Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR: STRUCTURE AND SYMBOLISM
First encounters with the temples of Angkor can be confusing, or worse. Myriad
monuments survive, in varying states of ruin or otherwise, each with its own perplexing
labyrinth of towers, enclosures, shrines, galleries, causeways and moats. Diverse and
disorienting as they may initially appear, however - an effect exaggerated by the ravages of
time - virtually all have numerous features in common, as well as a shared underlying
structure and symbolism.
MODELS OF THE UNIVERSE
Most ancient Khmer temples follow a similar pattern, serving as a miniature symbolic
representation of the
mythological Hindu cosmos
. At the heart of each temple, the central
sanctuary tower or towers (most commonly five of them, arranged in the characteristic
“quincunx” pattern, like the five dots on a dice) represents the mythical
Mount Meru
,
considered the home of the gods and the heart of the physical and spiritual universe in both
Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. These towers are typically enclosed by a sequence of
concentric
enclosures
, stacked within each other like a sequence of Russian dolls,
symbolizing the further mountain ranges around Mount Meru, with the whole contained
within a
moat
, representing the enclosing earthly ocean.
Causeways
cross these moats,
often flanked by “
naga balustrades
” showing gods and demons tugging on the body of an
enormous serpent, alluding to the famous legend of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk (see
p.169) and perhaps providing a symbolic crossing point between the secular spaces outside
the temple and the abode of the gods within.
In all but one instance, temples were designed to be approached from the
east
to catch the
rays of the rising sun, symbolizing life. Angkor Wat, however, faces
west
, the direction of the
setting sun - and death.
STATE TEMPLES AND THE CULT OF THE DEVARAJA
The majority of Angkor's most memorable and famous monuments - including Angkor Wat,
the Bayon, Baphuon, Ta Keo, Pre Rup and Bakheng - are so-called
state temples
- great
pyramidal temple-mountains rising steeply through a series of sheer-sided storeys (equivalent
to the enclosures of non-royal Khmer temples) towards a tower-topped summit. Each storey
corresponds to one of the universes of Hindu cosmology, leading up to the topmost towers
representing Mount Meru, the abode of the gods. All state temples were constructed by a
particular king for his own use. Temples built by one king were seldom used by the next, who
would build in a new location - which accounts for the constantly shifting capitals of the
Angkorian period. State temples were not considered as a place of public worship but as the
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Magnificent to begin with, the ravages of time and nature have added immeasurably
to the temples' appeal, with individual monuments now stranded romantically amid
great swathes of forest, often in various states of picturesque semi-ruin - a far cry from
the great days of the Angkorian empire, when each temple would have formed the
centrepiece of a string of once bustling (but now entirely vanished) villages, towns and
miniature cities spread across the densely inhabited countryside. Some, like Angkor
Wat and the Baphuon, have been meticulously restored; others, like Ta Prohm and
Beng Mealea, remain half-choked by the encroaching jungle, their buildings smothered
in a photogenic tangle of creepers and strangler figs.
The most famous of the temples is the legendary
Angkor Wat
, with its five magnificent
corncob towers and vast complex of bas-relief galleries. Also on everyone's itinerary is the
walled city of
Angkor Thom
, where you'll find the magical
Bayon
state temple, topped
with dozens of towers carved with enigmatic faces of the bodhisattva Lokesvara, one of
ancient Cambodia's most iconic images. Nearby, the similarly iconic
Ta Prohm
also
attracts crowds of visitors, its crumbling ruins engulfed by the surrounding jungle, with
shrines and statues held in the vice-like grip of giant tree roots.
All the temples close to Siem Reap are contained within the so-called
Angkor
Archaeological Park
and covered by a single entrance ticket (see p.190), as are a number
