Phnom Bok

Phnom Bok (889-910)

Phnom Bok temple was built by king Yasovarman I (reigned 889-910) and it is dedicated to the Trimurti of the Hinduism: the Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Phnom Bok is the third natural hill site. Its elevation is 221 metres. The hill is about 25 kilometres northeast of Siem Reap. It is approached from the road to Banteay Srei. An eastbound road leads to Banteay Samre temple for another 6 kilometres from whence the hill is approached through 635 wide steps leading to the top where the Phnom Bok temple is situated. From the top of this mountain, though the temple is seen mostly in ruins, the panoramic vistas seen all round are of the Tonle Sap Lake, the Phnom Kulen to the north and vast plains of rice fields to the south.

Yasovarman I, son of Indravarman I (his capital was at Hariharalaya), shifted the capital to Yashodarapura (the first Angkor capital meaning "The City That Bears Glory"). The temples that he built, apart from Phnom Bok in 910 AD consisted of the Lolei (893 AD), Pra Vihear (893 AD), Phnom Bakheng, the Royal temple (900 AD) and Phnom Krom (910 AD). However, Yashovarman did not choose Phnom Bok as the capital city, near the city of Hariharalaya, as he considered it unsuitable due to its "awkward and too high" a location to mark as the centre of the city. He did not choose Phnom Krom hill either, as he considered it too close to the Tonle Sap Lake.

Eventually, Phnom Bakheng of the triumvirate of hills was chosen as the capital city due its low height and large expanse of land available to establish a capital city. His objective was also to build a temple for housing a linga, which surpassed his father's Indresvara and named it as Yashodaresvara. He also named his capital as Yashodarapura, which became the first capital city of Angkor. He, however, installed the Trimurtis in the temples on the other two hills of Phnom Bok and Phnom Krom. Statues of the Hindu Trimurti were found at both Phnom Bok and Phnom Krom.

Phnom Bok temple, rectangular in shape, is similar in design to the Phnom Krom temple. However, while the Phnom Krom central tower is higher than the other two flanking towers, the Phnom Bok temple has three identical sanctum towers in a row on a single terrace.

It was built in Bakheng style and designed with individual sanctums, which have door openings to the east and west. These are raised on a foundation with a plinth made of laterite stone.

Angkor monuments built in Angkor period architecture in Bakheng style were made of sandstone and laterite but brickwork was also adopted. Laterite has been used for the walls, platforms and pavements. Greyish yellow sandstone was the main stonework used in the temples.

There is over growth of two large frangipani (Plumeria) trees over the ruined temple towers.

 

Yasovarman I - The first founder of Angkor (889-900)

Yasovarman I was the son of Indravarman I. After succeeding his father, he relocated the capital from Hariharalaya to establish a new city, Angkor, which he named Yasodharapura. On the top of a small mountain called Phnom Bakheng, he commissioned the construction of Phnom Bakheng temple to celebrate the Devaraja ceremony. Below is a city that stretches across the foothills and is surrounded by water. He diverted this water from the Siem Reap River. A road was built connecting Yasodharapura to Hariharalaya, the former capital. For the benefit of agriculture, he built a large Baray with a length of 7 km and a width of 1.8 km: that is the eastern Baray (original name is Yasothratdak). He greatly improved the field of religion and intellectual life. Many monasteries were built for the followers of Shiva, Vishnu and Buddhism. When he died in 900 AD, his two sons succeeded to the throne until 928. In 921, his uncle, Jayavarman IV, intervened and established a new capital on Koh Ker, approximately 70 km northeast of Angkor Zone. At Koh Ker, the king built a huge mountain temple (with seven floors and a height of 35 m) to store Shiva Linga, as well as many other temples and a Baray called the Rahal Baray to keep the water for benefits.