`Galungan': A day to ponder good and evil<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Hindus (also called Bhakta) gathered for prayers at family
\nshrines and temples to celebrate Galungan, a religious festival
\ncelebrating the victory of Dharma (good) over Adharma (evil).<\/p>\n
Thousands flocked to Denpasar's main temple of Jagatnatha
\nearly in the morning. Believers also placed offerings and chanted
\nprayers at clan-temples across the city.<\/p>\n
Celebrated twice a year on the day of Buda Kliwon Dunggulan in
\nthe Balinese calendar, Galungan originated in the ancient
\nmythology of King Mayadanawa.<\/p>\n
The mythology goes that Mayadanawa refused to acknowledge the
\nexistence of Gods. He went on the rampage, destroying temples,
\nand prohibiting his subjects from praying and conducting
\nreligious rituals.<\/p>\n
Heaven sent a huge army of spiritual warriors led by God
\nIndra, god of thunder and destroyer of the fort, to punish
\nMayadanawa. The battle between the two armies is said to have
\ntaken place in Tampaksiring, a town 30 kilometers east of
\nDenpasar.<\/p>\n
It is believed that Tampaksiring's famous Tirta Empul sacred
\nsprings, a favorite pilgrimage and tourism spot, was created by
\nGod Indra in an effort to cure his troops from deadly poison
\nreleased by Mayadanawa into the rivers.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Mayadanawa's troops were defeated, and the king
\nperished in Indra's hands. The day the king died was later
\ncelebrated as Galungan.<\/p>\n
\"Maya means illusion and danawa ogre, so basically the
\nMayadanawa is a symbol of the ogre of illusion which is clouding
\nour mind and heart. So the battle between dharma and adharma
\nactually takes place within ourselves, and Galungan serves to
\nremind us that we good should prevail over evil,\" says Ayuning
\nHati, a Balinese cultural expert.<\/p>\n
An ancient text of King Jayakesunu warned the Balinese that
\nthe failure to celebrate Galungan would result in the island and
\nit's people being engulfed by terrible catastrophe.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/galungan-a-day-to-ponder-good-and-evil-1447893297",
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