Preah Khan

Preah Khan (1191)

Preah Khan temple was built by the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavaraman VII in 1191 to honor his father.

Preah Khan temple located to the northeast of Angkor Thom and west of Jayatataka Baray. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary.

Preah Khan means Royal Sword and had the original name of Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). It was built on the site of Jayavarman VII’s victory over the invading Chams, in 1191.

The outer wall of Preah Khan temple made of laterite and constitutes 72 Garudas holding serpents. Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 metres by 700 metres enclosing an area of 56 hectares.

The main gate is being east, the other gates at each of other cardinal points. Each entrance has decorative pillar posts along the first pathway. Each post has image of lion on the bottom and on the upper part is the image of Buddha but it was removed by the Hindu iconoclasts in 13^th century.

Both sides of causeway over the moat, you will see the serpents carried by gods and demons. These figures represent a myth of the co-operation of gods and demons churning the ocean of milk and which produced Amrita, the immortality water.

The main entrance being east, on the way from the east gate the inner terrace there is a building of Agni Sala, the holy place of sacred fire.

On the eastern inner side of the second enclosure wall you will see the dancing hall with decoration of Apsara figures dancing on the walls above each door. In the niches above the doors were images of Buddha but most of them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under the reign Jayavarman VIII in mid-13^th century. This hall may have been a sacred place used to perform dances whilst hosting a god or a king.

North of Apsara dancing hall, there is a building with round columns. The purpose of this building is unknown but it may have been used as the storage of sacred texts or a sacred sword of the king. The opposite building is remained laterite foundations which may have supported a wooden structure.

In the central tower of sanctuary, there is a stupa formed like an unturned bell. It was placed here since Khmer king defeated Siamese armies and converted the Mahayana Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism as a new state religion. This spot may have placed the statue of Buddhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who honoured to king’s father.

The east door remains the main entry, the other doors will be founded to be narrower, smaller and set lower down in size. The purpose may signify the eastern doorway were used for king while the other doors had to be used by pilgrims and people, showing respect to the god, the king and the king’s father spirit in this sanctuary.

Outside of the west central shrine, there are two buildings on the each side of passage. North building may have been dedicated to Hindu god as some hermits are found in the decorations along the wall and south building may have had a Buddhist function but the Buddha images on the wall were defaced during the religious reaction period in 13^th century.

West of the central shrine, you will also see a Shiva Linga has the shapes of cylindrical on top represents Lord Shiva, octagonal at the middle represents Lord Vishnu and square on the bottom represents Lord Brahma. Besides, there are many other carvings, depicting about Hindu mythologies.

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.