Pakendungan Temple is located on the northwest side of Tanah Lot Temple. The origin or history of Pura Luhur Pakendungan and Pura Luhur Tanah Lot, seems to come from one source. Because according to old manuscript sources, the origins of Pura Luhur Pakendungan and Pura Luhur Tanah Lot cannot be separated.
Regarding the origin, the name of Pakendungan Luhur Temple has three versions.
First, according to folklore sources, as stated in the folklore of Ki Bendesa Shakti Beraban, the name Pakendungan comes from the word duwung, which is a holy kris named Ki Baru Gajah which is a gift from Dang Hyang Nirartha /da Pedanda Shakti Bawu Rawuh(Dang Hyang Dwi Jendra).
Second, the origin of the name Pakendungan comes from Rontal Dewa Tattwa, one of the versions and visions of Dewa Tattwa, which pantheonically and mythologically tells the history of the origin of the Tanah Lot Temple, Pakendungan Temple comes from the word peken, which later became pakendungan.
Third, the origin of Pakendungan Temple comes from a holy journey, dharmayatra Ida Pedanda Shakti Bawu Rawuh (Dang Hyang Nirartha), from Rambut Siwi Temple, continued to Srijong Temple. From Rambut Siwi Temple, Pedanda Shakti Bawu Rawuh saw the light burning brightly in the South Sea, which is the location of Tanah Lot Temple and Pakendungan Temple in the present era. After teaching the people around Rambut Siwi Temple, about the tattwa of Shiva religion with its rituals, social life, farming, fishing, he then left the community around Rambut Siwi Temple, headed east through Srijong Temple and stopped to do Yoga Semadhi in Sanggulan which in the present era the place where he stopped was built a small temple with the name Pura Candi Desa Sanggulan.
Then he continued his journey to Tanah Lot to find the source of the holy light, he arrived at a dense forest precisely on the West side of Tanah Lot. Dang Hyang Nirartha did Semadhi Yoga in that place. The dense forest was named Alas Kendung. Where in this Alas Kendung then built Pakendungan Temple.
Pura Luhur Pakendungan in addition to functioning and domiciled as Pura Dang Kahyangan also domiciled as Pengulun Subak Temple in Kediri District. The Pujawali ceremony at Pakendungan Temple is on Saturday Kliwon, Kuningan coincides with Kuningan Day and Tumpek Kuningan according to the Balinese calendar.
