Magnificent, sprawling temple
Angkor Wat is a testament to the architectural powers of the ancient
Khmer. The priest (Brahmin) architects who built Angkor
wat were very learned, and had used several classical languages, including
Sanskrit, and astronomical calculations, to work out auspicious and
inauspicious days for building.
These architects made mathematical calculations so precise that corridors
two meters (6 feet) wide and 200 meters (660 feet) long were no more than a
centimeters out end to end.
Such a feat was difficult for modern architects prior to the use of
laser-sights, and the techniques of the ancient builders has not yet been
fathomed. This was a structure, conceived on a grand scale. The innermost
gallery bore wall reliefs dedicated to the great God Vishnu. At the center of
the complex was a vast tower, encircled by the Lord Vishnu gallery.
Over the centuries, numerous different groups - including Thai and
Vietnamese invaders, French colonizers and Khmer Rouge guerrillas - have
trampled over Cambodia's Ancient Sacred sites, each contributing to the damage.
***
The building of Angkor wat is astonishingly accomplished, not only in its
design and execution, but also in its artistry. Teams of sculptors worked on
the temple’s bas-reliefs, with master sculptors creating complex patterns and
features, and lesser artists concentrating on smaller details such as flowers
or clothing. These sculptures included gods, goddesses, apsaras, animals, kings
and their followers, cover the temple structures.
After the death of King
Jayavarman VII AD 1219, the Khmer Empire fell into a rapid decline. The Thai
Empire was gaining dominance at this time. The Thais had moved their capital to
Ayudhya, close to Angkor, and soon began
waging war with the Khmer. Control of Angkor oscillated between the struggling
Khmer and the ascendant Thais until about 1431 AD, when the Thais finally took Angkor, robbing and attacking the settlement. The Khmer
Empire would never recover. Bu the mid 15th century AD. Cambodia had fallen into decline, and it had
become little more than a satellite state of Thailand.
Henri Mouhot was staggered by his discovery. There was a city so vast and
so sophisticated that it must have been built by people with an advanced
knowledge of engineering, science, mathematics and art.
(source: Lost Civilizations – By Austen Atkinson.
165 - 171).
When Buddhism became
the paramount religion of Cambodia
is uncertain. It had long been flourishing and occasionally enjoyed royal
patronage, but it was never the state
religion and never held a dominant position. It seems likely that Siam, which was first influenced by Cambodia, later aided Cambodia’s conversion to Buddhism.
The change was almost complete; today Hinduism is practically extinct in Cambodia,
except in a vestigial form in certain ceremonies and festivities. Hindu deities
have been absorbed by Buddhism and relegated to subordinate positions, and even
the Hindu gods in the great temples, such as Angkor Wat, have long been
replaced by the images of the Buddha.
The Thais attacked Angkor Wat several times in the 1300s and 1400s and
sacked the seat of the Khmer regime in 1431. Over the centuries, numerous different groups - including Thai and
Vietnamese invaders, French colonizers and Khmer Rouge guerrillas - have
trampled over Cambodia's
ancient sites, each contributing to the damage.
Today’s visitor to Angkor wat may find
the temple quite bare. The rooms once filled with hundreds of sacred statues of
the gods, richly appareled and adorned with jewels, are now empty. The doors of
the shrine have vanished. The sacred objects that filled the galleries have
been pillaged over the centuries or removed to the Phnom Penh Museum
and the Siem Reap Conservation depot.
The sacred statue of Lord Vishnu was toppled from its original position
of supremacy in the central shrine and probably lost.
All the wooden
accessory buildings packed in the courtyards at the time of Suryavarman II and
the bustling city filling the great space between the 4th and 3rd
enclosures, have disappeared. Apart from this, it is conceivable that most of
the reliefs would have been painted. Today, therefore, one can only guess at
how the great temple looked when it was in use, with all the ceremonial
paraphernalia, the flags and lamp standards, the brilliant offerings and a
multitude of priests and attendants in fine courtly robes.
Nevertheless the sacredness of Angkor
wat can be unraveled through the reading of its architectural symbolism and the
meaning of the narrative reliefs. The sacred complex at Angkor wat – set
amongst forests, surrounded by moats and canals, with a colossal entrance
gateway four sequences of enclosures with their own gopuras, several cloisters
and staircases, rooms with hundreds of pillars, and the shrine hardly reachable
at the top of a huge stepped mound – could unquestionably recall the dwelling
of Hari (Vishnu) in his continent, the Harivarsa.
(source: India and World Civilization – D P Singhal
part II p. 124 - 131 and 255 and Southeast Asia- Past and present – By D R
Sardesai p. 15 - 20).
Today’s visitor to Angkor wat may find
the temple quite bare. The rooms once filled with hundreds of sacred statues of
the gods, richly appareled and adorned with jewels, are now empty. The doors of
the shrine have vanished. The sacred objects that filled the galleries have
been pillaged over the centuries or removed to the Phnom Penh Museum
and the Siem Reap Conservation depot.
The sacred statue of Lord Vishnu was toppled from its original position
of supremacy in the central shrine and probably lost.
All the wooden
accessory buildings packed in the courtyards at the time of Suryavarman II and
the bustling city filling the great space between the 4th and 3rd
enclosures, have disappeared. Apart from this, it is conceivable that most of
the reliefs would have been painted. Today, therefore, one can only guess at
how the great temple looked when it was in use, with all the ceremonial
paraphernalia, the flags and lamp standards, the brilliant offerings and a
multitude of priests and attendants in fine courtly robes.
