The Goddess and Public History

Tirta Gangga Water Palace is former a royal palace that was built in the nineteen forties, during the Karangasem Kingdom, in the style of Chinese and Balinese architecture. The name is derived from the words 'Tirta' (blessed water) and 'Gangga' from 'Ganges', the holy river in India. There is spring is said to well up under a huge banyan tree at the foot of a hill. At the top of this hill stands a village temple. The spring is associated with religious rites. This venue is open to the public and has a mix of divine and mythological statues and objects, and a famous pond filled with coy that visitors can get up close and personal with. Among the many treasures here is a beautiful statue of Dewi Sri, also known as Shridevi, an Indonesian rice goddess who is associated in her culture with Lakshmi in the Hindu culture. She is asked for blessings upon the rice pads and her statue is placed in a place of blessing on the rice field.

A Report from this Sacred Site

"Dewi Sri is the Goddess of the earth and the Mother of the Javanese people. She is widely venerated as the great benefactress of the people who protects them against hunger, even in the semi-Islamized regions. Dewi Sri is considered to be the inspirer of Bali's highly productive method of cooperative rice farming as well as Bali's master landscaper. She protects and nurtures the rice pads and the farmers pray to her for a bountiful harvest."

- The Broom Closet Goddess Project, reprinted by The Shala Bali, Rice Goddess, Shri Devi - Dewi Sri

Sources

"Tirta Gangga Water Palace Bali | Instagram Spot Photo with Fish Ponds." n.d. Www.baligoldentour.com. Accessed August 23, 2022. https://www.baligoldentour.com/tirta-gangga.php.

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Bali, The Shala. 2018. "Rice Goddess, Shri Devi - Dewi Sri." Theshalabali. January 26, 2018. https://www.theshalabali.com/single-post/2018/01/26/rice-goddess-shri-devi-dewi-sri.‌

"Dewi Sri: The Indonesian Rice Goddess." 2013b. The Broom Closet. April 2, 2013. https://broomcloset.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/dewi-sri-the-indonesian-rice-goddess/.

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Dewi Sri - Balinese Rice Goddess

Rice Goddess Dewi Sri Blesses the Vegetation at the Water Palace of Tirta Gangga in East Bali

Photo Credit: EWYMedia/Depositiphotos.com

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Dewi Sri - Balinese Rice Goddess

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