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Preah Khan

Name: Preah Khan
Creator: Jayavarman VII
Date built: 1191 A. Jayavarman VII (1125 - 1215 was a king of the Khmer Empire (c D.
Primary deity: Avalokiteshvara
Architecture: Khmer
Location: Angkor, Cambodia

Preah Khan is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. Avalokiteśvara ( Nepali: अवलोकितेश्वर, lit The Khmer Empire was the largest empire of South East Asia based in what is now Cambodia. Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the 9th century to The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the 9th century to The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Jayavarman VII (1125 - 1215 was a king of the Khmer Empire (c It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. Angkor Thom ( Khmer: អង្គរធំ was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. Ta Prohm ( Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style

Contents

History

Preah Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams in 1191. The kingdom of Champa ( Chăm Pa in Vietnamese or Chiêm Thành in Hán Việt records was an Indianized kingdom and controlled what Unusually the modern name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the meaning of the original — Nagara Jayasri (holy city of victory). [1] The site may previously have been occupied by the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and Tribhuvanadityavarman. Yasovarman II was the ruler of the Khmer empire from 1160 to 1166. [2] The temple's foundation stela has provided considerable information about the history and administration of the site: the main image, of the boddhisatva Avalokitesvara in the form of the king's father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta Prohm). A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta Avalokiteśvara ( Nepali: अवलोकितेश्वर, lit 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets;[3] the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns. Perfume is a mixture of fragrant Essential oils and Aroma compounds Fixatives and Solvents used to give the human body animals objects and living A mosquito net offers Protection against Mosquitos flies, and other Insects and thus against diseases such as Malaria. A pearl is a hard roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled Mollusk. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Gilding is the art of applying a thin layer of gold simulated gold or other metal to a surface [4] The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers[5] and 1000 teachers. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects [6]

The temple is still largely unrestored: the initial clearing was from 1927 to 1932, and partial anastylosis was carried out in 1939. Anastylosis (from the Ancient Greek:; = "again" and = "to erect (a stela or building" is an Archaeological term referring to a Since then free-standing statues have been removed for safe-keeping, and there has been further consolidation and restoration work. Throughout, the conservators have attempted to balance restoration and maintenance of the wild condition in which the temple was discovered: one of them, Maurice Glaize, wrote that;

Preah Khan is northeast of Angkor Thom.
Preah Khan is northeast of Angkor Thom. Maurice Glaize was the conservator of Angkor from 1937 to 1945. Angkor Thom ( Khmer: អង្គរធំ was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire.

The temple was previously overrun with a particularly voracious vegetation and quite ruined, presenting only chaos. Clearing works were undertaken with a constant respect for the large trees which give the composition a pleasing presentation without constituting any immediate danger. At the same time, some partial anastylosis has revived various buildings found in a sufficient state of preservation and presenting some special interest in their architecture or decoration. [7]

Since 1991, the site has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The World Monuments Fund (WMF is a New York -based private Non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic Architecture and It has continued the cautious approach to restoration, believing that to go further would involve too much guesswork, and prefers to respect the ruined nature of the temple. One of its former employees has said, "We're basically running a glorified maintenance program. We're not prepared to falsify history". [8] It has therefore limited itself primarily to stabilisation work on the fourth eastern gopura, the House of Fire and the Hall of Dancers. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A [9]

The site

The fourth enclosure wall bears 5 m garudas holding nagas. Buddha images in the niches above were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction of Jayavarman VIII.
The fourth enclosure wall bears 5 m garudas holding nagas. GARUDA is India's Grid Computing initiative connecting 17 cities across the country Nāga ( नाग, IAST: nāgá, Indonesian: naga, Javanese: nogo, Khmer: neak) is Buddha images in the niches above were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction of Jayavarman VIII. Jayavarman VIII was one of the kings of the Khmer empire. His rule lasted from 1243 till 1295 when he abdicated

The outer wall of Preah Khan is of laterite, and bears 72 garudas holding nagas, at 50 m intervals. Laterite (from the Latin word "later" meaning brick or tile is a surface formation in hot and wet tropical areas which is enriched in Iron and Aluminium GARUDA is India's Grid Computing initiative connecting 17 cities across the country Surrounded by a moat, it measures 800 by 700 m and encloses an area of 56 hectares (138 acres). A moat is deep broad Trench, usually filled with Water, that surrounds a structure installation or town normally to provide it with a preliminary line of To the east of Preah Khan is a landing stage on the edge of the Jayatataka baray, now dry, which measured 3. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A 5 by 0. 9 km. This also allowed access to the temple of Neak Pean in the centre of the baray. Neak Pean (ប្រាសាទនាគព័ន្ធ ("The entwined serpents" at Angkor, Cambodia is an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on As usual Preah Khan is orientated toward the east, so this was the main entrance, but there are others at each of the cardinal points. Each entrance has a causeway over the moat with naga-carrying devas and asuras similar to those at Angkor Thom; Glaize considered this an indication that the city element of Preah Khan was more significant than those of Ta Prohm or Banteay Kdei. Nāga ( नाग, IAST: nāgá, Indonesian: naga, Javanese: nogo, Khmer: neak) is Deva (देव in Devanagari script pronounced as /'d̪evə/ is the Sanskrit word for "god Deity " In Hinduism In Hinduism, the Asura ( Sanskrit: असुर are a group of power-seeking deities sometimes referred to as Demons or sinful Angkor Thom ( Khmer: អង្គរធំ was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Ta Prohm ( Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style Banteay Kdei (បន្ទាយក្តី is a Temple at Angkor, Cambodia. [10]

