A temple in Bali

After several incidents of sacred objects being stolen from Hindu temples across the island of Bali, police have finally stated that investigation has led to four culprits. Months of investigation have paid off after consistent pressure from the public.

Starting from March of 2012, 31 burglaries have taken place in Hindu temples. After various religious leaders visited the sites of theft and stated their disapproval of the incidents, Bali police deputy chief Brig. Gen. I Ketut Untung Yoga set up a special team to take the investigation further and more seriously.
Four individuals have been arrested by police but their names and identities have not been disclosed so that their partners who are also a part of the thefts will not be alerted to escape.

Police are now hunting for those who bought the stolen objects from the thieves.

The suspects admitted to 8 temples from which they stole objects but claimed that they do not recall any other locations.

The temples sacred objects, namely the pretima is what has caused deep sadness and a sense of violation to the psyche of the community. Creating a new pretima will not only be very costly but it will also require a number of rituals to enshrine the object and keep it preserved.

For this reason, many Hindus across Bali have requested that such heartless acts not be taken lightly but rather be served with deserved consequences.

Nandi, Sacred Cow in Hinduism

Jakarta, Indonesia (CHAKRA) – While searching an excavation site in Yogyakarta Indonesia, archaeologists have found a statue of Nandi, the sacred bull that carried the Hindu god, Lord Shiva.  The ruins at the excavation site are believed to be an ancient Hindu temple.

The revelation of the statue, which in Hindu mythology is said to symbolize fertility, has lengthened the teams work and extra two weeks, Indung Panca Putra, the head of the excavation team from the Yogyakarta Antiquities and Relics Conservation Agency, told The Jakarta Globe.

  “The statue is exquisite. The sculpture is carved differently from other statues of Nandi. This one is not depicted as fat,” Indung said.

Previously, a statue of Ganesha, Shiva’s divine son, a linga, the symbol of worship for Shiva, and a yoni, a Hindu symbol for the divine passage of birth were found at the same site.  The site is located on the Indonesian Islamic University campus.

“We strongly believe the temple had a roof and its pillars were made of wood or bamboo,” Indung said.

He stated that archaeologists have been working at the site under the assumption that the pillars have been removed by people rather than by being destroyed by a volcanic mudflow hundreds of years ago.

Indung also said that the temple ruins were different from all other temple ruins found in Central Java.

“We have compared what we have found to what was found in the temples of Sambisari, Gebang and Kedulan. The comparisons have led us to believe that the material used for the temple and its statues were much harder and the sculptures are far more refined,” Indung said.

While the university was preparing to lay a foundation for a new library, on December 21, the first discovery of the Ganesha statue was made.

Rocks five meters deep were uncovered, which resembled an ancient building complex.

The conservation team, consisting of four archaeologists and four engineers, has been working ever since to find other ancient statues.