Kertha Gosa Pavilion
Encyclopedia
The Kertha Gosa pavilion is an example of Balinese architecture located on the island of Bali
, in the city Klungkung
, Indonesia
. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung Palace
was first built in the early 18th century by Dewa Agung Gusti Sideman. The first function of the pavilion was for the court of law in 1945. Kertha Gosa was repainted in the 1920s and again in the 1960s. The people who discovered the pavilion knew there was an extensive history behind the pavilion. The discovery of Kertha Gosa pavilion was only known by people writing about it here or there to others outside of Bali. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung has the story of Bhima Swarga painted around the ceiling. Bhima Swarga is a Hindu
epic
referenced form the Mahabharata
. The story at the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is not the whole Mahabharata but one small section called Bhima Swarga.
means, “Bhima goes to the abode of the gods.” Swarga literally means to any place where the gods happen to reside, Heaven or Hell.
Bhima, the second oldest of the five Pandava
brothers, is forced by his mother Kunti with the mission to rescue from Hell the souls of his earthly father Pandu
, and his second mother, Madri
. After saving Pandu and Madri from Hell, Bhima must secure them for Heaven. Throughout Bhima’s journey to Heaven and Hell he is accompanied by his two loyal servants (the clown characters). These made up characters are highly important to the story Bhima Swarga because the ordinary Balinese can relate to the characters in the story Bhima Swarga because the characters represent ordinary Bali.
Bhima’s siblings go through hell right along with Bhima to rescue their parents. The siblings observe people being tortured for their sins. The siblings are Arjuna
, Nakula
, Sahadewa, Yudisthira, and Bhima. The two clown characters whom accompany Bhima on his journey to Hell are Twalen
and Mredah. Twalen wears a black checkered loin cloth and is the helper to Bhima. Twalen translates what is being said by Yudisthira and Kunti. Mredah always wears red checkered loin cloths and he also helps Bhima along with cracking a joke to lighten the mood. Bhima goes to Hell to rescue his parents and when he arrives he finds his parents are in a huge hot water bath. Bhima tips the bath which his parents were boiling in and they are taken off to Heaven. The Demons did not like Bhima rescuing his parents and allowing them to go to Heaven. Bhima then has to fight off the Demons. Next, the Gods do not like this idea of Bhima taking his parents from Hell to Heaven. Bhima then gets into a fight with the Gods and Bhima dies in Heaven. The high God of all restores Bhima back to life and gives Bhima the drink of immortality. The last scene of Bhima Swarga shows justice, even with punishments of Hell.
, meaning “shadow figure”. Paintings in the wayang style
are related closely to shadow theatre art, relating to the Mahabharata
and Ramayana
stories. Wayang style paintings have been faithfully preserved that it continues today to reflect Bali’s Hindu
-Javanese heritage in its traditional iconography and content. Iconography was used a lot in Bali’s culture. Iconoclasm
is used because the Balinese people wanted to represent living things through pictures and shadows; it was prohibited to represent any living entity.
All the characters in the story of Bhima Swarga painted in the pavilion Kertha Gosa have a symbolic meaning relating to color and whether the characters are kasar or halus. Kasar characters are rough and coarse, whereas halus characters are refined and flowing. For example, the demons in the painting Bhima Swarga would be described as kasar - rough, coarse, crude, and vulgar. A halus figure can be described as refined and recognized by delicate hands and fingers. Bhima, his siblings, and Kunti are all halus characters. The angle of the head and body attitude of the characters are also important. For example, human heads and bodies are always a straight on position, but kasar paintings are represented in between with eyes and nose at an angle.
Kasar characters also have big eyes, noses, and mouths. The hand positioning of the kasar characters is upward. Kasar characters can be monstrous looking, have skin troubles, and look masculine. Halus characters have small eyes, noses, and mouths with almost no facial hair. The head and face are pointed downward. The lips of a halus character are thin and show white uniformed teeth. In paintings, the right hand is usually active, and the left hand remains motionless. One of Bhima’s most important features assigned to only him is his right thumb, which ends in a very long curved nail as his weapon, this is a magical implication.
, Heaven’s most prominent god, is larger and more inflicting than any other god. Also, Bhima overpowers all other humans in the story. Bhima’s servants Twalen and Mredah usually appear side by side, with Mredah, Twalen’s son, placed a little below his father. Age and social class also play a role in the placement of the five Pandawa brothers. Bhima, since his power is strictly physical, his body must be unhindered and ready for battle. Around Bhima’s body wrapped flowingly is a sarong of black and white checked material that in Bali is believed to have magic protective qualities. In Heaven, battle scenes are not bloody. Bhima as usual is in the center of the war panels, his body is much smaller than in hell. Bhima’s body size is proving the importance of the hierarchy, since Bhima’s importance diminishes when he is around the gods.
