Tirtagangga
royal watergarden is composed mainly by water, plants and sculptures. It is
situated in the middle of rice fields around the natural springs of Rejasa, approximately
Tirtagangga
is a well-known cultural object of
Apart
from his personal interest, my
grandfather built Tirtagangga for 2 main reasons:
- To ensure and
improve the holiness of a holy place;
- To create a place
of contemplation, rest and joy for every one, the local people as well as the
domestic and foreign visitors.
These
are still and will always be the purposes of the garden.
The area of the watergarden is about
The first thing one sees when entering
the garden is the elegant eleven-tiered Nawa
Sanga fountain which rises from the middle of the complex. This
fountain together with the two ponds forms the middle Bwah level.
The larger lowest Bhur level, on the left side of the
straight foot path running from the entrance to the west, is occupied by the
big South pond with the long Demon island in the middle.
The water from one of the natural springs
of Tirtagangga has always been regarded as holy. It is used for religious
ceremonies in the temples in the area until today. Tirta
means blessed water, gangga came from Ganges, the holy river in
At certain celebration days the people
from the villages around will come in colourful processions with offerings,
umbrellas, flags and other attributes. Led by their temple priest they hold
ceremonies around the spring under the sounds of hymns and the music of the beleganjur.
The springs have a huge output of pure
water. The water is first led to a reservoir where it is divided in two parts.
One third provides drinking water for the town Amlapura. The remainder
goes into the upper swimming pool through an underground pipe. The overflow of
water goes into the lower swimming pool, the other ponds and finally to the
rice fields.
