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Published: January 7th 2005
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"The temples at Angkor are spread out over some 40 miles around the village of Siem Reap, about 192 miles from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. They were built between the eighth and 13th centuries and range from single towers made of bricks to vast stone temple complexes."
While the whole temple complex is referred to as Angkor Wat, Angkor Wat is actually one particular temple. There are two main sites for the temples - the City of Angkor and Roluos.
The temples are both Hindu and Buddhist, and Indian methods of architecture as well as Hindu mythology were influential in the construction of the Angkor temples. (The story of the Churning of the Sea of the Milk is at the end of this journal.)
"ANGKOR WAT: Regarded as the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture, it is a huge pyramid temple built by Suryavarman II between 1113 and 1150. It is surrounded by a moat 570 feet wide and about four miles long. The mass of bas-relief carving is of the highest quality and the most beautifully executed in Angkor."
The bas-relief carvings are incredible. They show scenes from paradise, the underworld and earth in the most
minute detail. One relief depicted the punishment of a woman who'd killed her baby - she was strung from a tree and was having her stomach and womb gouged with knives. There were many other similar scenes.
Angkor Wat is an architectural allegory of the mythical Mount Meru. In Hindu mythology, Mount Meru is the centre of the universe, where the Gods lived, represented by the central tower of Angkor Wat. The temple grounds are surrounded by a wall and moat, because in Hindu mythology Mount Meru is surrounded by other mountain ranges and oceans. The main entryway to Angkor Wat represents the rainbow bridge in Hindu mythology, the link between heaven and earth. Many temples in the complex are based on Mount Meru, with a central tower, moat, and long bridge or walkway.
"THE BAYON: A massive temple complex built by Jayavarman VII between 1181 and 1220. It features 3,936 feet of superb bas-relief carving and mysterious Buddha faces carved on the towers of the third level."
The bas-relief at Bayon temple depicts scenes from daily life. Again, incredible in its detail - people making bread, farming, fishing, soldiers going to war, feasts and celebrations, the
markets, cock-fighting, juggling. It's a very interesting historical document too, as it depicts how they used to fish, as well as the animals that used to live in that region (including tigers, leopards and rhinoceri - all no longer there). Equally famous, if not more so, are the faces of Buddha - 2000 faces of Buddha carved into the temple's walls! It's just beautiful. The faces on the big tower in the centre of the third level particularly so (see photo).
Ta Prohm was my favourite temple - it's the 'jungle temple' - left as it was found by French archeologists in the 1800s, with trees growing all over it, through it, around it etc. It's magical. I wish I had the time to take a picnic and spend a whole day there.
The quotes are from www.angkorwat.org The Churning of the Sea of Milk "It was Jayavarman II (c. AD800 to AD850) who introduced the cult of devaraja into Cambodia, establishing the king as a representative of the Hindu god Siva. From this time temples were being built to honor both the god and the king. During the next two reigns, the practice of each new king building his own temple which became his tomb on
his death, was firmly established." Many of the temples are thus in memory of kings and members of their families.
"One of the great stories of Hindu mythology is that of ‘Churning the Sea of Milk’. This entire story was depicted in the stone carvings of Angkor Wat - the picture above is a photo of this myth and is part of the longest continuous bas-relief in the world, which runs along a panel at the East gallery (panel 4) of Angkor Wat.
"The story goes that Lord Indra ignored Sage Durvasa's presence, who in a fit of temper cursed Indra, "The pride of wealth has entered your head - Let Lakshmi forsake you." On account of Durvasa's curse, Lakshmi left Indra and went away. Because Lakshmi the goddess of power, bravery, enthusiasm and radiance left, Lord Indra's life became miserable. The demons that were waiting for such an opportunity invaded heaven, defeated Indra and gods in war and occupied heaven. Indra lost his kingdom and hid out of sight of the demons.
"A number of years passed. Indra's teacher Brihaspati thought of finding a way out for Indra's troubles. He went with the gods to Brahma,
who went to Vishnu with all of them and put forth the appeal of the gods. Then Vishnu said,
"Don't fear; I will show you a way out. The sea of milk must be churned. It is a very difficult job. Therefore, gain the friendship of the demons and get their assistance. Use Mandara Mountain as a churning rod and Vasuki, the king of the serpents, as a rope.
“I will come to your assistance at the proper time. When the sea is churned ambrosia will be produced. The gods must drink it and become immortal. It will then be possible for you to defeat the demons. When the sea is churned, Lakshmi who has disappeared will appear again. Her grace will be bestowed on you.”
"The clever Brihaspati managed to strike a friendship with the demons who agreed in the hope of getting ambrosia and wealth. After initial difficulties posed by the sinking of mount Mandara into the milky sea which was set right by Lord Vishnu who took the form of a tortoise and hoisted it on his back, the churning started. After much effort and recovery of 13 precious things previously lost, and in
the midst of the waves of the sea of milk, a goddess with heavenly looks came into view. She was standing on a fully blossomed lotus. She, who was radiantly smiling, was Lakshmi herself.
"The gods and demons continued to churn the ocean for Amrit or nectar. Vasuki has wrapped himself around Mount Mandara, represented by a tower. At one point Mount Mandara started to sink, and had to be propped up by a giant tortoise, an incarnation of Vishnu. Finally Dhanavantri emerged carrying a jar of the elixir (ambrosia). Both the Asuras and the Devas wanted the ambrosia, but finally Vishnu with a slight of hand managed to give the immortal nectar to the Gods and the Asuras where defeated. Thus the churning of the ocean resulted in the immortality of the Devas.
Other good sources of info:
Someone else's blog, with good info about their trip to Angkor Wat TourismCambodia's site
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JJ
non-member comment
Excellent post!
I'm headed to Angkor later this year. I'm terribly excited. My website is named after The Churning of the Milky Ocean: http://www.thechurning.com Rock on, JJ