The Bhima Swarga painting in the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is a moral epic
, depicting wisdom and perseverance and the ultimate virtue over vice. Today huge audiences listen to the epic just as it was hundreds of years ago. It is said, “He who with fervid devotion listens to a recitation of the Mahabharata attains to high success in consequence of the merit that becomes his through understanding even a very small portion thereof. All the sins of that man who recites or listens to this history with devotion are washed off.”
The paintings of the Bhima Swarga story (painted in the traditional wayang style) depicted on the Kertha Gosa pavilion ceiling have a mystery to them. The story of Bhima Swarga occupies five rows and reads clockwise starting at the far northeastern corner of the ceiling. The first two rows of the Bhima Swarga paintings represent Bhima’s appearances in Hell, and the top three rows, his journey to Heaven. At the center of the ceiling, there is a lotus surrounded by four doves, symbolizing good fortune, enlightenment, and ultimate salvation.
- a Buddhist influence domed-mountain shape. Mandalas help people further their enlightenment; pure forces of good come from a mountain. Kertha Gosa’s first major function pertained to court of law and justice. The Kertha Gosa pavilion was the meeting place for the raja
(Hindu prince) and Brahman
judges (Kerthas) to discuss issues of law and human affairs. Whether or not the king instructed his court painters to decorate the ceiling at the time Kertha Gosa was built is impossible to know. Moreover, it is impossible to know whether or not the story of Bhima Swarga was the first painting in the pavilion. The earliest and only record of paintings at Kertha Gosa dates from the year 1842 and is written in a lontar book (a book that holds prayers, history of Bali
, and epics). Also it is not documented whether the paintings were a permanent feature of the pavilion or if it was for a temporary reason of celebration. It is possible that the raja might have wanted the story of Bhima Swarga since it deals with moral and social questions and with justice in general. These paintings furthermore, have been supervised by I Gde Modara, the most important painter at the court of Klungkung during this period.
Dewa Agung Gusta Sideman ruled until 1775; he was succeeded by his son, then by his grandson, and his line of descendents continued to reign until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908, the Dutch attacked Klungkung, and fire broke out in the royal area. To this day it is said that the fire was started not by the Dutch but by the local people because they were confused with the condition of their society and were rebelling against the raja. Klungkung was the last Balinese kingdom to fall. In 1909 Kertha Gosa became the official court of Justice for the region of Klungkung. Klunkung had been a unique service to justice; utilizing Kertha Gosa as a court of law - the story of Bhima Swarga played a significant role in aiding justice. Those who had broken the law therefore had been tried. The accused knelt before the dreadful punishments (painting of the story Bhima Swarga) depicted on the ceiling. But if the accused looked higher above the horror of Hell and looked to the panels of Heaven he could find consolation.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, in the city Klungkung
Klungkung
Klungkung is the smallest regency of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 315 km2 and population of 169,906 . Its regency seat is Semarapura....
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung Palace
Klungkung Palace
The Klungkung Palace is a historical building complex situated in Semarapura, the capital of the Klungkung Regency on Bali, Indonesia. The palace was erected at the end of the 17th century, but largely destroyed during the Dutch colonial conquest in 1908...
was first built in the early 18th century by Dewa Agung Gusti Sideman. The first function of the pavilion was for the court of law in 1945. Kertha Gosa was repainted in the 1920s and again in the 1960s. The people who discovered the pavilion knew there was an extensive history behind the pavilion. The discovery of Kertha Gosa pavilion was only known by people writing about it here or there to others outside of Bali. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung has the story of Bhima Swarga painted around the ceiling. Bhima Swarga is a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
epic
Indian epic poetry
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
referenced form the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. The story at the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is not the whole Mahabharata but one small section called Bhima Swarga.
History
Kertha Gosa means - “the place where the king meets with his ministries to discuss questions of justice.” The story of Bhima Swarga is elaborate and all-embracing. Bhima Swarga in BalineseBalinese language
Balinese or simply Bali is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by 3.3 million people on the Indonesian island of Bali, as well as northern Nusa Penida, western Lombok and eastern Java...
means, “Bhima goes to the abode of the gods.” Swarga literally means to any place where the gods happen to reside, Heaven or Hell.
