Hindu temples in under water

Travelers to Bali, Indonesia, can marvel at the stunning Hindu temples and the statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddh. 

 

By LB THAPA

It is believed that the Hindu religion is over 12,000 years old. This belief should be one reason why in the past many countries were under the influence of the Hindu religion. Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mauritius, Japan, China, Korea, and Afghanistan saw the spread of the Hindu religion and Buddhism. However, the influence of the Hindu religion began dying down only after the rise of Muslim kings. 

Travelers to Bali, Indonesia, can feast their eyes on amazing Hindu temples and the statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha. These temples and statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha can surprise every onlooker. There are several stone statues of Hindu gods, which are in different shapes and sizes. These temples and the statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha make the underwater world spiritually lively. 

Most of the underwater stone statues are of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha. According to the Purana, an ancient Hindu scripture, Lord Vishnu is one of the three major gods who created this universe. The people of Indonesia have great respect for the Hindu religion. Buddhism is yet another prominent religion, which was founded and propagated by Lord Gautam Buddha.  

Referring to those temples and statues underwater, many websites and news magazines have reported that those temples are as old as 5000 years. However, this claim is not true.  

CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERWATER HINDU TEMPLES

Beneath the calm water of Pemuteran village, Bali, Indonesia, there lie Hindu temples and the statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha. Owing to the wrong propagation of media and websites, many people think that these temples and statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha are over 5000 years old. But this is not true at all. 

Actually, under the ‘Reef Gardener Community Project,' which is devoted to an environmental conservation program, mega-designing of a range of Hindu temples and gods had begun. Hence, the Reef Gardener community project started building those rock temples and the statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha in 2005. 

The whole project was a Herculean task. Highly skilled sculptures of India and Indonesia worked together for years to complete the task. Indonesian engineers meticulously designed those temples and sculptures and gave them a classical touch. All the temple pillars and columns were designed outside of the water, and later they were shifted underwater. The statues of Lord Vishnu and Lord Buddha were also erected outside. Later they were transported into the deep sea to install properly. The completion of the project was an engineering feat in itself. 

Chris Brown is the man behind the whole concept of underwater temples. Mr. Brown is an Australian, but he has devoted all his life to the nature conservation and tourism promotion of Pemuteran village. 

Once the temples and statues got done, several highly skilled divers of Bali labored for months to transport heavy pillars, columns, and sandstone statues to fix them underwater. The task was by no means an easy job. It required an extreme degree of precision. After much effort, the pillars and columns were fixed in such a way that looked very ancient and realistic. The temple area covers roughly 2,500 square meters of the seabed, which is 29 meters deep. Some typical aquatic plants had also been planted around the temples and statues to give a realistic look. 

Thank you very much for reading this article. I hope you liked this article. I will be glad if you take a little time and make a comment about this article. Your comment is highly appreciated.

LB Thapa is a Pokhara-based freelance writer and author.

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