle and cultivated plants. In addition, conflict, serious social riots and natural disaster such as earthquake, flood, fire, long drought and so forth engulfed the island. To overcome such a condition, the king and his advisory council led by the royal spiritual advisor performed a meditation.
Due to solemnity of their meditation, the Lord Shiva ultimately delegated Maharishi Narad to look for holy water at Tirtha Banyu Geger at the peak of Mount Abang. To bring the holy water he should make use of the skin of golden banana. The banana should be cut in half first and then take out its flesh. Its skin left was used to contain the holy water. It was then poured into an internode of yellow bamboo to be sprinkled on the territory stricken by an epidemic or natural disaster and to every devotee. Thanks God, this endeavour worked flourishingly.
After such an event, the Mount Abang was known as Mount Cempuluk Biyu or Mount Tuluk Biyu. Meanwhile, the Lord Shiva was known as Sang Hyang Wukir Kulit Biyu and later the moment was celebrated on the full moon in the fourth month based on Balinese calendar system with Madewasraya rite at the Tuluk Biyu Temple, Batur namely to invoke the Tirtha Banyu Geger to save the Balinese community against disaster.
In the meantime, according to I Ketut Wiana, a lecturer at the Hindu Dharma Institute in Denpasar, to obtain the protection and help from the God, Hindu devotees in Bali are expected not only to perform the worship or ritual but also put into practice the tenet called Tri Para Artha namely three ways to apply the Dharma (path of truth) through asih, punia and bhakti. Asih means inculcating the life attitude of maintaining the prosperity of nature with love. Then, punia stands for the right and proper devotional service to the fellow humans and finally the bhakti is undertaking worship and self-release to God. (BTN/tar)