Banteay Kdei

Banteay Kdei

Banteay Kdei temple is a Buddhist temple, built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries AD during the reign of Jayavarman VII.

Banteay Kdei temple is located opposite of Srah Srang, which is an ancient and historic man-made reservoir (also known as the “royal bathing pool”).

Banteay Kdei means "A Citadel of Chambers”. It had been occupied by monks at various intervals over the centuries until the 1960s. It is in the Bayon architectural style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm temple and Preah Khan temple, but less complex and smaller. Its structures are contained three successive enclosure walls and display many towers. The access can be either the east or west gates but the main entrance is being east. The outer enclosure 700 metres by 500 meters and it made of laterite and each Gopura is crowed with four giant faces which may represent the face of Buddhisatva Avolokesvara. At the corner of each Gopura is a sculpture of Garuda with large open wings and a serpent’s head.

The decoration on top of the wall is composed of piece of sandstone which was carved with images of Buddha sitting meditating within frames however; those images were destroyed by Hindu iconoclasts.

Two hundred meters along with library building on the each side, from the east entrance of this enclosure leads to a moat, which is decorated with statues of lions and Naga-balustrades mounted on Garudas. The Buddha image at the entrance to the moat, near the second interior gate, is well preserved, considering the fact that most of the other statues have been destroyed or stolen.

A paved access from here leads to the main shrine which comprises a free standing square pillared building of uncertain function. The concept, it should be a library. At the end of this paved way is the “Hall of Dancers”, which has four open courtyards and the pillars, have fine carvings of Apsaras.

Visitor should walk around the complex of the inner building to see the general condition of this temple. There are also some piece of statues and statue pedestal in the shrines of this temple.

After the death of King Jayavarman VII, Buddha statues and images, being defaced and destroyed during the reign of King Jayavarman VIII.

Banteay Kdei temple was overgrown by dense forest and vegetation after it was abandoned for many centuries and it was cleared under the guidance of Henri Marchal from1920-1922. Since March 2002, Sophia University Mission from Japan has carried out further archaeological research at Banteay Kdei and 274 Buddhist statues made in sandstone was found by excavation at north building of library near the royal terrace.

Jayavarman VII - Supreme King (1181 - c. 1218)            

Jayavarman VII defeated the Chams out of Angkor and built a prosperous nation in all areas, elevating Khmer civilization to the highest level. The battle for territory took four years. King Jayavarman led a fierce battle against the invading Cham army and won a series of victories. He finally received complete victory over the Chams in naval battles on the Tonle Sap Lake. Cambodia was liberated. He was crowned King of Angkor at the age of 46, named Jayavarman VII, after which the Kingdom of Cambodia became prosperous. This king has a wife named Jayarajadevi. Husband and wife love each other very much and are very generous in Buddhism. After Jayarajadevi died, the king married Indradevi, who was the brother of Jayarajadevi. Princess Indradevi is a woman, scholar, highly cultured and deeply philosophical. She was a professor at a Buddhist pagoda and built an inscription at Phimean Akas about the biography of Jayavarman VII. Jayavarman VII had many good and loyal officials, including the Cham king Vityanon waiting to serve. With all their loyalty, he was able to restore and rebuild the nation.

 

For the Chams who invaded, destroyed and occupied Angkor in 1177, Jayavarman VII decided to take revenge. For many years He lived quietly and patiently. Now it's time to attack. First, he neutralized Dai Viet. He then sent an army under the command of the Cham king named Vityanon to attack the kingdom of Champa. Khmer troops captured Vichey, the capital of Nokor Champa. He raised Prince En to reign in Vichey. Later, the Chams in Vichey rebelled against the Vityanon, conquered, conspired, and declared themselves kings of the entire kingdom of Champa. Unable to bring Vityanon under his command, Jayavarman VII sent troops to defeat Vityanon. Nokor Champa then became a Khmer province for about 17 years. In 1207, Jayavarman VII ordered another Cham king, Apsaraj, to raise an army to attack Dai Viet. During his reign, the Khmer Empire had a very large scope. In all wars, Jayavarman VII was both strict and tolerant of the losers. To everyone, he loves and compassionate, according to the main virtue of Buddhism, compassion.

Jayavarman VII was a staunch adherent of Mahayana Buddhism. He always had compassion according to the teachings of the Buddha. This is the virtue that the king must have to fulfill his royal duties. He always thinks of people in need. He also commissioned the construction of several hospitals throughout the country. An inscription states that there are 102 hospitals. These hospitals have enough medicine and many traditional medicine doctors to treat patients at all levels. Jayavarman VII ordered the construction of many roads across the country, especially from Angkor to Phimai (Phimai today in Thai territory) and from Angkor to Champa. In addition, there are large bridges as well as many inns for travelers and monuments. There are 121 lodges across the country, located on the main road, about 12 to 15 km apart, equal to the distance that pedestrians can walk in 4 or 5 hours. At those lodges, travelers can cook, eat and rest at night. Jayavarman VII was very kind and respectful to his parents. To dedicate to the souls of the two meritorious, he built many temples and monasteries: Ta Prohm, dedicated to his mother, and Preah Khan, dedicated to his father. Compassion, another virtue of Buddhism, enabled him to retain important functions for the Brahmins. The Brahmins continued to live in the palace, still being respected and still having the necessary elite status in organizing Brahmanical ceremonies. Some Brahmins traveled from far away to come and serve him. He was kind, loved the people, and was moved by the suffering and pain of the people. An inscription on his hospital reads: "The sickness of the people afflicted him more than his own."

Jayavarman VII was the most accomplished king. The capital of Angkor was reorganized after the Chams invaded and destroyed it. He built a quadrangular wall around Angkor Thom, 3 km long and 8 m high on each side. Angkor Thom has four gates facing the four directions and a fifth gate called the Victory Gate, which exits to the east corner. Like other Cambodian capitals, this city is surrounded by moats. The Bridge, which crosses the entrance to the temple, has statues of gods and demons dragging dragons on the sides. Phnom Bakheng of Yasovarman is no longer the center of the capital: in the middle of this new compound he built the Bayon temple dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism. Bayon has a total of 54 towers at all levels; each tower has 4 smiling faces. In the galleries, there are sculptures depicting men and women of that time, working in daily life, serving the king or waging war, etc. Bayon temple is the core in the center of the city. Not far from here is Baphuon Temple, there is an old palace decorated with terraces of elephants and terraces of Leper king, and nearby there are 12 towers of Sou Prat temple. Around the city, Jayavarman VII left many artifacts for future generations, such as Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Banteay Kdei with Srah Srang in front, Neak Pean temple in the middle of the reservoir, Ta Som, Krol Ko. The King not only adorned the capital, he built many other structures throughout the country: Wat Nokor (Kampong Cham), Ta Prohm (Tonle Bati), Banteay Chhmar (Banteay Meanchey) and many other temples that are now in Thailand. The construction of the Banteay Chhmar temple, which has beautiful sculptures, may require about 44,000 workers to work for eight years and about 1,000 sculptors to work for 20 years (according to Mr. Chuck Kroly).

He built many temples in addition to the great works of previous monarchs to give the whole of humanity one of the most glorious civilizations known to the world.