Bhima, the second oldest of the five Pandava
Pandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
brothers, is forced by his mother Kunti with the mission to rescue from Hell the souls of his earthly father Pandu
Pandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...
, and his second mother, Madri
Madri
In the Mahābhārata epic, Madri was a princess of the Madra kingdom and the second wife of Pandu.On his way to Hastinapur, King Pandu encountered the army of Shalya, King of Madra. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya became friends and Shalya gave his only sister, Madri to Pandu, as a gift of their...
. After saving Pandu and Madri from Hell, Bhima must secure them for Heaven. Throughout Bhima’s journey to Heaven and Hell he is accompanied by his two loyal servants (the clown characters). These made up characters are highly important to the story Bhima Swarga because the ordinary Balinese can relate to the characters in the story Bhima Swarga because the characters represent ordinary Bali.
Bhima’s siblings go through hell right along with Bhima to rescue their parents. The siblings observe people being tortured for their sins. The siblings are Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
, Nakula
Nakula
Nakula, also spelt "Nakul" was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahābhārata. Nakula and Sahadeva were fraternal twins born to Madri, who had invoked the Ashvins using a mantra for a son, the mantra shared by Kunti...
, Sahadewa, Yudisthira, and Bhima. The two clown characters whom accompany Bhima on his journey to Hell are Twalen
Twalen
Twalen is a member of the pantheon of gods and demi-gods of Balinese mythology.He is considered to be a clown in contemporary Balinese stories. He frequently appears in the form of a servant in wayang. However, he is older and more powerful than all the Hindu gods, being really the elder brother...
and Mredah. Twalen wears a black checkered loin cloth and is the helper to Bhima. Twalen translates what is being said by Yudisthira and Kunti. Mredah always wears red checkered loin cloths and he also helps Bhima along with cracking a joke to lighten the mood. Bhima goes to Hell to rescue his parents and when he arrives he finds his parents are in a huge hot water bath. Bhima tips the bath which his parents were boiling in and they are taken off to Heaven. The Demons did not like Bhima rescuing his parents and allowing them to go to Heaven. Bhima then has to fight off the Demons. Next, the Gods do not like this idea of Bhima taking his parents from Hell to Heaven. Bhima then gets into a fight with the Gods and Bhima dies in Heaven. The high God of all restores Bhima back to life and gives Bhima the drink of immortality. The last scene of Bhima Swarga shows justice, even with punishments of Hell.
Use of iconography
The ceiling of Kertha Gosa is painted in a traditional Balinese style called wayangWayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
, meaning “shadow figure”. Paintings in the wayang style
Wayang style
Wayang-Style is a term used to describe imagery in puppetry that is influenced by Indonesian wayang kulit in which human figures and those that are supernatural are depicted as flat and very two-dimensional...
are related closely to shadow theatre art, relating to the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
stories. Wayang style paintings have been faithfully preserved that it continues today to reflect Bali’s Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
-Javanese heritage in its traditional iconography and content. Iconography was used a lot in Bali’s culture. Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
is used because the Balinese people wanted to represent living things through pictures and shadows; it was prohibited to represent any living entity.
Types of characters
Until the early twentieth century, the wayang style was Bali’s only form of pictorial ways. The ubud style developed after the arrival of the Dutch. Ubud style tends to represent aspects and scenes of everyday life in Bali. In iconographic language, color performs an important function. Very light brown is used for flesh color of the gods. Kasar characters can be recognized by their brownish-red flesh.All the characters in the story of Bhima Swarga painted in the pavilion Kertha Gosa have a symbolic meaning relating to color and whether the characters are kasar or halus. Kasar characters are rough and coarse, whereas halus characters are refined and flowing. For example, the demons in the painting Bhima Swarga would be described as kasar - rough, coarse, crude, and vulgar. A halus figure can be described as refined and recognized by delicate hands and fingers. Bhima, his siblings, and Kunti are all halus characters. The angle of the head and body attitude of the characters are also important. For example, human heads and bodies are always a straight on position, but kasar paintings are represented in between with eyes and nose at an angle.
Kasar characters also have big eyes, noses, and mouths. The hand positioning of the kasar characters is upward. Kasar characters can be monstrous looking, have skin troubles, and look masculine. Halus characters have small eyes, noses, and mouths with almost no facial hair. The head and face are pointed downward. The lips of a halus character are thin and show white uniformed teeth. In paintings, the right hand is usually active, and the left hand remains motionless. One of Bhima’s most important features assigned to only him is his right thumb, which ends in a very long curved nail as his weapon, this is a magical implication.
