Angkor
Wat, renowned Hindu temple complex at Ângkôr, the
region that served from 802 until 1295 as the capital
of the Khmer Empire of Cambodia, now a destination
for Buddhist pilgrims. Built for King Suryavarman II
in the 12th century, Angkor Wat is the most famous
temple in Cambodia and is probably the largest
religious monument ever constructed.
the
complex
The
complex, built of both sandstone and laterite
(a dense, porous, iron-bearing soil that can be
quarried like stone), forms a rectangle of about 850
m by 1000 m (2800 by 3800 ft). It was constructed to
serve both as a sepulchre for Suryavarman II, whose
regime had adopted some aspects of Hinduism, and as a
celebration of his status as an incarnation of the
Hindu god Vishnu.
As a
sepulchre the temple was built facing west (the
direction taken by the dead in going to their next
life, in Hindu belief), rather than facing east,
which was traditional for Hindu temples. Taking more
than 30 years to build, the layout of the complex was
conceived as an architectural allegory of the Hindu cosmology
(world concept). At the center of the complex stands
a temple with five lotus-shaped towers, a larger
central tower, and four smaller surrounding
towers.
These
represent the five peaks of Mount Meru—according
to Hindu belief, the mountain where the gods reside
and from which all creation comes. The central tower
enclosure is surrounded by three square, terraced
enclosures that rise toward the central
towers. The series of terraces symbolizes the
mountain ranges that in Hindu cosmology surround the
habitable world. The entire complex is surrounded by
a moat over 5 km in length, representing the
primordial ocean, over which extends an elaborate
475-m causeway, leading to the main of four gateways
into the temple complex.
The
causeway was decorated on each side with carvings
depicting the divine serpents, known as nagas.
Angkor
Wat is famous for having the longest running
bas-relief in the world. Beautifully crafted, many of
the carvings were once painted and gilded. They
decorate the 2-m high, galleried walls having roofed
walkways that run along the inside of the protective
moat, just outside of the temple complex
itself.
The
reliefs depict historical episodes in the life of
King Suryavarman II; scenes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata; the exploits of the Hindu
gods Shiva and Vishnu with celestial nymphs known as
apsarases; and scenes from the daily life of the
Khmer people at the time the complex was built.
Some
of Angkor Wat's bas-reliefs suffered damage at the
height of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge movement in the
1960s and 1970s.
Angkor
Wat fell to the Cham army from northern Cambodia in
1177, after which the complex proper began to fall
into ruin. It was then reclaimed, though not
inhabited, by Khmer King Jayavarman VII when he
defeated the Chams soon after the beginning of his
reign in 1181.
Pillaged
by Thai invaders in the 15th century, they were
expanded by later rulers of Cambodia, some of whom
replaced existing aspects altogether. In the 1400s
the Ângkôr area was abandoned as a political
capital for reasons of security and, after the Thai
invasion of 1431, was not permanently inhabited as a
capital again.
Angkor
Wat was intermittently inhabited by Buddhist monks,
and about 1550 portions of its bas-reliefs were
finally completed. It subsequently became a
destination for Buddhist pilgrims from all over the
world.
Article and pictures courtesy of Galen
R Frysinger Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA
This page at
http://www.oocities.org/guruforum/ankhor1.htm