Nevertheless the
sacredness of Angkor wat can be unraveled
through the reading of its architectural symbolism and the meaning of the
narrative reliefs. The sacred complex at Angkor wat – set amongst forests,
surrounded by moats and canals, with a colossal entrance gateway four sequences
of enclosures with their own gopuras, several cloisters and staircases, rooms
with hundreds of pillars, and the shrine hardly reachable at the top of a huge
stepped mound – could unquestionably recall the dwelling of Hari (Vishnu) in
his continent, the Harivarsa.
(source: Sacred Angkor: The Carved Reliefs of Angkor
Wat - By Vittorio Roveda p. 255).
Replacing Lord Vishnu with Lord Buddha
If there is one disappointment with Angkor Wat, that is seen as you come
to the top level. The top level has five towers, four at corners and one in the
middle, which is considered the sanctum sanctorum. No doubt that the middle
tower had the most beautiful statute of Lord Vishnu at the time the temple was
built. However, with the Khmer rulers adapting to Buddhism, Angkor Wat was
taken over by the Buddhist priests, and they replaced Lord Vishnu with Lord
Buddha.
All over Angkor and in the museums, with
great regret and discontent a Tourist can see disfigured and defaced statues
and broken Shiva Lingas in all monuments as well.
Today, there are three gigantic Lord Buddha statues inside the sanctum
sanctorum. The whole beauty of the Sanctum sanctorum disappears with the Buddha
statues inside.
Lord Buddha looks out of place there. This was not built as a Buddhist
temple.
Follow up history
The first Europeans to “discover” Angkor wat was the French botanist,
Henri Mouhot, who wrote in his journal of finding a monument equal “to the
temple of Solomon and erected by some ancient Michelangelo. But for the
Europeans anybody but Cambodians, could have built Angkor
wat, whom they considered primitive, congenitally lazy, and decidedly inferior.
Over the centuries, numerous different groups - including Thai and Vietnamese
invaders, French colonisers and Khmer Rouge guerrillas - have trampled over Cambodia's
ancient sites, each contributing to the damage. The Thai king plundered the
wealth of Cambodia.
He was not merely removing statues to his own capital, he was taking away the
power of the Kings of Angkor as contained in these divine images. A hundred
years later the Burmese were shrewd enough to do the same: When they conquered Thailand they sacked Ayuthya, the capital, and
in their turn removed a number of the Angkor
statues. Finally in 1734 these statues arrived in Mandalay, where they have remained ever
since.
Most of the plundering
came from the Siamese (Thailand)
in the 15th century who carried away most of the cultural treasures. However,
the most notorious planned expedition looting in the early 20th century
involved Andre Malraux – who would later become France's cultural affairs minister
of De Gaulle cabinet. He and his accomplices removed large sections of the
temple and shipped them out of the country. He was later arrested and tried.
France
has had colonial possessions, in various forms, since the beginning of the 17th
century until the 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, its global colonial empire was the second largest
in the world behind the British Empire.
The French never modernized much economically in Indochina. All they did was collect
taxes efficiently, but nothing much changed in the Cambodian village economy.
Discrimination against non-Vietnamese by the French continued, especially when
it was revealed that Cambodians paid the highest taxes per capita in Indochina. In 1916, a tax revolt bought tens of thousands
of peasants to Phnom Penh
to petition King Sisowath Monivong for a reduction in taxes. The French, who
had thought the Cambodians were too quiet and indolent to organize a protest,
were shocked.
After the 15th century, contacts between India
and Cambodia decreased
significantly, under the onslaught of European powers seeking colonies in
South- East Asia, and thereafter in South Asia.
During the Vietnam war, American jets bombed Angkor Wat. Cambodians swear that there were
no insurgents at Angkor Wat. Yet, the
Americans pilots knowing that this was not only a national but world monument
bombed it. Fortunately, only minor damage was done. In February 1969,
General Creighton Abrams, the commander of U.S.
forces in Vietnam, requested
permission to attack Vietnamese troops inside Cambodia. President Richard Nixon
quickly agreed, and on March 18, 1969, American B-52s launched the first of
many secret bombing raids over Cambodia.
The carpet bombing that had started covertly in 1970 to stop America's enemies from Vietnam using Cambodia
as a base outraged the American public and crippled Cambodia as a nation.
Pol Pot and his fellow ideologues believed that the "science"
of Marxism-Leninism had provided them with the tools to eliminate capitalist
and imperialist oppression. The "all-knowing" Party would catapult Cambodia toward
communist utopia. Like that of other genocidal ideologues, the Khmer Rouge path
to this future was strewn with the bodies of those who did not fit this
vision.
In the 1980's the Pol Pot regime vandalized Angkor complex systemically. Beautiful stone carvings had been ripped apart from the temple walls and sold for a song in the antique market of near by countries.
In the 1980's the Pol Pot regime vandalized Angkor complex systemically. Beautiful stone carvings had been ripped apart from the temple walls and sold for a song in the antique market of near by countries.
Angkorwat was originally named Vrah Vishnulok - the sacred abode of Lord
Vishnu.
Wat
is Thai name for temple, which must have been added on to Angkor
when it became a Threvada Buddhist monument, probably in the 16th century. Anything moveable at Angkor
has disappeared. Even the heads of the larger stone statues have been hacked
off by treasure hunters.
(source: on line sources). For more on Thailand, refer
to chapter on Glimpses XVI
Indian response to the Cambodian International Appeal
After the Vietnamese
supported government took control in 1979, the few Khmer conservation officials
who had survived the holocaust, were assigned to take stock of the state of
affairs at Angkor. The then Cambodian
Government launched an international appeal for help in the restoration of
Angkor monuments. This came to the notice of the then Indian Prime Minister,
the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in
April 1980.
