Sabang Daat Temple: Main Palace of Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya in Bali
Pura sabang daat, hearing the word temple, your mind will definitely be drawn to a place that has a holy building. However, it is different with this one temple whose existence is in the middle of the forest. What is unique is that in this temple there are no buildings at all, there is only an asagan, which is a place used to place banten or offerings. However, it is said that Sabang Daat Temple became the main temple of Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya when he traveled to Bali. Sabang Daat Temple is located in Pakraman Puakan Village, Taro Village, Tegallalang, Gianyar.
It is known, Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya is a Maha Yogi who is also an important figure in the development of Hindus in Java, Bali, and Lombok. Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya is an important figure behind the establishment of Besakih Temple which is the mother of all temples in the archipelago. In addition to temples, Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya also introduced an irrigation system called Subak. One of the oldest temples that Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya left behind is Sabang Daat Temple because it was the first stop and the first time Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya held a meeting with his retinue.
Sabang Daat Temple consists of two words. "Sabang means Saba, which is a meeting of important people, while Daat means pingit or sacred. So, Sabang Daat means a temple intended for pingit meetings. It is said that in the past before the ceremony was carried out, this is where the sulinggih, pemangku, and other important people met first.
Sabang Daat Temple is a temple without any palinggih buildings made like today. Instead, it still maintains what has existed since before, namely an asagan in the middle of the forest. So it is known as a temple without palinggih. The temple was established since 2000 BC, and until now it is still maintained intact. The uniqueness of this two-hectare temple lies not only in its palinggihs in the form of stone asagan, but also in the rules that must be obeyed by the pengemponnya. No matter how big the ceremony is, it cannot use gamelan and clapper, nor can it be conducted by sulinggih, but only by the local jro mangku. This is due to the community's belief in the existence of Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya linggih temple in Sabang Daat Temple. No matter how big the ceremony here, there is no sulinggih who muput, only the pemangku who muput. Because of the belief of the people here, everything is already there, just nunas tirta at Sabang Daat Temple and then presented by the pemangku.
Meanwhile, petirtaan or odalan temple which is operated by Pakraman Puakan Village falls on Buda Kliwon Wuku Ugu. Sabang Daat Temple only has an innards and jaba sides with fenced by living turus-turus. In the temple there is a yoni phallus opposite the linggih Ida Bhatara Rsi Markandeya. Regarding the absence of a temple form like a temple building in general in this Sabang Daat Temple, Jro Mangku Sabang Daat admitted that he did not understand the decision.
Sabang Daat Temple is operated by 35 pakraman villages. In addition to Taro Village itself, from the Ubud and Kintamani areas also became pangempon. So that all sasuhunan from the 35 villages come to matur piuning before ngunya in their respective villages. "Before the sasuhunan nangkil to Sabang Daat Temple, they are not allowed to ngunya. The term is as a place for nunas panugerahan during Galungan. When that is violated, then there are obstacles, maybe it will rain and lose the means of ceremony. So far, no one has dared to break the taboo. Even if they do, they must immediately perform a guru piduka ceremony, apologizing for any mistakes made.
The location of the temple in the middle of the forest is believed that only people who are matched can get to this temple. Some people believe that Sabang Daat Temple is a place to ask for blessings to seek medical treatment. There are people who come to ask to be blessed with offspring, a soul mate, and even candidates for officials who ask for a smooth path to occupy a government seat. Residents in the Puakan Pakraman Village neighborhood have proven a lot. There is a sickness that does not heal, after nunas tamba in this temple can heal. Likewise, those who have not had children for a long time, also succeeded after nunas here. Nunas tamba and offspring usually start from premonition and guidance in niskala.
