Angkor Thom: A Majestic Marvel

Angkor Thom: A Majestic Marvel

Angkor Archaeological Park is just 20 minutes away from Siem Reap. After seeing Angkor Wat, we came back to the city for lunch. Siem Reap has many Indian restaurants with such names, ‘Namaste India’, ‘The Indian Restaurant’,’ Bombay Kitchen’, ‘Vanakkam Dakshin’ etc. We entered one such restaurant and was greeted with ‘Namaste’ and a welcome drink: hot rasam served in small, steel glasses. From then onwards, delicious South Indian dishes appeared in quick succession: pakoras, sambar, rice, cauliflower curry, papad, and black payasam made with Cambodian rice. The soft rotis were large like men’s handkerchiefs. Food was served by smiling sari-clad, Cambodian girls.

After lunch we started for Angkor Thom, but this time we were ferried in a mini bus because large buses are not allowed in the campus.

History

After Suryavarman II’s death (between 1145 and 1150 A.D.), kings of Khmer empire ruled briefly, and in 1177, an army of Chams conquered Angkor and annexed it in the province of Champa (now the central region of Vietnam).

Meanwhile Jayavarman VII of Khmer dynasty (1181-1219) gathered an army and regained the capital, Yosodharapura (Angkor). He defeated Champa in 1203 and conquered large parts of its territory. He built a new capital, Angkor Thom (Great city). Angkor Thom is also known as Nokor (Sanskrit word, nagara) meaning city. Thom means great in Khmer.

Architecture

South Gate of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom is about a quarter of a mile away from Siem Reap River and lies on its west bank. We entered through the well-preserved south gate flanked by a moat.  A causeway spans the moat. On each side of the causeway are railings fashioned with stone figures in the attitude of a tug of war: 54 giant Devas on the left pulling one end of the snake vasuki. On the right are 54 asuras, pulling the other end of the snake in the opposite direction. This appears to be a reference to the myth popular in Angkor, of the churning of the sea of milk or Samudra Manthan. The faces of the statues are quite expressive. Some of the heads on these figures are copies. The original ones have been removed and are at the Angkor conservancy in Siem Reap. 

Statues of Devas and Asuras enacting Samudra Manthan

The entrance gate of Angkor Thom is shaped like an upside-down U. The central tower of the stone gate is spectacular with three face towers. Below them are two elephant statues on either side. Sitting on each elephant is Devraj Indra with his weapon vajra (thunderbolt).

Face Tower at the Entrance Gate

The main attraction in Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple. It was established in the late 12^th century and has an area of 9 kilometers. It is located at the exact center of Angkor Thom. The original name of Bayon was Jayagiri (Victory Mountain).After the French occupied Cambodia, it was called Banyan temple because of the tree’s religious significance, as Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under the Banyan tree. When the local Khmer workers came to renovate the temple they pronounced Banyan as Bayon and the name stuck since then.

It was the last state temple to be constructed at Angkor and the only Angkorian temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist shrine because Jayavarman VII was a follower of Mahayana Buddhism. There is a story behind his religion. His first wife, Jayaraja Devi had a huge influence on him. During those times, there was a custom that when kings went to war, their queens would spend their time in the palace in divine contemplation. While Jayavarman VII was away in Champa, Jayaraja Devi immersed herself in prayers and meditation. But sadly, she passed away before Jayavarman VII’s return. He was heartbroken at his wife’s death. Later on, he married Indra Devi, Jayaraja Devi’s sister. Indra Devi was a follower of Buddhism and she was instrumental in converting Jayavarman VII into a Buddhist. He was the only king in the Khmer Empire to be a Buddhist.

After his death, the temple was changed to Hinduism. In later centuries, when Theravada Buddhism became dominant there were further changes in the temple, until it was ensnared by the jungle.  It was abandoned some time before 1609.

Ruins in Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom is built in the Bayon style of architecture which means massive scale of the buildings, widespread use of laterite and Face Towers.

Profusion of Face Towers

The afternoon sun was sending forth blazing rays and the mass of architecture which looked like a heap of rubble from afar, challenged our strength. But once we reached nearer to the structure, its beauty and grandeur energized us and the chaotic rubble took shape. We could see a collection of 54 towers encompassing a total of 216 peacefully smiling, enormous faces. According to some scholars, the faces are in the likeness of king Jayavarman VII himself. In the tradition of Khmer kings he thought himself as Devraja .The only difference was, while his predecessors were Hindus and considered themselves to be of the same substance as Shiva or Vishnu, Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist identified himself with the Buddha and the Bodhisattva.

Face Tower Resembling Jayavarman VII

While Angkor Wat is spacious with open galleries and courtyards, huge enclosures, towering staircases, all the elements in Bayon temple are crowded against each other. This place was also jammed with global population and there is a lot of ascending and descending because the structures are on three levels. There are libraries, galleries, pavilions, towers, terraces, corridors in this architectural jumble. 

A View from a Corridor 

Global Population at Angkor Thom

Gallery ,Steps and Corridor 

 Though the stone steps are steep and huge, they are manageable because they are smaller in number (compared to Angkor Wat). The inner gallery has scenes from Hindu mythology, of the members of Trimurti, apsaras, Ravana and Garuda. The upper terrace has the famous face towers with each tower supporting gigantic, serene, smiling faces clustering around the central peak.  As we climbed down from the upper terrace we visited a small, very dark Buddhist temple (complete with a priest) on the left side of the landing.  

Dark, Buddhist Temple

Other monuments in Angkor Thom are: the Terrace of elephants which is 350 meters in length and is decorated with carved elephants. It depicts in stone a famous battle in Khmer history. It was also the viewing platform from where Jayavarman VII is said to have watched his victorious armies return from battle. The terrace overlooks a vast field which was once the parade ground during Jayavarman VII’s reign. He used to watch parades, games and processions from there. The terrace of the Leper King, showcasing the Bayon style is in the northwest corner of the royal square of Angkor Thom and was  built under Jayavarman VII .The terrace derives its name from a statue found in the 15th century, representing Yama, the Hindu God of Death. The statue is called the Leper King because the discoloration and moss growing on it made it look as if it were suffering from leprosy. Some historians suggest that it might represent the Angkorian king, Yosovarman I who had leprosy.  Cambodians generally call the statue Dharmaraja because this was the name engraved on the original idol. The original idol is in the courtyard of the National Museum in Phnom Penh.  

Replica  Statue of  the Leper King

There is also Baphuon, a three-tired temple mountain built as Udayadityavarman II’s state temple and dedicated to Lord Shiva.  

The buildings are sturdy in spite of their age. They were mainly constructed with laterite and sandstone. There were still many structures like the Royal Palace, the Phimeanakas etc.which remained unseen. We climbed down through a large flight of steps into the open, crossed the road to reach to our mini bus. There was a crowd of Cambodian women selling shawls and other local products near the parking lot and you need considerable bargaining expertise to buy things from  them.  

Photographs : Bulbul Sur

Tags: Angkor Thom, Jayavarman VII, Leper King, Siem Reap River, Face Towers