Mrs. Indira Gandhi had her first love with the Angkor monuments in 1954,
accompanying her father and India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
He was the first Head
of Government to visit Cambodia to felicitate King Norodom Sihanouk after the declaration of Independence from
France on 9 November 1953. She naturally understood the urgency behind the
appeal and responded positively. The Cambodian side, through Vietnam, conveyed
their appreciation for India’s prompt response.
The Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) was then tasked to make a preliminary report
of the works involved. Mrs. Gandhi, nevertheless, was not discouraged by the
thought of huge costs, and cleared way for a full scale Survey Mission.
Meanwhile, a package of immediate assistance to help the remaining handful of
Cambodian archaeologists carry out damage control activity on their own.
There was intense
international activity in the intervening period for securing the restoration
of Angkor Wat which perhaps was another contributing factor for delay in
accepting the ASI’s report. But the two most important factor that weighed
heavily in the Cambodian Government’s decision to finally invite India in the
face of many international competing forces with better financial standing
were:
1.
the better placement of the Indians to understand and respect the
cultural heritage of Angkor…
2.
the competence of ASI in handling the work since they had undertaken
similar restoration work in India for many decades.
The reality was that the ASI moved in to save Angkor Wat at a time when
no one else was prepared to do so due to political compulsions of the East-West
Cold War. The civil war was raging in the
surrounding regions of Angkor and the security situation in Siem Reap was
precarious. The unskilled labor had to be trained for this specialized work.
There was no electricity, no health facilities, no communication with outside
world. In short, the working conditions were extreme. But, for seven to eight
months at a stretch for seven consecutive years from December 1986, the ASI
experts spend all their energies in saving Angkor Wat, shoulder to shoulder
with their Khmer brethren.
One advantage the
Indian archaeologists have enjoyed in their restoration work of Angkor Wat is
their familiarity with the architectural, cultural, and religious philosophy of
the Angkor monuments. In India itself, stone monuments abound and decades of
work in archaeological excavation, restoration and preservation have given them
expertise and experience in handling the Angkor monuments with reverence and
care.
The ASI was doing a yeoman’s service in archaeological restoration and
conservation of Angkor wat under extremely adverse conditions. India’s only
shortcoming perhaps was in not publicizing its work. In fact, the publicity
could have been exploited free of cost had the ASI shown some imagination, such
as writing books about their work and the monuments at large, or producing
documentary film.
Samudra Manthan: Churning of the Milky Ocean Gallery
The most important
gallery, also known by its Sanskrit name Samudra Manthan had suffered some
extra damage, prompting Groslier's team to dismantle it. Even after four years
the reassembly could not proceed beyond the plinth level. With the fall of
Phnom Penh to the nationalist forces, Groslier had to leave the Angkor Camp in
January 1975 with tears in his eyes. It was followed by four years of horror
and genocide by the Khmer Rouge.
The proudest of achievements of the ASI has been restoration of the
Samudra Manthan Gallery which, had been dismantled by the French. To make
matters worse, even the records of the French work were not available in Phnom
Penh and the EFEO was in no mood to part with it.
Any visitor to Angkor
wat now would have no clue as to what the condition of this gallery was before
the work of the Indian experts began. It lay along with its priceless bas
relief totally exposed to the vagaries of nature till the ASI’s arrival. It
took the ASI engineers and other staff three years, 1988-91 seasons, of
continuous work to restore this gallery along with the two adjacent gopuras or
entrance porches and halls, to reassemble the jigsaw puzzle of nearly 2500
stone members lying overgrown with vegetation in the open. This task must rank
among the finest achievements of the ASI.
Antique-thirsty
Museums of the West?A beautiful sculpture of Vishnu on the rocks in the path of river Siem Reap in Kbal Spean in Cambodia was a treat to the eye, till the heritage plunderers scooped out the upper part of the body and sold it to the antique-thirsty museums in the West.
The river dries up in summer. When it flows, it appears to fall from the feet of Vishnu. Below are the carvings of Shiva Lingas, detailing the story of Ganga, descending from the heavens, touching the feet of Vishnu and falling into the locked hair of Shiva
Vishnu astride Garuda, an image that is present at many temples in India
are found commonly in Cambodia. The Salarjung museum in Hyderabad has one of
the most beautiful collection of images of Garuda carrying Vishnu.
The National Museum in Phnom Penh has an image of full-size Harihara,
whose head had been severed. A small board says the head is at the Musee Guimet,
Paris. Such unabashed hunger for the antiques is manifest everywhere one turns
in Cambodia.
The extensive Sanskrit inscriptions quoting Hindus texts as well as the public works of Cambodian kings and queens, starting with Queen Kulaprabhavati (circa 5th to 6th century) and all the monarchs of the later Kambuja empire, beginning with the emperor Jayavarman II who established his first capital at Hariharalaya near the modern Siem Reap speak of the extensive contacts between Cambodia and India.
Some of the minor stories in the Hindu Puranas are enlarged and played repeatedly in the carvings in Cambodia. One such is the story of Sagar Manthan—The Churning of the Ocean for the nector. In modern Cambodia, this scene of devas and asuras churning the ocean for the nector is portrayed on the outside wall of the War Memorial in Sien Rea and some major hotels also. One of the largest bas-reliefs in the world is in Angkor Wat, measuring 49 meters, depicts this scene.
Cambodia is not merely a story of the Hindu influence on the sub-continent. It is as much the history of cultural, trade and social relationship. Angkor Wat and other temples are not reminders of foreign aggression on the land but testimony to the cultural affinity and the sharing of a common culture.
