A farming village south of Pejeng, Bedulu sits at the start of the road to Yeh Puluh, approximately 26 km north of Denpasar. If coming from Ubud, change 'bemo' at Teges, en route passing Goa Gajah on the right.
Bedulu was once the seat of the Old Balinese kingdom of Pejeng and the last indigenous dynasty to hold out against the mighty Majapahit Empire, which invaded Bali in 1343. After the invasion, the Hinduization of Bali accelerated, culminating in the massive cultural migration to Bali of the Majapahit court in 1515.
Legend has it Bedulu's pre-Majapahit ruler, Sri Aji Asura Bumibanten, possessed supernatural strength and powers. At his command, he would have his head cut off and put back on again without any injury or pain. He got such a thrill out of this he had his servants decapitate him often.
One day, however, during this neat parlor game the gods made his head to roll into a river, where it was carried away. His servants panicked and in desperation chopped the head off a wild boar that happened by and placed it on the neck stump of their master. Understandably, this caused the ruler some embarrassment, so he hid in a high tower out of sight of his subjects, forbidding anyone to look at him.
A child discovered the secret and the bestial king became known as Dalem Bedulu, which means 'He Who Changes Heads'. A less theatrical explanation is that Bedulu comes from bedaulu which simply means 'upstream.'
Pura Samuan Tiga
Down a stony path about 100 meters east of the Bedulu crossroads is Pura Samuan Tiga ('Temple of the Meeting of Three Parties'), probably built by the great sage Mpu Kuturan. During the reign of King Udayana and Queen Dharmapatni (988-1011), religious sects were rife on Bali, each with its own tenets and peculiar practices. Because this situation brought about instability and confusion, six holy men met at this temple to promote the Principle of the Hindu Trinity, unite all the sects, and establish basic island-wide customary law (desa adat).Museum Purbakala
A government archaeological museum two km north of Bedulu on the road to Gunung Kawi (ask for Musium Arkeologi). One of only five museums on Bali, it contains a collection of pre-Hindu artifacts: megaliths, bone ornaments, pottery, earthenware, stone axe heads, adzes, weapons, copper plate inscriptions from AD 885 and 903, utensils, bronze jewelry, Chinese ceramics, and Hindu statues and relics.Note the impressively decorated egg-shaped sarcophagus, hewn from a single block of stone, with a turtle and human features carved in high relief on its cover. These coffins, which contained bodies in the fetal position were used long before cremation was practiced on Bali. There's also a small library. Open Mon.-Thurs. 0700-1400, Friday until 1300, Saturday until 1230, closed Sunday. Donation requested.