Temples of Angkor Thom that are a must visit.

The five major ruins of Angkor Thom are as follows: 1)Bayon temple, 2)Ta Prohm, 3)Ta keo temple, 4)Baphuon Temple, 5)Terrace of the Elephants.

1)Bayon Temple:

This Magnificient piece of art- the Bayon temple was built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII . It is said the King Jayavarman VII wanted to reunite both his hindu and budhist citizens under his empire. Hence he decided to build this temple by unifying the religious concepts of hinduism and buddhism.

You’ll find the south entrance to the temple is lined with carved sculptures depicting the Devas(Gods) and Asuras(Demons) of the epic tale- “Churning of the Ocean of milk”

Few interesting facts of the Bayon Temple that our guide mentioned:

1)At the time the temple was first constructed, there were 54 towers . The top of every tower had budha face carved on each direction.

Since King Jayavarman VII built this temple with an idea of unifying Hindus and Budhists the temple was constructed based on ideas from both religions. The top of every tower( 54) was carved into Budha face, one in each direction. Some of the budha face also had a third eye carved on them representing Lord Shiva( one of the main god of Hinduism).

Look closely to see the third eye carved on the Budha Face.

2) King Jayavarman VII had 54 districts in total in his empire and so built 54 towers in his state temple representing each district.

3) There was a concept being followed at that ancient era – “Concept of Devaraja” ,where Devaraja means God King. According to this concept,the King was considered as an incarnation of God. It is said that the face of each Budha on top of the tower actually resembled the face of the then ruling King himself.

Few major differences that you’ll see at the Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat are mentioned below:
1) First of all the whole temple of Bayon is built with smaller building stones compared to Angkor wat where the whole of Angkor Wat is built using huge Stones.

This was especially due to the fact that there was a shortage of manpower for carrying and transporting stones for constructing the temple post war.

2) Though Angkor Wat is huge with all the extensive bas reliefs, carvings at Bayon are much more deeper compared to that of Angkor Wat.

3) Apsaras carved here at Bayon have more jewellery carved on them indicating the prosperity of the kingdom during the reign of King Jayavarman VII due to unification of all the citizens both hindu and Budhists there was peace and prosperity throughout the empire.

4)In most temples of Angkor previously built by Hindu Kings you’ll notice the temples main carvings focus on the god and hindu mythology. There was a difference seen in Bayon, since the King was keen on unifying Hinduism and Buddism he built the temple with carvings emphasising mainly on the daily life of the people of his kingdom during his reign. As you enter the temple you’ll see these daily life scenes carved beautifully on the walls of the entrance to the temple. This was also due to that fact that Budhism focusses more on Compassion and equality without any specific caste demarcation.

The scene below  depicts a naval war between Khmer and Champa clans.The Long haired depicts the Champa clan and the other team is Khmer .

2)Ta Prohm:

Let’s dive into a little history here:
Ta Prohm is called prasat Ta Prohm in Khmer( pronounced Kuh Mai). History has it that King Jayavarman VII built the Ta prohm temple in 1186( late 12th and early 13th century). The temple of Ta Prohm was originally called Rajavihara.

It is said that the King built this temple as a tribute to his mother,Jayarajachudanami. Ta Prohm temple is also called Queen’s tomb.

15th Century war between Sieamese and the Cambodian marked the fall of Khmer Empire , there are numerious other reasons too for their fall. The temple of Ta Prohm was neglected for centuries before it was rediscovered again when efforts to preserve the rich history of Angkor started in the 21st Century.

During the time the temple was left neglected nature took it’s course. Huge tree took over the temple of Ta Prohm. Tetrameles nudiflora is the biological name of the huge tree Spung that grew on the temple of Ta Prohm. The tree is 45 m tall and is spread over 10m .

Few photographs to give you a glimpse of Ta Prohm:

3)Ta keo:

It is said that King Jayavarman V succeeded the throne at an early age of 10. Ta Keo is the state temple dedicated to God Shiva that he decided to built when he was 17 yrs old.It is so happened that, due to the untimely demise of King Jayavarman V ,the construction of the state temple was stopped.Until, later King Suryavarman I took the throne.

It is believed that there was lightening strike that hit the temple. Considering this a bad omen ,the King decided to stop the construction / renovation of Ta keo temple.
Hence, till date the temple construction remains unfinished.

This temple was built with an amazing architectural design. The main shrine is open from all the four directions such that the main idol in the shrine could be seen from all four directions . You’ll have to climb all the way up to the top to reach the main central shrine. The temple was also built in such a way the you’ll see exactly three gopurams from each direction ,the centre one being the main gopuram. There are stairways to the main central shrine from all for directions but only one is currently functional hence open for tourists to climb all the way to top of Ta Keo Temple.

The steps were really steep especially to this temple. We had to use both our hands and legs to climb the steep steps.

4)Baphuon:

It was built in the 11th century as a three tier temple mountain. This temple was built as the state temple during the reign of King Udayadityavarman II. This temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva.

Pls do wear proper clothing not because there are rules but because it is easier to climb the steep steps if you do so. I had worn a long dress so even though i managed to climb the steep steps of Ta keo which wasn’t too difficult with the dress but yes definitely i had to be careful .

Since ,steps at Baphuon are partially broken and way too steep ,I couldn’t climb beyond the second level . I am sharing this experience to let you know it is better you wear some shorts or sporty clothes while visiting Baphuon especially. Here, you’ll notice each tire the steps become steeper. With the most steep steps on the top most tier.

There isn’t much to see regarding the carvings etc but you’ll find a huge 9m tall and 70 m long statue of Reclining budha on the west side , second level. This statue was constructed when the temple Baphuon( The guide mentioned it was previously called Rajendrapura) was converted to Buddist temple in the 15th Century.

This temple was built on sand and due to it’s enormous size ,the temple site have been unstable throughout history. By the time the statue of reclining budha was added large portions of the temple had already collapsed. That explains why the current condition of the temple with many collapsed steps and pillars. Restoration works were carried out and hence now it is open for visitors to visit. You can see few collapsed area even today when you visit.

Here are few pics that we had taken at Baphuon Temple:

5)Terrace of the Elephants:

By the time we finished the main temples of Angkor Thom, we were tired so we quickly rushed through the Terrace of the Elephants. Well, this was used as a reviewing stadium for public ceremonies more like the King’s grand audience hall. There are beautiful carvings on the main walls of the Terrace of the Elephants, if you are keen you could definitely check them out as well.

By: Aswathi Ashok.