Tirtha Atlas

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

1126 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
High medieval · Hindu · Indonesia

Pura Goa Lawah

Klungkung, Bali · -8.5516°, 115.4688°

ShivaMpu KuturanBalinese
Sacred since
1000 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
11th c. (founded by Mpu Kuturan)
Mpu Kuturan

History & significance

Built at the mouth of a bat-filled sea cave on the Klungkung coast and founded in the eleventh century by Mpu Kuturan, one of the priests who established Hinduism on Bali; one of its three meru towers is dedicated to Shiva, and the site became a strategic position during the 1849 War of Kusamba between the Klungkung kingdom and the Dutch colonial army.

Sthala katha — the legend

The cave is held to be the domain of Naga Basuki, a primordial dragon believed to keep the balance of the cosmos.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Mpu Kuturan