This is the second temple that we visited in Siem Reap. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century by King Jayavarman VII, as the official state temple of Mahayana Buddhism. It was located in what was then the king’s capital city, Angkor Thom. It is famous for the many heads (216 in all) of Buddha that ornament the many towers of the temple.
What I had not known before, however, is that after Jayavarman’s death, the state religion was changed to Hinduism (and later to Theravada Buddhism) and with each change, the subsequent rulers made changes to the temple and its images.
Thus, during the Hindu period of workshop, a third eye was added to the face to change the image to that of Shiva, as you can see from the picture above (obviously the carvers were not as skillful as the original ones because the third eye just looks like a dent in they image’s forehead).
But irregardless of later changes, the faces radiate peace and serenity, and invite you to sit and meditate.
Elsewhere, there are bas relief carvings showing historical events (Apparently, the king was celebrating a great victory in these scenes!)
And there are some exquisite carvings of dancers and lesser deities
We learned that the temples were built of volcanic rock with sandstone blocks facing them. Once these were in place, the blocks were carved. So I suspect that any carver who made a mistake paid a heavy price – how do you remove and replace a block amongst this multitude of blocks?
What is amazing to me is also the condition of the carvings. Those of the battle are under a gallery, and thus protected from the rain. Many of the others, however, are exposed to the elements.
Visited 1/19/18. Post published from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) 1/29/18
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