Bali Week Specials : Rangda @ Dewi Durga

[Guest guest]

When I told Devi Bhakta about the Bali version of Durga, he

goes "yikes !". I was rather doubtful as to weather should I

put up

the Bali Durga version as I feared it will offend our Durga Bhakta in

Shakti Sadhana. But after much though we agreed that good and evil

are malleable concepts in Shaktism. I think Rangda erases the

perception of duality between good and evil. Auspiciousness and

Inasupiciousness are two of Devi aspects. To say that

inauspiciousness is bad, is inappropriate [ this is what I think] We

should look beyond these and instead find the symbolic meaning to

these personification.

 

One of Bali's Hindu feminine trinity, composed of Dewi Sri and Dewi

saraswati, Dewi Durga in here are being represented as the darker

aspect of the Feminine Trinity. Rangda which means "widow" is

an

ancient Javanese Language. She is the personification of Durga,

Spouse of Shiva. Sometimes too referred to Dewi Uma. She is an

extension of Shiva. Both of them represent death and decay and the

germination of life. Also known as the Queen of Witches and Goddess

of Death. When Balinese pray and make offerings to Rangda, they are

not worshipping evil but recognizing the balance between life and

death. The temple of the Dead in every village in Bali is dedicated

to Rangda. In the ancient scriptures of Lontar it is said that Rangda

is a widow who is gifted with the power of black magic and is able to

destroy the society around her. Even in the modern Bali society

today, people still believe that a woman that has been widowed three

times has accumulated enough power to perform Black Magic.

 

Her looks are terrifying. Her eyes bulging, she has long tusks, a

wide mouth and long hair which touches the ground. In addition to her

already frightening mask her body and legs are covered in thick hair.

Despite her terrifying appearance, she is considered sacred by many

people in Bali.

 

One of the mythology of Rangda depicted her as the messenger of Siwa

(also her father) ; send her down to Earth to be the bride of the

Brother of Kind Erlangga who lived in Dirah in the Lemah Tulis area

of East Java. She was known as Dayu Pucak Manik. Dewa ( God ) Siwa

told his daughter that after having a child her husband would die.

That is how she got her name Rangda of Dirah ( the widow of Dirah ).

Even though her daughter Ratna Manggali grew up into a beautiful

maiden, none of the young men wanted to propose marriage to her. This

made Dayu Pucak Manik feel very offended. They were afraid because

they were terrified of her mother who was renowned for her black

magic power that she had learned from Lontar Manuscripts.

Lontar are sacred manuscripts which contained valuable knowledge

about how to reach the state of perfection in life, but because

Rangda misuse this knowledge, she instead gained mastery of ngeleak

or black magic.

 

To relieve her feelings of disappointment at the rejection of her

daughter she began to worship Dewi Durgha along with her students

named Rarung, Lenda, Lendi, Guyang, Weksirsa and Mahisa Wardana. She

prayed very devotedly and eventually Dewi Durgha appeared. Rangda

asked Dewi Durgha to be allowed to bring disaster to the Daha kingdom

as revenge for her disappointments. Durgha allowed her to do this in

the villages but not in the city.

 

The most terrible disaster then happened in the villages where people

suffered horrible diseases and death. King Erlangga was told that

the cause of the disaster in his villages was Rangda and he commanded

his soldiers to kill her. Rangda proved to be too powerful to defeat

and in the end the king asked for advice from the palace priest.

A Agni Homa was perform, and Sewa Siwa informed that that only the

priest Mpu Bharadah who lived in Lemah Tulis able to defeat Rangda.

The King requested Mpu Bharasah to help him. Mpy Bharasah instead

send his son Mpu Bahula to Dirah, but instead he fell in love with

the daugther and married her.

 

The young couple was duly married and they were very happy together.

Then one day Bahula asked his wife why her mother was so rarely at

home. She said that her mother often went to the graveyard. This

conformed Bahula's suspicions about Rangda's involvement in

black

magic and that it was indeed she who was the source of the strange

diseases in the village. Ratna Manggali also told him that her mother

owned a Lontar book that she used for studying black magic or

pangleakan. Mpu Bahula asked his wife to help him by stealing

Rangda's book. His wife agreed and he was soon in possession of

Rangda's Lontar.

 

Mpu Bahula showed the Lontar to his father, Mpu Bharadah. After

reading it the priest discovered that the book was in fact about how

to find perfection in life, to reach moksa and to return to god.

Rangda, however, had used it in a negative way and made herself into

an evil woman. Mpu Bharadah went to Dirah and found her dancing in

the graveyard, practising her black magic.

 

Rangda was very pleased by his visit. She asked him for help to

purify her so that she could put an end to her evil and sinful ways.

However because she was so sinful he was unable to purify her,

despite his attempts. Rangda was extremely angry and began to attack

him and they commenced a great battle. Rangda lost the fight and her

dead body was burnt in order to release her soul to suffer the

torments of hell as a punishment for her sins.

[Guest guest]

Nora,

 

I agree that we benefit by looking thoughtfully at the symbolic

meaning of the various personifications of the Goddess. Thank you for

these marvelous selections and these wonderful stories.

 

Bright Blessings,

 

prainbow

, "Nora" <ashwini_puralasamy> wrote:

> When I told Devi Bhakta about the Bali version of Durga, he

> goes "yikes !". I was rather doubtful as to weather should I

> put up

> the Bali Durga version as I feared it will offend our Durga Bhakta

in

> Shakti Sadhana. But after much though we agreed that good and evil

> are malleable concepts in Shaktism. I think Rangda erases the

> perception of duality between good and evil. Auspiciousness and

> Inasupiciousness are two of Devi aspects. To say that

> inauspiciousness is bad, is inappropriate [ this is what I think]

We

> should look beyond these and instead find the symbolic meaning to

> these personification.

>