Halfway along the path leading to the third enclosure, on the north side, is a House of Fire (or Dharmasala) similar to Ta Prohm's. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The remainder of the fourth enclosure, now forested, was originally occupied by the city; as this was built of perishable materials it has not survived. The third enclosure wall is 200 by 175 m. In front of the third gopura is a cruciform terrace. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The gopura itself is on a large scale, with three towers in the centre and two flanking pavilions. Between the southern two towers were two celebrated silk-cotton trees, of which Glaize wrote, "resting on the vault itself of the gallery, [they] frame its openings and brace the stones in substitute for pillars in a caprice of nature that is as fantastic as it is perilous. Bombax is a genus of primarily tropical trees in the mallow family. "[11] One of the trees is now dead, although the roots have been left in place. The trees may need to be removed to prevent their damaging the structure. [12] On the far side of the temple, the third western gopura has pediments of a chess game and the Battle of Lanka, and two guardian dvarapalas to the west. A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure ( Entablature) typically supported by Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A

The purpose of this two-storeyed building with round columns is unknown.
The purpose of this two-storeyed building with round columns is unknown.

West of the third eastern gopura, on the main axis is a Hall of Dancers. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The walls are decorated with apsaras; Buddha images in niches above them were destroyed in the anti-Buddhist reaction under Jayavarman VIII. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A Jayavarman VIII was one of the kings of the Khmer empire. His rule lasted from 1243 till 1295 when he abdicated North of the Hall of Dancers is a two-storeyed structure with round columns. No other examples of this form survive at Angkor, although there are traces of similar buildings at Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. Freeman and Jacques speculate that this may have been a granary. A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or Animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries Pottery is the most [13] Occupying the rest of the third enclosure are ponds (now dry) in each corner, and satellite temples to the north, south and west. While the main temple was Buddhist, these three are dedicated to Shiva, previous kings and queens, and Vishnu respectively. Shiva:(pronunciation; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, lit "Auspicious one" One of the Trimurtis Shiva is the supreme God in the Shaiva For other meanings see Vishnu (disambiguation. Vishnu ( IAST viṣṇu Devanagari विष्णु (honorific They are notable chiefly for their pediments: on the northern temple, Vishnu Reclining to the west and the Hindu trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma to the east; on the western temple, Krishna raising Mount Govardhana to the west. The Trimurti ( English: ‘three forms’ Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation [14]

Connecting the Hall of Dancers and the wall of the second enclosure is a courtyard containing two libraries. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The second eastern gopura projects into this courtyard; it is one of the few Angkorian gopuras with significant internal decoration, with garudas on the corners of the cornices. GARUDA is India's Grid Computing initiative connecting 17 cities across the country The term cornice comes from Italian cornice, meaning “ledge Buddha images on the columns were changed into hermits under Jayavarman VIII.

Between the second enclosure wall (85 by 76 m) and the first enclosure wall (62 by 55 m) on the eastern side is a row of later additions which impede access and hide some of the original decoration. The first enclosure is, as Glaize said, similarly, "choked with more or less ruined buildings". [15] The enclosure is divided into four parts by a cruciform gallery, each part almost filled by these later irregular additions. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century A The walls of this gallery, and the interior of the central sanctuary, are covered with holes for the fixing of bronze plates which would originally have covered them and the outside of the sanctuary — 1500 tonnes was used to decorate the whole temple. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus [16] At the centre of the temple, in place of the original statue of Lokesvara, is a stupa built several centuries after the temple's initial construction. A stupa (from Sanskrit and Pāli: m स्तूप stūpa, literally meaning "heap" is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist

Notes

  1. ^  Glaize, The Monuments of the Angkor Group p. 173 quoting Coedès. George Cœdès (1886-1969 was a 20th century scholar of Southeast Asian Archaeology and History.
  2. ^  Freeman and Jacques, Ancient Angkor p. 170.
  3. ^  Higham, The Civilization of Angkor p. 128.
  4. ^  Higham p. 129.
  5. ^  Glaize p. 175.
  6. ^  Freeman and Jacques p. 170.
  7. ^  Glaize p. 175.
  8. ^  John Sanday, quoted by Denis D. Gray in Nations' trials meant to prevent errors during restoration of Angkor
  9. ^  World Monuments Fund, World Monuments Fund at Angkor
  10. ^  Glaize p. 173.
  11. ^  Glaize p. 177.
  12. ^  Gunther, Preah Khan
  13. ^  Freeman and Jacques p. 174.
  14. ^  Glaize p. 179.
  15. ^  Glaize p. 178.
  16. ^ Freeman and Jacques p. 176.

References

External links



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