Within Balinese Hinduism, melukat is a sacred water ritual that operates as a layered act of purification, touching the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of life. Conducted at holy water sources such as springs, rivers, the sea, or temple spouts, the water is first consecrated by a priest through prayer and ritual so that it becomes tirta, a carrier of divine power. In this form, water is not merely symbolic; it is believed to hold an active capacity to remove mala, leteh, and other forms of spiritual pollution that arise from misfortune, illness, inauspicious events, or negative actions. The ritual thus addresses both sekala (the visible, worldly realm) and niskala (the unseen, subtle realm), aiming to restore harmony where it has been disturbed.

The process of melukat typically involves offerings, mantras, and a deliberate, reverent contact with the consecrated water—bathing, standing under spouts, or being sprinkled in a prescribed order. This sequence often emphasizes cleansing the head, face, and body, which is understood as purifying thought, perception, and action. Through this embodied practice, the ritual functions as a means of karmic cleansing and spiritual renewal, calming the mind and dispelling negative influences or energies that cling to a person after difficult experiences. In many cases, participants seek melukat when facing chronic misfortune, illness, emotional disturbance, or before entering significant life transitions, so that the self is ritually “reset” and made receptive to auspicious forces.

Melukat is also deeply embedded in Balinese notions of balance and right relationship—with the divine, with nature, and with the wider community. By realigning the individual with cosmic order and divine presence, the ritual reaffirms a sense of belonging within a sacred cosmos populated by deities, ancestral powers, and subtle forces. It is performed before major ceremonies, during temple festivals, and after contact with spiritually polluting situations, underscoring that purity is not a static state but an ongoing discipline. In this way, sacred water is both medium and message: it embodies the possibility that what is clouded can be clarified, what is burdened can be lightened, and what is disordered can be brought back into harmony.