Kertha Gosa Park

The Kertha Gosa pavilion is an example of Balinese architecture located on the island of Bali, in the city Klungkung. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung Palace was first built in the early 18th century by Dewa Agung Gusti Sideman. The first function of the pavilion was for the court of law in 1945. Kertha Gosa was repainted in the 1920s and again in the 1960s. The people who discovered the pavilion knew there was an extensive history behind the pavilion. The discovery of Kertha Gosa pavilion was only known by people writing about it here or there to others outside of Bali. The Kertha Gosa Pavilion at Klungkung has the story of Bhima Swarga painted around the ceiling. Bhima Swarga is a Hindu epic referenced from the Mahabharata. The story at the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is not the whole Mahabharata but one small section called Bhima Swarga. Kertha Gosa means - “the place where the king meets with his ministries to discuss questions of justice.” The story of Bhima Swarga is elaborate and all-embracing. Bhima Swarga in Balinese means, “Bhima goes to the abode of the gods.” Swarga literally means to any place where the gods happen to reside, Heaven or Hell. The ceiling of Kertha Gosa is painted in a traditional Balinese style that resembles wayang, “shadow figure”. Paintings in the wayang style are related closely to shadow theatre art, relating to the Mahabharata and Ramayana stories. Wayang style paintings have been faithfully preserved that it continues today to reflect Bali’s Hindu-Javanese heritage in its traditional iconography and content. Iconography was used a lot in Bali’s culture. Iconoclasm is used because the Balinese people wanted to represent living things through pictures and shadows; it was prohibited to represent any living entity. In 1960 the entire ceiling at Kertha Gosa was replaced (latest renovation) and new paintings were made, still depicting the story of Bhima Swarga but adding a greater deal of detail. In 1982 eight panels were replaced. The quality of the new paintings was substandard to those from 1960; the colors were subdued. Until 1982 a visitor could enter Kertha Gosa, but now one must pay an entrance fee. The pavilion floor is surrounded by a wooden fence so that visitors cannot go to the center to look up at the ceiling paintings but can see them only from along the sides. Kertha Gosa is the most complete example of Balinese art and culture. The most fascinating of all is the painted ceiling in Kertha Gosa symbolizing afterlife.