Territorial Temples


These types of Territorial Temples are those built as territorial unity, functioned as places of worship for a group of people bound by one territory in a community, called customary village. Customary village typically has 3 sets of temples called Kahyangan Tiga temples or Kahyangan Desa Temples to worship Trimurthi, they are :

1. Pura Puseh (temple of origin), for honoring the ancestral deities who were the founders of the village. Tend to be located towards the kaja (upstream) end of villages, are associated with the God Wisnu, and are dedicated to remembering the founders of villages. Dewa Wisnu is also known as “the sustainer of life or preserver” because he has the ability to incarnate as an avatar (God-Man), move freely between the heaven of the Gods and the Earth of humans, and he often appears to save the world by realigning it to the divine.
2. Pura Desa (village temple), for honoring the deities who guard the welfare of the village. Tends to be located in the middle of villages, are associated with the God Brahma, and are places where community councils meet to pray and govern. Dewa Brahma is also known as “the creator” because he is a reflection of the creative consciousness upon which both artistic creativity (which is very an important part of Balinese villages) and creation itself is founded.

3. Pura Dalem, the temple for honoring the cremated dead who have not yet been fully purified into deities. This Temple tend to be located towards the kelod (downstream) end of villages, are associated with the God Siwa, and have graveyards. Dewa Siwa is also known as “the destroyer/dissolver” because his spiritual function is to destroy negativity in the world. Dewa Siwa prepares dead people for reincarnation by judging whether or not a person’s karma (actions) has been bad or good. Dewa Siwa destroys negativity by punishing people that have.