So we had been traveling around Bali now for a few weeks. Our good friend, Bawa, driving us around. It was then suggested. Did we want to visit another temple? We had seen so many at this point. But we thought. Why not, we love seeing the different temple designs and history behind them.
This was when we were taken to the Klunghung Palace and Kertha Gosa Pavillion.
Klungkung Palace
The palace was built at the end of the seventeenth century. But unfortunately was mostly destroyed during the Dutch colonial conquest in 1908. Today the basic remains of the palace are a lot smaller, and it’s just the court of justice, the Kertha Gosa Pavilion that remains.
Kertha Gosa Pavilion
The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung Palace was first built in the early 18th century, but the first function of the pavilion was for the court of law in 1945.
The pavilion has the story of Bhima Swarga painted around the ceiling; it shows a depiction of people being tortured for their sins.
The ceiling of Kertha Gosa is painted in a traditional Balinese
Wayang style painting and they have been faithfully preserved over time with several restorations. It continues today to reflect Balinese Hindu-Javanese heritage in its traditional iconography.
The Bhima Swarga paintings in the pavilion is a beautiful mural, depicting wisdom and perseverance and the ultimate virtue over vice. It is truly an incredible sight, and as our private driver and tour guide talked us through the depictions, it was a delight for the art to come alive in my mind’s eye.