Bali Anjani BLOG: Kertha Gosa the Palace of Justice

The Kertha Gosa pavilion is an example of Balinese architecture located on the island of Bali, in the city Klungkung, Indonesia.

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.

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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 has the story of Bhima Swarga painted around the ceiling. Bhima Swarga is a Hindu epic referenced form 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.

Bhima, the second oldest of the five Pandava brothers, is forced by his mother Kunti with the mission to rescue from Hell the souls of his earthly father Pandu, and his second mother, Madri. After saving Pandu and Madri from Hell, Bhima must secure them for Heaven. Throughout Bhima’s journey to Heaven and Hell he is accompanied by his two loyal servants (the clown characters). These made up characters are highly important to the story Bhima Swarga because the ordinary Balinese can relate to the characters in the story Bhima Swarga because the characters represent ordinary Bali.

The ceiling of Kertha Gosa is painted in a traditional Balinese style called wayang, meaning ‘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.

The Bhima Swarga painting in the Kertha Gosa Pavilion is a moral epic, depicting wisdom and perseverance and the ultimate virtue over vice. Today huge audiences listen to the epic just as it was hundreds of years ago. It is said, “He who with fervid devotion listens to a recitation of the Mahabharata attains to high success in consequence of the merit that becomes his thorough understanding even a very small portion thereof. All the sins of that man who recites or listens to this history with devotion are washed off.”

Dewa Agung Gusti Sideman took greatness in supervising the design and construction of his palace in Klungkung - an example of Hindu-Balinese architecture. Kertha Gosa architecture took shape of a mandala - a Buddhist influence domed-mountain shape. Mandalas help people further their enlightenment; pure forces of good come from a mountain.

Kertha Gosa’s first major function pertained to court of law and justice. The Kertha Gosa pavilion was the meeting place for the raja (Hindu prince) and Brahman judges (Kerthas) to discuss issues of law and human affairs. Whether or not the king instructed his court painters to decorate the ceiling at the time Kertha Gosa was built is impossible to know.

Moreover, it is impossible to know whether or not the story of Bhima Swarga was the first painting in the pavilion. The earliest and only record of paintings at Kertha Gosa dates from the year 1842 and is written in a lontar book (a book that holds prayers, history of Bali, and epics).

Also it is not documented whether the paintings were a permanent feature of the pavilion or if it was for a temporary reason of celebration. It is possible that the raja might have wanted the story of Bhima Swarga since it deals with moral and social questions and with justice in general. These paintings furthermore, have been supervised by I Gde Modara, the most important painter at the court of Klungkung during this period.

Dewa Agung Gusta Sideman ruled until 1775; he was succeeded by his son, then by his grandson, and his line of descendents continued to reign until the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1908, the Dutch attacked Klungkung, and fire broke out in the royal area. To this day it is said that the fire was started not by the Dutch but by the local people because they were confused with the condition of their society and were rebelling against the raja.

Klungkung was the last Balinese kingdom to fall. In 1909 Kertha Gosa became the official court of Justice for the region of Klungkung. Klungkung had been a unique service to justice; utilizing Kertha Gosa as a court of law - the story of Bhima Swarga played a significant role in aiding justice. Those who had broken the law therefore had been tried. The accused knelt before the dreadful punishments (painting of the story Bhima Swarga) depicted on the ceiling. But if the accused looked higher above the horror of Hell and looked to the panels of Heaven he could find consolation.

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.