Rectangular hanging (tabing) showing Arjuna Wiwaha (Arjuna’s Meditation), a scene from the Mahabharata

Story cloths like this were embroidered by talented Balinese women, traditionally confined to the audience in shadow theatre performances, but often actively performing in temple dances. This bright tabing, intended to enliven temple shrines, depicts the popular scene of Arjuna’s asceticism in the presence of seductive celestial numphs. Like the kayon, this story cloth employs an image of Boma to represent temporality. Time passes differently, however, for those lost in profound meditation. Here the focus is on Arjuna, while Boma–looming beneath Arjuna’s throne–remains in the foreground: a reminder that time never stops completely. The pervasive use of pink stitching, most likely selected as a sign of the embroiderer’s personal preference, reflects the creative liberties women took in this medium. This is in marked contrast to its possible precursor, dubbed wayan style painting (or wayang Kamasan, after the village in Klunkung) which is still predominantly the creative domain of men.