Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave in English. This is not about elephant or you can find elephant here. This tourist attraction is one of the world tourist attractions available in Bali. This place is in list of top ten tourist attractions in Bali, is located in Gianyar district. In Balinese people this Tempe is very famous for prayers.
Goa Gajah is located in the west of Bedulu village and about 6 km from Ubud. There are temples and caves, too, holy water. Etymology from Goa Gajah was taken from the word Lwa Gajah, a name written by Mpu Prapanca in the manuscript of the state of Gama Kerta 1365 BCE. In Goa, there is a statue of Ganesha as a symbol of science.
On the walls of the cave, there is a place for meditating. Based on the inscription on the wall of Eastern mouth of Goa, the word germ and Sahyangsa Predicted that Elephant Cave was established in the II century, if seen from the arrangement of Artifak on Elephant Cave Temple was concluded that the Elephant Cave temple is a Hindu temple Lingga, Alfran water with statues of angels, and also Buddhist statues, also reflects that the elephant cave is a relic of Buddhist.
Goa Gajah site is known from the reign of several kings, including: Sri Dharmawangsawardhana Marakatapangkajastono Tunggadewa (1022 AD), King Anak Wungsu (1053 AD), Paduka Sri Mahaguru (1324 AD). In the book Negarakertagama, written by the Prapanca masters during the reign of King Haya Wuruk in the Majapahit era, said that the Lwa Gajah is located in the village of Bedulu as a place with the Bodadyakasa. Also mentioned is the term Kunjarakunjapada which means “asrams kunjara” where kunjara in Sanskrit means Elephant. This hostel is Rsi Agastya’s dormitory located in Mysore in southern India where at that time there were indeed many wild elephants living around the hostel. Thus Goa Gajah is most likely the memory of the Knapada hostel in India.
The discovery of the Goa Gajah site began with a report from the Dutch East Indies official, L.C, Heyting in 1923 who reported the findings of the statue of Ganesha, Trilingga and the statue of Hariti to the Dutch East Indies government, then, Dr.W.F. In 1925 Stuterhim began to carry out further research. Then in 1950 the ancient RI service through by J.L. Krijgman conducted research and excavations with six statues of women with a paw in the chest until now, it is believed that vibrational cleanliness of aura can be given to visitors by washing the faces. Excavations and studies were shown until 1979.
In front of Goa we can find a pelinggih which holds a statue of Brayut or Hariti, according to the archaeological narrative of Ba Hariti is a character who has an evil character at first, but after learning Buddhism the evil nature turned into a loving child, this is evidenced by the statue of many children at the pelinggih Hariti On the wall of Goa to the upper right there is the writing of Dewa Negari which reads “kumon” and “Shy Wangsa” which means that it cannot be known with certainty by historians. According to archaeological research from statues and petirtaan art forms in Goa Gajah it is believed to be a legacy in the 11th Century (Source BP3 Bali page 39 Pegulingan Temple, Tirta Empul, Goa Gajah).
Goa Gajah complex consists of 2 main parts, namely the northern part of the complex is the legacy of Shiva’s teachings as evidenced by the existence of Tri Lingga in Goa at the east end and the Ganesha statue at the west end. The complex south of Goa is the Tukad Pangkung area Concrat Spies in 1931 found a thirteen-tiered Buddhist stupa and a three-pronged stupa carved in a large rock to date, remaining four because of the natural disaster of the earthquake in 1917.
Above the tangkung tangkung in the south is the Petapan complex with a cool natural atmosphere with trees that are still shady and beautiful. Here stored Buddha statue which is believed to exist since the 9th century is one proof of the spread of Buddhism in Bali.
This place is worth to visit when you in Bali. When your Hotel in Bali is in Ubud, you can visit this place easily.
Goa Gajah on map :