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LEGENDS AND MUST SEE CARVINGS OF ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE.

July 14, 2018 /

 

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We had spent an entire day in Angkor Wat where our guide Mr. Phat explained each and every carvings in the temple that he knew to the best of his knowledge. However, posting and explaining all of the carvings in the temple is next to impossible hence I’ll guide you through few of the must see carvings of Angkor Wat Temple.

History :
The famous temple of Angkor Wat was built during the reign of Suryavarman II ( 1113-1150) . His rule marked as the peak of Khmer Dynasty’s power and influence.
Angkor Wat ,(built in 12 th century )was the greatest Hindu Temple built till date.It is currently a Budhist temple though the 12 th century hindu diety Vishnu is still kept in the temple.
History has it that Angkor Wat as it is called today was not it’s original name. Angkor Wat was previously a Hindu Temple built for Lord Vishnu by Suryavarman II and it was called “PARAM VISHNU LOKHA”.

Vishnu - Main deity of Angkor Wat
Vishnu – Main deity of Angkor Wat during the 12 th Century.
This deity is that of Goddess Lakshmy( 12th Century). There are so many idols that have fallen prey for looting, civil war and theft, the remains of which are still maintained in the temple.

Note: if you are planning to visit Angkor Wat, remember to follow the dress code – “Cover your shoulders and knees”. Also, don’t forget to carry your visitor’s pass along, when you visit. Pls keep it safe as you’ll have to buy a new one if you lose the passes.
We recommend reading books on Angkor Wat and Temples of Cambodia before visiting Cambodia.Here are few suggestions that we read : 1)Ancient Angkor- by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques.
2) Focussing on the Angkor Temples- The Guidebook,2017 edition- by Michel Petrotchenko.
3)The Civilization of Angkor- by Charles Higham.


The shrine of the temple is west facing. Hence the west entrance of the temple has five main majestic gates built .It is believed by the locals that out of the five gates ,three were built for humans and two were built for animals to enter the temple premises.
Angkor wat is built following the traditional khmer style of architecture. The whole temple design follows three tiered construction. Most of the temples of Cambodia were built during the lifetime of a King. Angkor Wat was built during the lifetime of Suryavarman II.

 

The first level consists of galleries with most of the hindu mythology carvings. They then completed the third level of Angkor Wat, but the carvings of second level couldn’t be completed .Hence most of the carvings in the second level remains incomplete till date. Subsequently when most of the population of the country became budhists the second level was used as a gallery to display all the budha sculptures.
Legends from hindu mythology carved beautifully on the walls of this architectural wonder “Angkor Wat” that you shouldn’t miss are as follows:
Main highlights of the first level gallary

1) West Gallery-
Battle of Kurukshetra,(Mahabharatha,south side) and  Battle of Lanka( Ramayana,North side).
2) South west corner-
Carvings depicting stories from the puranas.
3)South Gallery – 
West side carvings depicts armed procession of King Suryavarman II and east side carvings depicts Heaven and hell- Judgement by Yama.
4)East Gallery-
Churning of the Ocean of milk- South side and Victory of Vishnu on Asuras (demons) on the north side
5) North Gallery-
East side- Victory of Krishna over Bana and on the west side- Battle between Gods and Demons.
6) North-west Corner – you can see  Sita Svayamvar/ Winning of Sita.

Main Carvings that are a must see –
WEST GALLERY
Battle of Kurukshetra,(Mahabharatha,south side):

West Gallery , South side at Angkor Wat – The entire wall showing Battle of Kurukshetra.
Kaurava Soldiers marching to the war.
Pandavas soldiers marching to the war.
The Battle of Kurukshetra explained in detail with the help of exquisite intricate carvings on the walls of Angkor Wat.

You can see in the above picture , there are so many warriors on horse chariots fighting the other team. Each represents the 100 kauravas .While you can see on the Pandavas side five main horse chariots and the rest are their army of soldiers( Pic below).

Warriors of Pandavas and Kauvravas fighting.
This scene depicts Srikrishna( depicted with four arms) riding the Chariot and Arjuna (Pandavas)fight the battle against Kauravas.
Bhishma on the bed of arrows.

Legend: In the epic tale Mahabharatha,Bhishma is said to be the  the eighth son of  kuru King Shantanu and the goddess Ganga.He was an unparalleled archer and warrior of his time. Bhishma was also blessed with a boon of choosing his time of death. However, at the end he had to suffer the pain of lying on an arrow-bed due to the sins he had commited in one of his past lives.
Battle of Lanka( Ramayana, North side):

Guide explaining the different carvings of Battle of Lanka on the wall at Angkor Wat.
Battle of Lanka is a mythical battle fought between Sri Rama with an army of monkeys( Vanaras) and 10 headed,20 armed Ravana along with his army of Asuras( demons).
Taking a closer look at the carvings – you can see Vanara(monkey) fighting Asura( Demon).