The extensive Sanskrit inscriptions quoting Hindus texts as well as the public works of Cambodian kings and queens, starting with Queen Kulaprabhavati (circa 5th to 6th century) and all the monarchs of the later Kambuja empire, beginning with the emperor Jayavarman II who established his first capital at Hariharalaya near the modern Siem Reap speak of the extensive contacts between Cambodia and India.
Some of the minor stories in the Hindu Puranas are enlarged and played repeatedly in the carvings in Cambodia. One such is the story of Sagar Manthan—The Churning of the Ocean for the nector. In modern Cambodia, this scene of devas and asuras churning the ocean for the nector is portrayed on the outside wall of the War Memorial in Sien Rea and some major hotels also. One of the largest bas-reliefs in the world is in Angkor Wat, measuring 49 meters, depicts this scene.
Cambodia is not merely a story of the Hindu influence on the sub-continent. It is as much the history of cultural, trade and social relationship. Angkor Wat and other temples are not reminders of foreign aggression on the land but testimony to the cultural affinity and the sharing of a common culture.
(source: Stones that speak a story - By Vaidehi Nathan - organiser.org).
Stolen Lintels
It was in the lintels that the stone carvers excelled. Henri Parmentier, who had trained as an architect and was the chief of the archaeological service of the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient until the beginning of the 1930s, considered the lintel "the major decorative point of the Khmer sanctuary," where one could find every form of sculpture and ornament in the Khmer repertoire. The religious significance of the sanctuary doorways, through which the priests passed into the most sacred parts of the temple, made them the ideal site for iconography. These sandstone blocks became sculpted panels installed in front of the true lintel, which was supported by the main pillars.
The lintel depicting one of the most famous Hindu creation stories, at Phnom Rung was the subject of a celebrated dispute, having been stolen from the temple in the early 1960s. It then appeared at the Chicago Art Institute, on loan from a private collection.
It was successfully recovered by the Thai government in 1988, it has been restored to its original place
The scene is of Vishnu
reclining on the Naga, Ananta, which floats in the primeval sea. A lotus flower
grows from Vishnu's navel and from the flower is born Brahma, who creates the
world.
For more
refer to Asian antiques sold at Christies.com.
Did You Know?
Spean Praptos: Is the Longest Corbeled stone-arch bridge in the World.
The bridge of Kompong Kdei (12th century) built century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII.
With more than twenty narrow arches spanning 246ft (75m), this is the longest corbeled stone-arch bridge in the world.
The bridge of Kompong Kdei (12th century). The road from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap still crosses the Spean Praptos, the laterite bridge of the village of Kompong Kdei, built in the Angkorean period, and one of the most beautiful on the Khmer roadways. The arches of the bridge are built by corbeling, and are narrow and very tall.
One of the finest bridges, the Spean Praptos, measures eight seven meters in length and fourteen in width. It comprises of eighteen arches which only have a span of two meters for a height of rise of five meters, and rest on pillars one meter thirty wide.
The architect Jacques Dumarcay has shown how these arches could be fully or partially closed in order to contain the water upriver from the bridge. This method of irrigation, where a noria was needed to contain the water subsequently used to irrigate the surrounding fields, was very different from the baray system.
It is a remarkable work of art, both because of its imposing size and because of the contrast of the grey-green sandstone with the warm colors of the laterite.
(source: Khmer: The Lost Empire of Cambodia p. 21 and The Civilization of Angkor - By Mideline Giteau p. 71 - 72).
Indra's heaven:
Stupendous architecture
Robert Joseph Casey (1890 - 1962) a reporter with Chicago Daily News, writing in his book Four faces of Shiva in 1926 wrote:
Robert Joseph Casey (1890 - 1962) a reporter with Chicago Daily News, writing in his book Four faces of Shiva in 1926 wrote:
"Angkor vat, supreme architectural effort of this culture, not only
the most grandiose temple of the group but probably the most stupendous
undertaking attempted by man since the corner-stone was laid for the tower of
Babel.
Here at Angkor was the
finest metropolis in Asia – a town whose splendor is permanently embossed in
temple wall and tower and terrace. The people were called the Khmer and were
either of Hindu extraction or the
diligent pupils of Hindu teachers. There is mention of a kingdom under
Hindu direction, if not domination, in Indo-China as early as the year 238 AD
and there is evidence that the Khmer flourished during the 13th and
possibly into the 14th century."
"One looks upon it through misty eyes and with an odd constriction
of the throat, for there is only one Angkor. There is no such monument to
vanished people anywhere else in the world. It seems futile to record its
grandeur. One doesn’t describe an Angkor. One just gazes at it in silence and
amazement. "
"The emotional reaction to the stupendous beauty of Angkor is that
we have seen it before. It is a matter of psychological stimulus through senses
that cannot comprehend the legerity, the delicacy of so terrific a mass.”
On experiences the
same sensation as one gazes at the Grand Canyon or the loveliness of the Taj
Mahal. It seems to be the concomitant of emotional surprise….which may explain
why the doctrine of reincarnation appealed to so many races of the age that
produced Angkor.”
It rises to its
heights in a steady masterful sweep. Heat waves give it a shivery unreality,
and the eye has difficulty in focusing on its pinnacles.
The towers are loftier than the tallest palms of the jungle but they are
lifted still higher by tricks in perspective that form the most interesting
part of their design. In the mass Angkor is as impressive as the great pyramids
of Egypt, more striking as an artistic ensemble than even the Taj Mahal.”
Monsieur Pierre Furneau, one of the French road engineers, said:
“That is Angkor vat
for you. It is no ruin. The carvings on the galleries are complete. The roofs
still turn the rains. The walls are as solid as they were when the Khmer masons
put them there without binder or cement. And one can not but feel that only a
few hours ago it was palpitating with life. …companies of priests were in the
galleries chanting the rituals. ..”
