Ubud Palace

During his travels, Rsi Markandya received a divine revelation that he was to bury five precious metals on a mountain slope in Bali, where the mother temple of Besakih now stands today.

With a group of followers, Rsi Markandya was magnetically attracted to a destination located in the central foothills of the island that radiated light and energy.

On subsequent expeditions around Bali, Rsi Markandya built a number of other significant temples and created a shared irrigation system for the terraced landscape that is still practiced by farmers today.

In essence, it can be said that Rsi Markandya is responsible for the foundation of Balinese Hinduism in its purest form referred to as Agama Tirtha or the religion of holy water.

Generations of Hindu worshippers have made special pilgrimages to the fork in the Wos River to mediate, bathe and collect holy water for temple ceremonies and cleansing rituals.

[1] However, after the 1917 earthquake, palace structures suffered significant damage, but since it was the residence of the royal family it was quickly restored, before being opened to foreign guests in 1928.