Bakong

Bakong (881)

Bakong temple was built as an official state temple by King Indravarman I in 881 A.D., dedicated to Lord Shiva and King himself.

Bakong temple is located at Roluos, south of Preah Ko temple in the ancient city of Hariharalaya. The name of Bakong temple was given by the local residents in the mid period of Khmer history but the originally it name was Indresvara.

Bakong temple is built on an artificial mountain to represent Mount Meru situated at the centre of the universe and home of several gods. It is made out of sandstone, laterite and some brick. Enter and leave either the eastern or western but the main entrance is at the east.

The site of Bakong temple measures 900 metres by 700 metres. It is enclosed in a rectangular area by two walls which represent the mountains at the edge of universe. Between the enclosure walls is a moat which represents ocean around the universe.

The wide earthen causeways on east and west sides across the moat are bordered by seven headed Naga balustrades and which present rainbows and the connection between earth and heaven.

There is a modern Buddhist monastery, decorative with paintings of Buddha story on the Monastery walls, adjacent to the inner walls and are still actively used by Buddhist monks and Buddha devotees.

The second enclosure wall measures 160 metre by 120 metres, has an entry tower of sandstone and laterite in the centre of each side of the wall. There are two long halls on each side of the second causeway lie parallel to the eastern wall, they were probably rest houses for visitors at the time of construction, two square buildings may be for sacred fire, and long sandstone buildings on each side may have been storehouses or libraries.

The central area is 65 metres by 67 metres in form of pyramid, representing the cosmic Mount Meru. It has five tiers; each has a stairway on each of cardinal points, flanked by statues of guarding lions. Large statues of elephants, vehicle of Indra, god of rain are positioned as guardians at the corners of three lower levels of the temple. The fourth tier is identified by twelve small sandstone towers; each of them originally contained a Linga.

The single main shrine placed in 12^th century, original there was a sacred Shiva Linga called Indresvara on a pedestal in this statuary. As usual there are four doors of the shrine with one opening to the east and the other four are blind doors. Above each doors there is a lintel decorated with carvings depicting Hinduism mythological scenes.

Indravarman I - Founder of Indratdak Baray (877-889)

In 877, Indravarman I ascended the throne, and immediately began the construction of a series of large structures.

When Jayavarman II died, his son Jayavarman III succeeded him.

He lived in Hariharalaya until 877. In that year, Indravarman I succeeded to the throne. This monarch was the first king to implement a large construction program. During his reign, he dug Baray Lolei (Indratdak) to provide water to the capital and to irrigate the fields. The Cambodian people have a system of canals to supply agriculture, which makes the country prosperous and strong. He built the brick temple of Preah Ko to dedicate to the ancestors and the temple of Bakong, a mountain temple made out of floors of sandstone to hold Shiva Linga.

This is the first time that a lot of stone has been used in the construction of the temple. He was the creator of one style of Khmer art, the Preah Ko style.