Batara Guru

8th/9th century CE Batara Guru (Shiva) from Central Java, Indonesia.

Batara Guru (also called Bhattara Guru, Debata Batara Guru and Batara Siwa) is the name of a supreme god in Indonesian Hinduism.[1][2] His name is derived from Sanskrit Bhattaraka which means “noble lord".[3] He has been conceptualized in Southeast Asia as a kind spiritual teacher, the first of all Gurus in Indonesian Hindu texts, mirroring the guru Dakshinamurti aspect of Hindu god Shiva in the Indian subcontinent.[4][5] However, Batara Guru has more aspects than the Indian Shiva, as the Indonesian Hindus blended their spirits and heroes with him. Batara Guru's wife in Southeast Asia is Shiva's consort Durga.[6][7]

Batara Guru is considered as a form of Rudra-Shiva,[8] a creator god in mythologies found in Javanese and Balinese Hindu texts, in a manner similar to Brahma-related mythologies in India. He is supreme in Indonesian Hinduism, much like the god Jupiter was in Roman era.[9]

Batara Guru in the mythologies of Sumatra, states David Leeming, is a primal being, creator of earth and first ancestor of human beings. He is conceptualized quite similar to the creator deity found in Central Asia and Native North America.[10] According to Martin Ramstedt, Batara Guru in other parts of Indonesia is sometimes identified with Shiva, and elsewhere as transcending "Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Buddha".[11]

  1. ^ Shelly Errington (2014). Meaning and Power in a Southeast Asian Realm. Princeton University Press. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-4008-6008-1.
  2. ^ A.J. Bernet Kempers (2013). Monumental Bali: Introduction to Balinese Archaeology & Guide to the Monuments. TP Indonesia. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4629-1154-7., Quote: "In Bali, Mahesvara is also called Batara Guru or Batara Siva".
  3. ^ R. Ghose (1966), Saivism in Indonesia during the Hindu-Javanese period, The University of Hong Kong Press, pages 16, 123, 494-495, 550-552
  4. ^ R. Ghose (1966), Saivism in Indonesia during the Hindu-Javanese period, The University of Hong Kong Press, pages 130-131, 550-552
  5. ^ Anne Richter; Bruce W. Carpenter; Bruce Carpenter (2012). Gold Jewellery of the Indonesian Archipelago. Editions Didier Millet. pp. 214, 348. ISBN 978-981-4260-38-1., Quote: "The solar god, La Patigana, would become a son of Siwa and Luwu; the first Bugis kingdom was founded by Batara Guru, another incarnation of Siwa."
  6. ^ Hariani Santiko (1997), The Goddess Durgā in the East-Javanese Period, Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 209-226
  7. ^ R. Ghose (1966), Saivism in Indonesia during the Hindu-Javanese period, The University of Hong Kong Press, pages 15-17
  8. ^ Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden; Hedwig I. R. Hinzler (1986). Codices Manuscripti: Catalogue of Balinese manuscripts in the Library of the University of Leiden and other collections in the Netherlands. Brill Academic. p. 459. ISBN 90-04-07236-5., Quote: "Rudra, however, has four arms and holds a rosary, which is characteristic of the manifestation of Shiva as Batara Guru."
  9. ^ Sunarto H.; Viviane Sukanda-Tessier, eds. (1983). Cariosan Prabu Silihwangi. Naskah dan dokumen Nusantara (in Indonesian and French). Vol. 4. Lembaga Penelitian Perancis untuk Timur Jauh. p. 383. Statuette tricéphale assise, cuivre rouge moulé d'une beauté rarement égalée. C'est Batara Guru, un super dieu équivalent au Jupiter des Romains et au Brahma des Hindous.
  10. ^ David Leeming (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-515669-0.
  11. ^ Martin Ramstedt (2005). Hinduism in Modern Indonesia. Routledge. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-135-79052-3.