Angkor vat is the
apotheosis of the Khmer people. If nothing else remained of all their works it
would be enough to mark them as one of the great races that time has produced.”
Jean Commaille (1868-1916) first
Conservative of Angkor expressed
it:
“Angkor vat is
isolated like an island in the middle of a lake."
"The façade of
the temple proper is five times as wide as the Cathedral of Notre Dame de
Paris. The central tower is more than two hundred feet high. The construction
of the pyramids of Egypt was a task of minor importance compared with the
building of Angkor vat. For the works of Ghizeh it was necessary to haul the
stone only across the valley of the Nile from the quarries beyond the present
city of Cairo. Some of the rock used in Angkor vat is believed to have come
from points more than forty miles distant, part of it by water, much of it
overland on rollers. And there is no group of structures in Egypt, not
excepting even Karnak, as intricately carved as this.”
"One is conscious
instantly of a strange combination of delicacy, finely wrought detail and
terrific immensity, a conception that is peculiarly typical of the Khmer arts.
Here is at once a rocky uplift, whose very bulk is potent thaumaturgy, and a
hanging garden whose banks of flowers are chiseled stone.
Never, if one looks at
it for an hour or for a day or repeatedly for weeks on end, does Angkor vat
seem real.
"The architects
of the great temple were masters of their craft, but first of all they were close
students of the human eye. They set out to build not only a tremendous pyramid
but an ensemble which would instantly seize upon the vision of one who entered
through West Gate and carry it irresistibly in a direct unwavering line to the
climax of the central tower.
Angkor vat is built up
from the fan of the multi-headed cobra at the end of the causeway through a
series of buildings of increasing importance and cumulative effect. Without the
twin libraries the eye might be distracted by the reaches of open space on the
side of the road of honor. With them it is caught and centered. The pools that
sparkle in the part are merely decorative fringes to a picture whose essential
values are never for a moment in doubt.
It is one of the
strangely fascinating features of Angkor vat that a person must go about the
work deliberately if he is to study the building in detail. So long as he
stands on the causeway before the first staircase he is conscious only of what
lies ahead of him, a vision so ethereal
that it might well be a mirage or a thing of moon-dust dropped from Indra’s
heaven.”
(source: Four Faces of Shiva - By Robert J Casey p.
270 - 277).
Most of the elegant
bronze statues in the temples have all but disappeared, except portion of this
huge statue of Lord Vishnu. It testifies to the excellent workmanship of the
Khmer. The smaller statues and ornaments found reveal a high level of technical
and artistic skill. They were made by the lost wax technique and some parts
were often cast separately and then riveted together. Some were decorated with
precious metals. Sadly none of the articles made of gold, silver or alloys of
precious metals referred to in the Khmer inscriptions, known as samrit, have
survived, apart from the magnificent Nandi, the bull ridden by Lord Shiva.
Philip Rawson ( ? ) academic, artist, Keeper of the Gulbenkian
Museum of Oriental Art and archaeology at the University of Durham and author
of The Art of Southeast Asia has remarked:
"The sculptures of Indian icons produced in Cambodia during the 6th
century to the 8th centuries AD are masterpieces, monumental,
subtle, highly sophisticated, mature in style and unrivalled for sheer beauty
anywhere in India.
A number of Buddhist
figures were carved in the same style. None of the Buddhist images therefore
attained the same sensuous suggestiveness as those of the Hindu deities. Where
a Hindu king would derive his royal authority from a Hindu deity, a king who
was a Buddhist would find it difficult to derive similar authority from the
Buddha himself, who was a humble mendicant."
“One of the most
interesting pieces of all is a fragmentary bronze bust, from the western Mebon,
of the God Vishnu
lying asleep on the ocean of non-being. Head and shoulders and the two right
arms survive. It shows the extraordinary, delicate integrity and subtle total
convexity of surface, which these sculptors could achieve by modeling.
Eyebrows, moustache and eyes seem to have been inlaid, perhaps with gold,
silver or precious tone, though the inlay is gone and only the sockets remain. This was one of the world’s great
sculptures. "
Another magnificent bronze of Shiva,
from Por Loboeuk, suggests the wealth of metal art that once must have existed
in Cambodia (Kamboja) at the height of its power."
Indian influences in early Khmer or Sambor art is so marked that some
scholars have suggested the artists came form India. The statues are extremely
beautiful, but only a few have survived. The most exquisite of these are the
statues of Harihara, Uma and Lakshmi in the Phnom Penh museum. The chief iconic image
from the site is a splendid sculpture of Shiva seated, holding his wife Uma on his left knee. The massive cubical forms give a grandiose
impression of power.
Discovered more than ten years ago by two
companions who tried to share it between them by dividing it into two with an
axe. It entered the collection of the Princes of Champassak in this mutilated
condition.
The eyes must have been inlaid; gold leaf
still covers the lips. From under his cylindrical mitre Vishnu's curly hair
covers the nape of his neck. The very gentle face is lit by an ineffable smile.
***
No one knows
in which of the temples in Wat Phu in
Laos, the silver statue of Lord
Vishnu was worshipped, only its head has been found in the waters of a
little stream, near the Lingaparvata. This exquisite piece is probably of 8th
century date. The sumptuous material,
the fine workmanship, the nobility of the features and more than all else the
infinite sweetness of its smile make this image, sadly mutilated though it is,
one of the most extraordinary masterpieces of southeast Asia. It bears witness to
the piety and splendor of the princes of Chenla from whom all the Khmer kings
were to proclaim their descent.(source: The Civilization of Angkor – by Mideline Giteau p. 80 – 82).
