Other religious houses · The kingship of Pejeng and Bedulu, Bali · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Batur

A lake inside a collapsed volcano, the source of the water for the whole southern slope, and in Balinese practice the temple that sits at the head of the irrigation order: water rights run downhill from here (board). en.wikipedia (Subak) says the Balinese regard the lake as the primary source of all the springs and rivers of the island and the lake temple, Pura Ulun Danu Batur, as the supreme water temple; the page on the temple itself says it was first established in the seventeenth century, was hit by lava in 1917 and destroyed in 1926, when its main shrine was moved uphill.

So the temple of today does not date to 1200. The cult of the lake is plausible earlier: a Warmadewa plate of 6 April 1011, the Abang Pura Batur A, comes from the Batur area (en.wikipedia, Warmadewa dynasty), and the Old Balinese charters speak of a Hulundanu, the 'head of the water' (recalled; the contents of the plate we did not read). Batur volcano is 8 deg 14.5 S, 115 deg 22.5 E (en.wikipedia list).

Who holds it

Title
Priests of the lake
Since
not pinned
Born
not known
Confidence
low

No priest is named.

Overlord

the queen and her son, as patrons (inference)

What it holds

  • The lake, the caldera and the cult of the water
  • The water temples that look to it

How it was acquired

The temple of today is of the seventeenth century (en.wikipedia); the earlier cult is not pinned.

Allies and rivals

Besakih (Besakih) and the subak (Pakerisan subak).

How things stand that morning

Likely a sanctuary of the lake; what stood there and who served it are not pinned.

Wealth

Offerings; no figures.

Threats

  • Eruptions of Batur (no date)

Places of note

  • Batur volcano: The volcano and caldera.

Where the sources disagree

  • The campaign board entry batur-caldera calls it the temple at the head of the irrigation order. en.wikipedia dates the temple of today to the seventeenth century; we treat the cult as older and the building as unknown.

Evidence: The caldera and the lake are certain; the temple's age is argued.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: A disc round the caldera; the old temple site is not located.

Primary sources for Bali

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia (en), Pura Ulun Danu Batur (read in this pass): 'first established in the 17th century' on the page; 1917 lava stopped at the gates; moved after the eruption of 3 August 1926; the page names no earlier dated mention
  2. Wikipedia (en), Subak (irrigation) (read in this pass): system begun in the 9th century, first written record about the 11th century (kasuwakara), pekaseh and paruman, UNESCO calls the Pakerisan watershed the oldest known irrigation system in Bali
  3. Wikipedia (en), Warmadewa dynasty (read in this pass): Blanjong pillar, Udayana, Abang Pura Batur A 6 April 1011
  4. Wikipedia (en), List of volcanoes in Indonesia (read in this pass): summit coordinates of Semeru, Bromo, Arjuno-Welirang, Penanggungan, Kelud, Lawu, Merapi, Merbabu, Sumbing, Sindoro, Slamet, Dieng, Muria, Batur, Agung, Rinjani, Tambora, Sangeang Api and others
  5. General knowledge of Old Javanese and Old Balinese epigraphy and the archaeology of Java, recalled and not re-read in this pass (Boechari, Poerbatjaraka, Soekmono, Bernet Kempers)
  6. OMNIA board notes for the place (a lead, not a source)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.