Sri Rama’s Vanara(monkey) army fighting Ravana’s asura(demon) army.

I was awed at the beauty of how the entire mythical war was actually carved on the wall of Angkor Wat.
Sri Rama fighting the battle sitting on Hanuman
Sri Rama fighting the battle sitting on Hanuman
Hanuman(you can see on top) striking the 10 headed,20 armed Ravana.
Fight between Bali( Vali) Vs Sugriva. The carving also depicts Sri Rama firing an arrow at Bali and killing him.
Wounded and dying Bali lying on his wife’s lap surrounded by grieving subjects.
The carvings representing a sense of despair in the Vanara( monkey) Community at the death of Bali on the walls of Angkor Wat.

EAST GALLERY:
Churning of the ocean of milk:
This is one of my favourite legends from the Hindu Mythology. Churning of the Ocean of milk was a tug of war  between the Devas and Asuras for the elixir of immortality.
Legend briefly explained: In Order to get the elixir of immortality ,Devas and asuras decided to churn the Ocean using Mount Mandhara as rod and Snake Vasukhi as rope.
For those who would love to know more about the epic tale of Churning of the Ocean of milk from Hindu Mythology check the link mentioned below:
Churning of the Ocean of Milk- Epic tale of Samudra Manthana.

Churning of the Ocean of milk( Asuras held the head of the Snake Vasuki).

The detailed carvings show the tug of war ( Churning of the Ocean of milk) between the Devas( Gods) and  Asuras (Demons).The Khmer arists have elegantly carved huge figures of  devas and asuras among the other small figures representing the main devas and assuras.

Depiction of main devas supported by the other devas churning the ocean of milk.
Depiction of large asura supported by the other asuras churning the ocean of milk.
One of the main god that they depicted among the devas churning the ocean of milk is Hanuman.

Well, this was a slight nuance that we heard in Cambodian Hindu mythology compared to Hindu mythology in India. According to (Indian)Hindu Mythology hanuman is not a part of the event-Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Apart from these few nuances,the Hindu Mythological stories of Cambodia is same as that of India.

The bas- relief of 12 th Century depicts Vishnu in his Kurma Avatar( Incarnation) at the centre steading/ coordinating the whole event of Churning of the Ocean of milk with both devas and asuras on either side of him.
If you carefully observe the lintels of every entrance of the temple of Cambodia you’ll find a story from Hindu Mythology carved on it. Here’s one story we saw, Vishnu sitting on garuda fighting Ravana, below, you can also see carvings depicting Shiva and Parvathi.

Now, moving on to the next main gallery ,
SOUTH GALLERY:
West side you’ll find bas- relief depicting the armed procession and scenes from the timeline of King Suryavarman II.

This scene depicts the court of King Suryavarman II .Carved figure is that of King Suryavarman II himself. This particular scene here depicts the King Suryavarman II listening to his astrologers, while surrounded by his generals.
This carving depicts King Suryavarman II and his armed procession.

There is this interesting concept in Hindu Mythology , where live after death is explained .It is said that the sins we commit in our lives while we are alive will come back to us in our after life.
God of death – Yama (Similar to Hades from greek mythology and Anubis from Egyptian mythology) his main abode is Naraka, Yamaloka( this is something similar to the underworld of Hades and Anubis).
Legend has it that it is Yama( God of death) who directs the departed souls to heaven and hell on the judgement day.It is his assistant Chitragupta who weighs all the good and the bad deeds a man does during his entire lifetime and then based on the collective information of our deeds Yama decides where the departed soul goes to, on the main judgement day.

At the centre you can see Yama( God of Death) sitting on a buffalo, this is how he is depicted according the Hindu Mythology. This particular scene indicates the judgement day.

We are so much in love with this place. Angkor Wat is not just these carvings. One has to visit Angkor Wat to truly appreciate the beauty of the Khmer Architecture. As, mentioned earlier all the galleries of bas reliefs are in the first tier of Angkor Wat.
Here are some photos showing the interior of Angkor Wat temple.

Nature at it’s best . This is exactly how the place looks

I wonder how people of 12th Century climbed these steep and narrow steps.
They have built wooden staircases for tourists to climb coz these original steep steps were not in proper condition and hence are too precarious to attempt.
Apsara
Apsaras carved throughout the walls of Angkor Wat.

Gazing at the Central tower of Angkor Wat.
Gazing at the Central tower of Angkor Wat.

Do try out the Ice Apple( Nungu) juice at Angkor Wat they are really refreshing.
There are lot of Monkeys that you’ll see in the outskirts of the temple. They don’t shy away from a photo😃.
Achu & Unni
That’s Us 😍in the picture.

 

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By: Aswathi & Unni

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