Discovered more than ten years ago by two
companions who tried to share it between them by dividing it into two with an
axe. It entered the collection of the Princes of Champassak in this mutilated
condition.
The eyes must have been inlaid; gold leaf
still covers the lips. From under his cylindrical mitre Vishnu's curly hair
covers the nape of his neck. The very gentle face is lit by an ineffable smile.
***
No one knows
in which of the temples in Wat Phu in
Laos, the silver statue of Lord
Vishnu was worshipped, only its head has been found in the waters of a
little stream, near the Lingaparvata. This exquisite piece is probably of 8th
century date. The sumptuous material,
the fine workmanship, the nobility of the features and more than all else the
infinite sweetness of its smile make this image, sadly mutilated though it is, one
of the most extraordinary masterpieces of southeast Asia. It bears witness to
the piety and splendor of the princes of Chenla from whom all the Khmer kings
were to proclaim their descent.(source: The Civilization of Angkor – by Mideline Giteau p. 80 – 82).
Conclusion
Angkor Wat, the greatest of Khmer temples, is a text in itself. The
hundreds of reliefs sculpted on its stones narrate the events from the Hindu
Epics and the Puranas, and symbolically communicate the fundamental religious,
philosophical, ethical and political principles of the Khmers at the time of
Suryavarman. Varman was a title given to Kings and Pandita was title given to
Brahmins.
Philip Rawson ( ) academic, artist, Keeper of the Gulbenkian
Museum of Oriental Art and archaeology at the University of Durham and author
of The Art of Southeast Asia says that Angkor
Vat is the crowning work of Khmer architecture, carrying to their high point
all the features of earlier styles. But Rawson could not help noting ``the
ultimate foundations of the style remain what they always were, securely
Indian, reminiscent of the late Pallava and Chola art in south-eastern India.''
Kampuchea in the
national language of Khmer was the ancient Kambujadesa or Kambuja. Chinese
chronicles of the third century have recorded the rise of an Indian state in
the Mekong valley and named it Funan and by the fifth century it was known as
Kambuja as recorded by Sanskrit inscriptions there. Kambuja was one of the many
India-colonised states, which included Pagan in Burma, Srivijaya in the
Indonesian isles and Champa in Vietnam. From 802 AD to the end of the 14th
century there was continuity in Hindu and Buddhist kings ruling over the region
with their dynasties. The most famous of them were Suryavarman II and Jayavarman
VII who built the great Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom respectively in the 12th and
13th centuries.
The glory of Angkor
Wat and Angkor Thom which highlighted the perfection of the fusion of Indian
and Khmer art and architecture was unparalleled in those times when they were
constructed. These temple complexes included the palaces of the kings and
dwelling places for numerous others
Lord Krishna Govardhan of Wat Koh style of the Phnom Da style, 6th
century. National Museum, Phnom Penh.
The statue represents Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, in
the act of raising Mount Govardhan to provide shelter for flocks and shepherds
during a raging storm unleashed by the God Indra. The curly hairdo and
Krishna's garment reveal the influence of Indian sculpture of the post-Gupta
period.
Recently an Ancient statue of
Lord Vishnu has been found in Russian town of the Volga region.
For more on The Glorious Hindu Legacy: Indic influence in Southeast Asia refer
to the chapters Suvarnabhumi and Glimpses XII to Glimpses XIX.
***
The bas-reliefs in the
temples depicting the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are without
compare. The apsaras of Angkor who number 1850 are rare specimens of art and no
two are alike. Many western explorers and historians have written eloquently on
these monuments:” “Undeniably an expression of the highest genius”.
“Its beauty and state of preservation are unrivalled. Its mightiness and
magnificence bespeak a pomp and luxury surpassing that of a Pharaoh or a Shah
Jahan, an impressiveness greater than that of the Pyramids, an artistic
distinctiveness as fine as that of the Taj Mahal” are some of their
observations. The kings were Saivites, Vaishnavites and Buddhists and true to
the Indian tradition the entire pantheon of gods and goddesses are there. The Kambuja kings were contemporaries of Chalukyas,
Guptas, Pallavas and Cholas and they maintained close ties with them.
Every king
added to the construction of temples to commemorate his rule and the extensive
building of monuments over the years depleted the resources of the empire. The
decline of the Cambodian or Khmer Kingdom was brought about by wars with
Thailand whose kings defeated the Khmers and destroyed Angkor Thom. There was a
long period of lawless drift for about four centuries and by the early 19th
century the French colonisers had arrived and Cambodia became a French
Protectorate in 1863. In the post second world war phase, Cambodia gained her
freedom in 1953. Inevitably ‘however, Cambodia got embroiled in the
20-year-long war which the Americans unleashed in the neighbouring Vietnam. King Norodom Sihanouk tried to maintain a neutral posture which was a red rag to the Americans who manoeuvred to get him ousted and install a puppet regime headed by Lon Nol in 1970. The Americans carried out bombing raids in the eastern region of Cambodia, apart from Laos, to obliterate the famous Ho Chi Minh trail, which was the lifeline of the Vietcongs.
It is estimated that the US bombings killed up to four lakhs of Cambodians.
(source: The glory and the agony of Cambodia - By T. V. Rajeswar - tribuneindia.com). For more refer to chapter on Suvarnabhumi, Seafaring in Ancient India, War in Ancient India and India on Pacific Waves?
The culture is frozen in time, limited to concepts from the Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata, unlike temples in India that are Puranic. Every temple recreates the ancient concept of jambudvipa with Mount Meru at the center, as a tall multi-tiered pyramid. The garbagriha at the top of Meru is a literal recreation of the womb of the universe, and the deity within is the source of creation."
