In the north of the island of Bali, near the village of Bedulu is located Goa Gaja cave, surrounded by rice fields. According to archaeologists, the cave acquired its present form around 1022. Although the cave itself is much older.
Its history, dating back to the 9th century AD, blended ancient Buddhist and Hindu origins. Some researchers believe that Goa Gajah was hand dug by Hindu priests and subsequently used the cave as a refuge or shrine. There are 15 niches inside the cave that may have been used for meditation and shelter. There is also evidence that the cave had a special religious significance for the early Buddhists as well: many Buddhist relics have been found there. Goa Gajah still harbours many mysteries and secrets that are yet to be solved.
Of interest is the entrance to the cave - it is a large stone bas-relief carved in the rock, in the form of a demon's head, remotely resembling the head of an elephant. The open mouth frames the very entrance to the cave. Researchers have not reached a consensus on how and why the cave got its name. According to one version, the bas-relief decorating the entrance could symbolise an elephant. According to another - "elephant" cave is called because of the statue of Ganesha, the Hindu god of prosperity, depicted as a man with the head of an elephant.
If you walk around the cave, you can see three lingams (symbols) of Shiva - black cylinders half a metre high on one common pedestal in the eastern part of the cave.
The Goa Gajah area is not limited to the cave: there is a fountain with statues near the entrance. The statues are female figures holding jugs from which water constantly pours into a pool. Historians believe that this pool may have been used as a bathing place for ablutions before meditation. The first European set foot on the land of this part of Bali in the early 20th century, and the baths were only found during excavations in 1954.
There is much more to be found in Goa Gajah to shed light on the history of the Balinese who lived here almost a millennium ago.
