Tamba Waras Temple: A Sacred Place of Healing in Bali

Pura Luhur Tamba Waras is one of the Kahyangan Jagat temples located in Tabanan. The temple is geographically located on the slopes of Mount Batukaru, precisely to the south of Mount Batukaru, namely in Sangketan Village, Penebel District, Tabanan Regency, Bali. This temple is located on the same line as Batukaru Temple and also close to Muncak Sari Temple. To get to this temple takes approximately 35 minutes from Tabanan city center with a distance of around 21 km. This temple, which is in the middle of the forest, provides a calm and harmonious atmosphere so that you can concentrate more on praying and is suitable as a place for meditation.

The history of the founding of this temple is that during the previous kingdom, one of the Kings of Tabanan, namely Cokorda Tabanan, was seriously ill and did not receive medicine for a long time. One day, the governor's envoy was ordered to find medicine according to the magical instructions he had received. Where the clue is in the form of a cloud of smoke that comes from the ground and penetrates the sky. After walking for a long time in the Batukaru forest, suddenly the messenger saw smoke rising from a coconut on the ground, in a bamboo grove. After begging at that place, medicine was obtained, which was then presented to the king. Slowly, the king finally recovered. As a tribute and glorification, a place of worship was built at that place called Tamba Waras which is now the Tamba Waras Temple.

The word Tamba Waras comes from the words tamba + waras, where tamba means medicine, while waras means normal or healthy again. This temple means the worship of God (Ida Sang Hyang Widhi) in its function as a provider of medicine for the universe or in Hinduism it is often called Bhuwana Agung.

As for the holy places in the Tamba Waras temple, in the area outside the temple before entering the temple there is a holy area which is called Sapta Gangga which is a holy spring that is used to cleanse oneself from things that are not good or that Balinese people often call it melukat. In the Sapta Gangga holy place, there are seven water fountains, each of which has its own function.

Tamba Waras Temple is divided into three parts of the temple, namely nista mandala (outer part of the temple), madya mandala (middle part of the temple) and main mandala or what Balinese people often call jeroan (main part of the temple). In the nista mandala section there are three holy springs or what are called Beji. The first beji is Beji Kangin which is to the east of the temple, where to get to Beji Kangin, you have to go down hundreds of stairs which are quite slanted and tiring. Next there are Beji Pingit and Beji Kauh which are both close to each other on the west side of the temple. To get to the Beji area you also have to go down not too many stairs because the road is flat and not too downhill. In this beji there are three fountains or holy springs for binding or cleaning. Next, enter the Madya Mandala area or the middle of the temple, where in the Madya Mandala area there is the sacred Bale Gong building. The main part of the temple or what is called the main mandala is the main sacred building of the temple which is the center of Pura Luhur Tamba Waras. At the main mandala there is a main sacred building from the Tamba Waras Temple and several other complementary sacred buildings.

Main Shrine of Tamba Waras Temple (Source: Author's Collection)

The uniqueness of Tamba Waras Temple that is very visible is that the wastra or cloth used to cover and wrap around the sacred buildings in the temple area is definitely black and white or Balinese people usually call it poleng which is a color or symbol that represents God or Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa who is wearing a statue. at Pura Luhur Tamba Waras.

Pujawali or piodalan at Tamba Waras Temple based on the Balinese calendar falls on Buda Umanis wuku Prangbakat, which usually begins with cleaning the facilities and infrastructure in the temple (Upakara) to the holy water source or to the sea. Usually at the pujawali there, many people from all regions in Bali ask for tamba or medicine to get healing. Where tamba is in the form of two oils, namely oil used to rub on the body and oil to drink or consume.

If you want to visit Tamba Waras Temple for prayer or cleaning (Melukat), you can do it on holy days such as Purnama or Tilem, but you can also do it on other days because every day there are still Jero Mangku who picket and are at the temple. The facilities that are prepared if you want to do wounding or pray at Tamba Waras Temple, namely in the form of pejati and canang for offering.