Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It's not known if they are away for restoration or have been removed permanently.
Before leaving, check out the unusual stained-glass windows : one shows Hanuman
(see below) astride a winged tiger.
1
The courtyard
Quiet and verdant, the pagoda courtyard is full of monuments. Just east of the Silver
Pagoda you'll see the monument of a horseman . Now bearing a head of Norodom, it
began life as an equestrian statue of Napoleon III, a typically megalomaniac gift from
the French emperor. To either side of the statue are heavily embellished twin chedi
- Norodom's to the north, Ang Duong's to the south (the latter also has a chedi at
Oudong). In the east corner of the compound, a small plain pavilion contains a huge
footprint of the Buddha (Buddhapada), a representation of the Buddha dating from the
time before images were permitted to be made. There are also ancient manuscripts
written on palm leaves, rare survivors of Cambodia's humid climate. Another stylized
Buddha's footprint, this one a gift from Sri Lanka, can be found nearby in the pavilion
atop the artificial hill, Phnom Mondap .
Southwest of Phnom Mondap lies the open-sided chedi of the daughter of King
Norodom Sihanouk, Kantha Bopha, who died as an infant in 1952 of leukaemia and
whose name has been given to children's hospitals in both Phnom Penh and Siem
Reap. Behind the Silver Pagoda is a scale model of Angkor Wat - incongruous amid
the religious and funerary relics. In the west corner of the compound is a bell tower ,
the pealing of whose bell used to signal the opening and closing of the gates to the
compound. By the north gate is the Mondap , once housing palm-leaf texts, though
now it houses a statue of Nandin, the bull ridden by Shiva.
THE RAMAYANA
The famous Hindu epic poem, the Ramayana , addresses the moral themes of good versus
evil, duty, suffering and karma through the story of Rama , the seventh avatar of Vishnu (see
p.302). A popular theme in Cambodian art and culture, its many episodes are depicted in
temple carvings, pagoda art, classical dance and shadow puppetry. A simplified Cambodian
version, the Reamker , also exists, more often portrayed in dance than in visual art.
At the outset of the story, ten-headed, twenty-armed Ravana , king of the rakasa demons, is
terrorizing the world. As only a human can kill him, Vishnu agrees to appear on earth in human
form to re-establish peace, and is duly born as Rama, one of the sons of Emperor Dasaratha. In
due course, a sage teaches Rama mystical skills which come in handy in defeating the demons
that crop up in the tale and in stringing Shiva's bow, by which feat Rama wins the hand of a
princess, Sita .
The emperor plans to name Rama as his heir, but the mother of one of Rama's half-brothers
tricks her husband into banishing Rama to the forest; he is accompanied there by Sita and
another of his half-brothers, the loyal Lakshmana . After Rama cuts off the ears and nose of a
witch who attacks Sita, Ravana gets his revenge by luring Rama away using a demon disguised
as a golden deer; Lakshmana is despatched to find Rama, whereupon Ravana abducts Sita and
takes her to his island kingdom of Lanka . While Rama enlists the help of Sugriva, the monkey
king, Sita's whereabouts are discovered by Hanuman , son of the wind god. Rama and the
monkey army rush to Lanka, where a mighty battle ensues; ultimately Rama looses the golden
arrow of Brahma at Ravana who, pierced in the heart, dies ignominiously.
Although the tale as told in Cambodia often ends here, there are two standard
denouements. In one, Sita steps into fire and emerges unscathed, proving she has not been
defiled by Ravana, after which the couple return home to a joyous welcome and Rama is
crowned king. In the alternative, sad, ending, Sita is exiled back to the forest, where she gives
birth to twins. When they are 12, the twins are taken to court and Rama is persuaded that he is
really their father. He begs forgiveness from Sita and she calls on Mother Earth to bear witness
to her good faith. In a moment she is swallowed up by the earth, leaving Rama to mourn on
earth for 11,000 years, until he is recalled by death to Brahma.
 
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