LEGENDARY HISTORY OF CAMBODIAN TEMPLES

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Cambodia is a country having over 2000 temples, and each temple have a legendary history attached to it. Thisb is really cool to know about the history of Cambodians temples.

So, here is a list of some famous Cambodian temples with their history.

ANGKOR WAT

Angkor Wat is a very famous city of Cambodia which has many temples in it .It is believed that one of those temples was built to act as a palace for Precha keta Mealea. The construction was ordered by king Suryavarman2 (father of the Precha keta Mealea).

It was built as that temple of king’s empire, and was dedicated to Lord Vishnu; however, there are no proper inscription stating the original name of the temple, but the locals call it “Varah Vishnu-Lok”.

Today, Angkor Wat is a Buddhist centre of worship instead of Hindu worship centre .This transformation took place at the end of the 12th century.

BAYON TEMPLE

It is situated in the centre of Angkor Thom. As a matter of fact, this temple was the last state temple to be built. This temple is dedicated to Buddhism and was established during the late 12th century, in the early 13th century by king Jayavarman7. The Bayon temple was identified as Buddhist temple by a pediment found in 1925 depicting an Avalokitesvara.

Construction of Bayon temple took place 100 years after Angkor Wat. The temple has 54 towers on, which 2000 faces are curved, which give majestic character to this temple.

TA PROHM TEMPLE

It is located in the east of Angkor Thom. It is the undisputed capital of ‘kingdom of trees. It was built in the early 13th century by Jayavarman7. It was originally called Rajavihar. The motive to build this temple was to honour the king’s family. Prajnaparamita. The personification of wisdom, which is represented the temple’s main image, was modelled on the king’s mother. King honoured his guru and his brother by dedicating them the northern and southern satellite temple in the third enclosure respectively. Temple monastery of Preah Khan was modeled to king’s father who represented the Bodhisattva of compassion Lokesvara.

BANTEAY SREI TEMPLE

In the 10th century Banteay Srei temple was built in the area of Angkor. This temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. It was the only major temple at Angkor on 22 April 967 A.D, which was not built my monarch. The credit for the construction of this temple is given to Yajna Varaha who was the counsellor to King Rajendravarman2 and he was the grandson of king Harsavarman. It is believed that he was a scholar and philanthropist.

WAT PHNOM

It is located in the Phnom Penh; this Buddhist temple has a really interesting history behind it. It is believed that a widow named Penh found a bronze statue of Buddha in a Koki tree in the river. Then she has constructed a small temple in order to preserve the statue. The village people started worshiping there, gradually King Ponhea Yat got interested and he built a new city, which was named as the Phnom Penh.

Ashes of the king and his royal family are contained by the prominent stupa, which is situated near the sanctuary.

PREAH KHAN

In the 12th century at Angkor, this temple was built by King Jayavarman7 as a site of victory. It was made on the occasion of Jayavarman’s victory over Chams in 1191. It was also used an honour to king’s father, who died in 1191. The temple is also contained many royal palaces of Yasovarman2 and Tribhuvan Adityavarman.

PHNOM BAKHENG

At the end of the 9th century, this temple was constructed by Yasovarman. It is a Hindu and Buddhist temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is believed by historians that it was the principal temple of its era because of its fine architecture. It is believed that, the Yasovarman built it, when he moved his court from Hariharalaya.

THOMMANON

It is located in the Angkor Thom, which is built in the reign of Suryavarman2. It is one of the largest Hindu temples built during that period. There is a great dispute going in between scholars regarding the period in which this temple was built. Seeing the carvings of devatas, some believe that this temple is from the period of when the work on Angkor Wat began; however, some believe that this temple belong to the period of Jayavarman2.

So, this is the richest and legendary history of the Cambodian temples, which is truly full of adventures and amazing to know about these all temples.

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