Social hierarchy
In the paintings, social standing can be portrayed by the hierarchical position of the characters, the size of their body, the side on which they are placed (left or right of the scene). In Bhima Swarga story the statue of SiwaSiwa
Siwa may refer to:* 140 Siwa, an asteroid* Siwa, Indonesian pronunciation of the Hindu god Shiva* Siwa , spider genus in the Araneidae family* Siwa Oasis, an oasis in Egypt* Siwa, Panchthar, a Village Development Committee in Nepal...
, Heaven’s most prominent god, is larger and more inflicting than any other god. Also, Bhima overpowers all other humans in the story. Bhima’s servants Twalen and Mredah usually appear side by side, with Mredah, Twalen’s son, placed a little below his father. Age and social class also play a role in the placement of the five Pandawa brothers. Bhima, since his power is strictly physical, his body must be unhindered and ready for battle. Around Bhima’s body wrapped flowingly is a sarong of black and white checked material that in Bali is believed to have magic protective qualities. In Heaven, battle scenes are not bloody. Bhima as usual is in the center of the war panels, his body is much smaller than in hell. Bhima’s body size is proving the importance of the hierarchy, since Bhima’s importance diminishes when he is around the gods.
The Bhima Swarga painting in the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is a moral epic
Indian epic poetry
Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya . The Ramayana and Mahabharata, originally composed in Sanskrit and translated thereafter into many other Indian languages, are some of the oldest surviving epic poems on earth and form part of...
, depicting wisdom and perseverance and the ultimate virtue over vice. Today huge audiences listen to the epic just as it was hundreds of years ago. It is said, “He who with fervid devotion listens to a recitation of the Mahabharata attains to high success in consequence of the merit that becomes his through understanding even a very small portion thereof. All the sins of that man who recites or listens to this history with devotion are washed off.”
The paintings of the Bhima Swarga story (painted in the traditional wayang style) depicted on the Kertha Gosa pavilion ceiling have a mystery to them. The story of Bhima Swarga occupies five rows and reads clockwise starting at the far northeastern corner of the ceiling. The first two rows of the Bhima Swarga paintings represent Bhima’s appearances in Hell, and the top three rows, his journey to Heaven. At the center of the ceiling, there is a lotus surrounded by four doves, symbolizing good fortune, enlightenment, and ultimate salvation.
Construction works
A patron of arts, Dewa Agung Gusti Sideman took greatness in supervising the design and construction of his palace in Klungkung - an example of Hindu-Balinese architecture. Kertha Gosa architecture took shape of a mandalaMandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
- a Buddhist influence domed-mountain shape. Mandalas help people further their enlightenment; pure forces of good come from a mountain. Kertha Gosa’s first major function pertained to court of law and justice. The Kertha Gosa pavilion was the meeting place for the raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
(Hindu prince) and Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
judges (Kerthas) to discuss issues of law and human affairs. Whether or not the king instructed his court painters to decorate the ceiling at the time Kertha Gosa was built is impossible to know. Moreover, it is impossible to know whether or not the story of Bhima Swarga was the first painting in the pavilion. The earliest and only record of paintings at Kertha Gosa dates from the year 1842 and is written in a lontar book (a book that holds prayers, history of Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, and epics). Also it is not documented whether the paintings were a permanent feature of the pavilion or if it was for a temporary reason of celebration. It is possible that the raja might have wanted the story of Bhima Swarga since it deals with moral and social questions and with justice in general. These paintings furthermore, have been supervised by I Gde Modara, the most important painter at the court of Klungkung during this period.
Dewa Agung Gusta Sideman ruled until 1775; he was succeeded by his son, then by his grandson, and his line of descendents continued to reign until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908, the Dutch attacked Klungkung, and fire broke out in the royal area. To this day it is said that the fire was started not by the Dutch but by the local people because they were confused with the condition of their society and were rebelling against the raja. Klungkung was the last Balinese kingdom to fall. In 1909 Kertha Gosa became the official court of Justice for the region of Klungkung. Klunkung had been a unique service to justice; utilizing Kertha Gosa as a court of law - the story of Bhima Swarga played a significant role in aiding justice. Those who had broken the law therefore had been tried. The accused knelt before the dreadful punishments (painting of the story Bhima Swarga) depicted on the ceiling. But if the accused looked higher above the horror of Hell and looked to the panels of Heaven he could find consolation.