The outside walls are decorated with the gods,
dvarapalas and beautiful apsaras with whom the local women identify. Indra on
Airavata, Krishna lifting Govardhana,
the Vali-Sugriva battle and Ravana
shaking Kailasa are among the popular subjects. Often, Rahu and Ketu are
carved on lintels, a rare sight in India.
The main object of veneration may be the Shiva Linga or Vishnu or the Buddha, but the walls would contain stories of
Rama, Krishna and the ascetic Shiva on a hill. The most popular motif is the
samudra manthana, the churning of the ocean by the devas and asuras for the
divine nectar, where the tortoise is the base on which Mount Meru is placed and
churned, unlike later Indian literature where Vishnu is identified with the
tortoise. There are several Sanskrit inscriptions written in Pallava
Grantha.
Surrounding the
Angkor temples is the temple tank or Indratataka, a typically South Indian
feature wrongly described as a moat by European.
(source: The Temples of
Angkor - By Nandita Krishna).Stones that speak a story
It is surprising that the Hindu temples and traditions in Cambodia are so meagerly mentioned while discussing the Hindu history in India and in the West.
If stones can speak, the sculptures in Cambodia will tell the story of glory, when Hindu kings built grandiose temples, the times when the precincts were crowded with devotees, art lovers and the sad tale of loot and plunder and mining they are subject to now. The Hindu temples were built in Cambodia between the ninth and 12th Century and are strikingly similar to the temples in Tamil Nadu and Kalinga (Orissa) areas, in India. It is surprising that the Hindu temples and traditions in Cambodia are so meagerly mentioned while discussing the Hindu history.
The ‘reverse-reclining’ Vishnu, i.e, Vishnu whose head is on the right (commonly it is on the left) and the eight-armed Vishnu are found in abundance in Cambodia. These two figures are prominent in the three temples—Vaikunta Perumal, Tiru Vekha and Asahta-bhujakaram—in Kanchipuram. According to Dr Vasudha, the eighth century three-storied Vaikunta Perumal temple is the prototype for the 12th century three-storied west-facing temple at Angkor Wat, built by Suryavarman II.
West-facing temples are not common in Cambodia. But there are several in Tamil Nadu. The 12 Bhakti saints of the Vaishnava sect called Azhvars have sung in great devotion about these shrines. Most Hindu temples are built in accordance with the astronomical calculations. The Angkor Wat is a classical example of this architectural grammar. On certain days of the year, like the spring equinox, the sun rises over the central tower of the temple. At another spot, the sun falls on the carving of Bhisma, on the day of Uttarayana, when he gave up his mortal body, using his boon for death on desire. The similarities do not end here.
The tradition of carving Vishnu, in the sayana posture in the open is seen in Kalinga as well as Cambodia.
(source: Stones that speak a story - By Vaidehi Nathan - organiser.org).
Cambodian Appreciation
Unlike other countries, Cambodia does not minimize Indian influence on
the local culture. On the contrary, the people of the country generously
acknowledge it.
In
a similar vein of appreciation, Norodom Sihanouk,
Head of the State of the Royal
Government of Cambodia (1954-1970
and, again, since 1993) had on the occasion of the inauguration of the
Jawaharlal Nehru Boulevard in Phnom
Penh, on 10 May 1955, traced the cultural evolution in Southeast Asia to the
pervasive Indian cultural influence:
“When we refer to thousand year old ties which unite
us with India, it is not at all a hyperbole. In fact, it was about 2000 years
ago that the first navigators, Indian merchants and Brahmins brought to our
ancestors their gods, their techniques, their organization. Briefly India was
for us what Greece was to Latin Orient. “
(source:
The Fossilized
Indian Culture of Southeast Asia - By Y Yagama Reddy).
For
more on The Glorious Hindu Legacy: Indic influence in Southeast Asia refer to
the chapter under Glimpses XII to Glimpses XIX
Today's Cambodia
Although in the Khmer language there are many words meaning
"king", the word officially used in Khmer (as found in the 1993
Cambodian Constitution) is preahmâhaksat
(Khmer regular script: which
literally means: preah-
("sacred", cognate of the Indian word Brahmin) -mâha- (from Sanskrit, meaning
"great", cognate with "maha-" in maharaja) -ksat ("warrior,
ruler", cognate of the Indian word Kshatriya).
On the occasion of HM King Norodom Sihanouk's retirement in October 2004,
the Cambodian National Assembly coined a new word for the retired king:
preahmâhaviraksat (Khmer regular script: where vira
comes from Sanskrit vīra, meaning "brave or
eminent man. Preahmâhaviraksat is translated into English as
"King-Father", although the word "father" does not appear
in the Khmer noun. As preahmâhaviraksat, Norodom Sihanouk retains many of the
prerogatives he formerly held as preahmâhaksat and is a highly respected and
listened-to figure. Thus, in effect, Cambodia can be described as a country
with two heads of state: an official one, the preahmâhaksat Norodom
To Siva, to the Lord of the eternal thoughts, to the One Being
who,
To gratify himself by creating, conserving and destroying, divided
himself into three supreme gods:
To gratify himself by creating, conserving and destroying, divided
himself into three supreme gods:
He who was born from the lotus, Brahma;
He who has the eyes of the lotus, Vishnu;
He who has three eyes, Siva;
Three supreme gods on whom the Powers repose.
He who has the eyes of the lotus, Vishnu;
He who has three eyes, Siva;
Three supreme gods on whom the Powers repose.
