Banteay Samre

Banteay Samre

Banteay Samre temple was built during the reign of Suryavarman II in the 12th century; it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.

Banteay Samre temple is located 400 metres to the east of the East Baray and it is about 2.5 kilometres to the east of Preak Dak village.

Banteay Samre temple means the Citadel of the Samre. Samre is referred to an ancient ethic Indochinese tribe. No inscription has been found for this temple hence it is difficult to interpret the site. However, historians are generally agreed that it may have been built by a high official of the royal court around the same time as Angkor wat temple, in the 12^th century, during the reign of King Suriyavarman II (1113-1150).

Banteay Samre temple is approached by a long, raised causeway with its length 200 metres found to the east where there is a cruciform-shaped royal terrace. There are guarded lions at each stairway with Naga balustrades on the terrace.

The outer enclosure wall is 6 metres high and inner enclosure has gupura at each of cardinal points.

Inside the central area is flanked by two libraries and enclosed by a surrounding gallery. It has a single tower, inside the central shrine was probably a large statue of Vishnu placed here.

There is a small sandstone tank which has been suggested as a coffin of an important person. The rectangular tank has a cover with a small hole in the middle. On the lower part of the tank is a small water spout. It is possible that when a king died his remains were put in a coffin. The liquid came from the decaying body and emerged through the water spout of the tank; the hole on top of its cover was for the venting of the smell of the rotting corpse. A white string connecting the dead person and living members of family may also have used the hole.

There are many carving of Hinduism methodologies;

1.      Preah Krishna hold up a mountain for the protection of cowherds

2.      Lord Vishnu reclining on Ananta, a great serpent

3.      Agni, lord of fire, is sitting on his rhino

4.      The duel of the twin monkeys Sugriva and Valin.

5.      the king monkey Bali battles with buffalo

6.      Krishna battles with a demon horse name Keshi

7.      Goddess Durga is riding her lion and battle with demon buffalo name Mahishasura.

8.      King of demon Ravan, who has ten heads and twenty arms, abducted Sita, the wife of Rama.

9.      Sita’s abduction by the Rakshasa Viradha.

Suryavarman II - The builder of Angkor Wat (1113-1150)

After defeating rivals from the capital of Angkor, Suryavarman II was crowned King of the Earth in 1113.

The reign of Suryavarman II is particularly marked by the construction of Angkor Wat, a world-famous temple. During the war, his mighty army fought many times against the Viet Cong and the Cham in the east. In the west, Khmer troops repulsed Burmese troops. At the same time, in order to establish ties with China, he sent envoys several times to the Chinese emperor. At the time of his death, the Khmer Kingdom extended from China to the sea and from the Kingdom of Burma to the Kingdom of Champa. But in the palace, the Brahmins were not very happy. For some time they observed that Buddhism was so widespread that it endangered Brahmanism. At the same time, to strengthen his power, he allocated more funds to support Shiva and Vishnu Council. In the field of construction, he continued to build Phnom Chisor, Wat Phu, Preah Vihear. The new building has the temple of Preah Pithu, Chao Say Tevta, Banteay Samre ... but his main work is the temple of Angkor Wat, a sacred work that is priceless, the pride of the Khmer nation and a world heritage.