Outside of India, Bali is the largest Hindu outpost in the world. On Bali Hinduism has developed along lines all its own. In fact, the way in which Balinese practice their frontier Hinduism is still their greatest art.
Rather than being 'characters', the Hindu gods are experienced as abstractions associated with natural forces: Wisnu with rain and nurturing, and Brahma with creativity, fire and volcanos.
Balinese pantheon still includes sacred powers specific to Bali, usually under the term of Bhatara, or god. Here are the most prevalent of these specific gods.
The Supreme God: Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa is the ' One Supreme Unknowable God',
Ancients kings: they are also influential deities,
Deified Ancestors: they are the most intimate gods. The relationship between a Balinese and his ancestors is at once reverent and practical. The souls of the dead can be absorbed into heaven only by the purification rites of the living. In return, the ancestors bestow blessings and sometimes advice through trance mediums. Bhatara kawitan is the term for the original clan ancestor.
Gods residing in nature: the most powerful are those associated with mountains, lakes, and sea. Ida Bhatara Gunung Agung is the god of Mount Agung; Ida Bhatara Dewi Ulun Danu Batur is the goddess of Lake Batur crater. The one of the sea has no specific name but segara which means 'sea'.
Dewi Sri.
The beloved goddess of rice, Dewi Sri is the anima of a rice cult of particular beauty. Her shrines in the rice fields are simple structures of virgin bamboo. Her realm includes granaries and the rice basket, and she is honored in a number of different cyclical rituals, including the daily offerings set out after cooking.
Saraswati.
Saraswati, consort of Brahma, is the goddess of Knowledge, wisdom, and the arts. She is usually depicted as a beautiful, richly dressed woman riding a goose. Her anniversary falls on the 210 days Balinese calendar, when offerings are made to books, and reading and writing are nit allowed.
Dec 31st, 05