To him whose knot of hair adorned with the new moon, saluted
as
greater than the three Vedas, is the seed which brings forth Brahma,
Hari and Isvara when it divides into three according to its elements;
Whom the saints call the manifestation of the Absolute, only to be
understood by ecstasy; to the blessed Siva let homage be paid.
May he bring you prosperity!
greater than the three Vedas, is the seed which brings forth Brahma,
Hari and Isvara when it divides into three according to its elements;
Whom the saints call the manifestation of the Absolute, only to be
understood by ecstasy; to the blessed Siva let homage be paid.
May he bring you prosperity!
(text source: Angkor: Art and Civilization – By Bernard Groslier p.
24 and cover).
For a documentary on Hindu temples, refer to The Lost Temples of India.
Visitors thoughts on seeing Angkor wat:An American visitor, in her enthusiasm for Angkor, made the request that her ashes be scattered on the causeway of Angkor Wat - a satisfaction granted to her at the beginning of 1936. Such a gesture symbolises the extraordinary power which these ancient ruins have on peoples' imagination.
"The size and scale of things is remarkable - ruins extend for miles; each is big and there are so many!"
"The Angkor Wat temple is the symbol of present day Cambodia. It is depicted on the national flag and on the current 500 Riel banknote, whose value is about US$ 0,20. "
"Angkor wat and the surrounding wonder world of temples and sites. Coming from New Zealand this is the first real taste of human history I’ve been able to come face to face with on such a huge scale. It completely blew me away. I’ve never been moved by a work of art, so colossal and serene. So detailed and rich, full of stories and characters, carved immaculately and so peacefully beautiful. The relics of a people who built temples as cities.. The smiling of bayon temple, the old temples now with towering trees and jungle growing over them, through them, with them, testimony to their age and the movement of time. Next to these things I was lost, such a speck.specktate."
"I've seen the Pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon in Athens, the Great Wall of China, and the Rome Colleseum, but I think the Temples of Angkor Wat beat them all. "Think of the world in the 8th to 15th century, when they were burning witches in Britain, and Australia and America hadn't been discovered."
Timeless yet
timeworn, grand but intimate, oblivious to the passing centuries even as the
jungle devours its huge stone walls, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and the scores of
temples that surround it hint at eternity, only to remind us that nothing is
eternal.
To the casual eye the stone of Angkor may seem
permanent, but it has only lasted longer than its builders. These great temples
to the Hindu Gods are at the mercy of the ultimate destroyer named in The Mahabharata:
“Time (Kala) ripens the creatures, Time
rots them.”
Symbols of Hindu deities. Angkor 7th century.
This stele dating from 7th century, engraved with the symbols of
the deities of the Hindu Trimurti or Triple form adopted by the Divine to
emanate, control and dissolve the universe. The rosary, jug of water, lotus
blossom on the left, are associated with Lord Brahma, the trident in the center
is the emblem of Lord Shiva, and the shell, sunburst disc, and mace on the
right character Lord Vishnu. Now in Musee Guimet, Paris.
Editor's Note: I had an opportunity to visit Angkor Wat in the Winter of 2006. It has been a life long dream to visit this magnificent and grand architectural monument to the creative impulses that emanated from ancient India. Angkor Wat represents a combination of Indic influence and achievements which were accomplished without setting out to conquer or subjugate any races or countries.
Angkor wat is a spectacular structure of astronomical significance that has ever been built in the world. Astronomy and Hindu cosmology are inseparably entwined at Angkor Wat. Nowhere is this more evident than in the interior colonnade, which is dedicated to vast and glorious carved murals, bas-reliefs illustrating the scenes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Rarely in history has any culture given rise to a structure that so elaborately and expansively incorporates its concept of the cosmos. Angkor Wat stands as a striking and majestic monument in honor of the Universe and our place in it.
I urge Hindus and non-Hindus to take their children to visit this marvel of the ancient world, as simply standing in front of the colonnade of intricate and exquisitely carved walls and reliefs from the Sanskrit epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata provides one with the true meaning of Eternity.
Reference for the Books are used for this topic from :
1. Heaven's Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization - By Graham
Hancock and Santha Faiia
2. Saving Angkor - By C M Bhandari
3. Four Faces of Shiva - By Robert J Casey
4. India and World Civilization – D P Singhal
5. Angkor Wat and cultural ties with India - By K M Srivastava
6. Angkor: Splendors of the Khmer Civilization - By Marilia Albanese
7. The Cultural History of Angkor - By Henri Stierlin
8. Ancient Cambodia - By Donatella Mazzeo
9. Ancient Angkor - By Michael Freeman
10.
Sacred Angkor - By Vittorio Roveda
11.
Angkor: The Hidden Glories - By Michael
Freeman and Roger Warner
12.
Angkor the Magnificent - By Helen
Churchill Candee
13.
The spread of Indian culture in
Southeast Asia - By George Coedes
14.
The Indianized States of Southeast Asia
- By George Coedes
15.
Sacred Places of Asia: Where Every
Breath Is A Prayer - By Jon Ortner
16.
Escape with me – By Sir Osbert Sitwell
17.
Greater India - By Arun
Bhattacharjee
18.
The Culture of South-East Asia - By
Reginald Le May
19.
The Indian Colony of Siam - By Phanindra
Nath Bose
20.
Angkor and the Khmer empire - By John
Audric
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
( My humble Pranam, Honour
and also gratefulness to
Ms. Sushma Londhe ji for her noble, magnanimous and eminent
works on the peerless Wisdom of our Sacred Scriptures)
(My
humble salutations to , H H Swamyjis, Hindu Wisdom, great Universal
Philosophers, Historians, Professors and Devotees for the
discovering collection)
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