Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Modern · Hindu · Indonesia

Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue

Ungasan, Bali · -8.8140°, 115.1669°

Vishnu mounted on GarudaModern
Sacred since
1997 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1997-2018 (Nyoman Nuarta)
Modern

History & significance

A 121-metre statue of Vishnu riding the divine bird Garuda, designed by the sculptor Nyoman Nuarta in 1990, begun in 1997 and completed in 2018 after a sixteen-year halt caused by the Asian financial crisis. It is the tallest statue in Indonesia and the tallest depiction of a Hindu deity anywhere.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The myth it renders has Garuda agree to carry Vishnu in exchange for the elixir with which he freed his enslaved mother.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Modern