Chapter 6
Preah Khan - The Sacred Sword
The visit of the Angkor archaeological park can usually be done by following two trials. The shorter is called "Small Circuit" while the second, the larger, is called the "Grand Circuit". The main difference is in the number of places visited. So, if you hire a driver, you can easily say "I want to do the small circuit (or the grand circuit)" and he knows where to take you. Before going to Kampuchea, I worked hard on my trip and I made a list of the places that I wished to visit. So, if you looked at my plans you'd see that they are quite similar to these circuits, but with still more temples. Following the plan of the "grand circuit" I decided to follow the way all around the ancient East Baray, the Eastern water reservoir.
At the north of the Angkor Thom, just next to the North Baray, the Northern water reservoir, you'll find a small citadel called Preah Khan. The name of this citadel means "The Sacred Sword". The legend says that this is where the great king Jayavarman VII defeated the Cham army. The scholars say that probably the king Jayavarman VII also lived here when, in 1177 A.D., the recuperation work in Angkor Thom was taking place after the victorious battle that freed the capital from the Chams. The archaeological site is very beautiful. In fact, the plan is very similar to Ta Prohm, but the partial restoration work allows you to see both the beauty of the place as it would be, and still much of the interaction of the rain forest with the ancient ruins. The king Jayavarman VII placed in this citadel a statue of Jayavarmesvara, that represented no other than his father the king Dharanindravarman. Like Ta Prohm and other temples, it can be visited entering from both the opposite doors.
When you leave your driver, you first have to walk across a bridge over a 1000 year old defensive moat. On the sides of the bridge, many statues of Gods and Demons are pulling an ancient Naga in the act of churning the ocean of milk. The same pattern as on the bridges outside Angkor Thom and Banteay Chmar ( an archaeological site in the North-West direction of Siem Reap, on the border with Thailand). This site is sunken into the deep forest. Some smaller temples rise near to the main citadel, but archaeologist don't know why Jayavarman VII built this citadel in such an infertile area. Probably it was some kind of an outpost. The pattern of the churning of the ocean of milk outlines that it was a royal citadel, and it gives strength to the belief that king Jayavarman VII lived here for some times. The plan of the city shows that it was built by Jayavarman VII as a proto-Angkor Thom style. In fact, in spite the scenes of the churning of the ocean of milk, the gates in the walls aren't yet decorated with the multi-faced towers as it became the distinctive Jayavarman VII style. Beside this, it looks like Jayavarman VII was already on the way to plan his future temples and citadels.
The morning that I went to visit this place was just after a night of heavy rain. The air was moist and the freshness of the early morning soon turned into a very heavy heat. The walk toward the bridge over the moat was difficult for the mud of the earth way. I was happy with my trekking boots, that allowed me to walk straight toward the bridge, without caring about the different centimetres deep pools on the ground. Although it was early morning, some local people were already sitting on the beginning of the bridge trying to sell some things and food too. The idea of some pieces of pineapple was tempting, but it was too early, and I preferred having my hands free for my exploration. So, I crossed the bridge and I reached the first line of the walls. Here a Garuda (a deity an half human and half a bird) is carved on the walls. You can see it in the second picture of this group. The look is menacing, as if to scare all the enemies away. The thing that made me reflect, was how did happen that the Khmers were so closely bound to the Garuda, when they still were so closely connected with the Nagas (the Nagas are snakes and the Garudas are the enemies of the snakes), and still, in a legend the Khmers tell that they are the descendents of the Nagas, so they'd come from the holy snakes.
Looking at the map in the first picture of this group, you can see that the city looks very clear. When you're there, it's still not so easy to navigate. In fact, most of the ways around the centre of the city have collapsed and many of the things that on the map look like housing aren't much more than traces of ruins. I entered the city from the west side (the left-hand side of the map). At the first glance at the city, you can think that it looks quite small and very low. You can see it in the third picture of this group. Like the Bayon temple, it hides its size. In fact, from the outside, it looks small, but when you're on the inside of it, you understand that all the area was optimised to allow everything to fit inside it. Again, this choice to fill the place with passages and housing can make it look a bit confusing.
When you enter the citadel from the west gate, you'll see a straight gallery opening before you toward the east direction. You start to follow it, and you'll find yourself crossing some gallery-intersections. The intersections are square rooms with galleries branching out from every wall. In the centre of them, like a gravity force in the core of the universe of the intersection, you can see a Linga or even a statue of Buddha. Along the gallery-walkway, you'll also see columns with inscriptions carved over them. Most of these inscriptions are of a later date than Jayavarman VII times, and tell of various "good actions" of some people. The city later was filled with many statues of Gods and people came here to worship them bringing here offers like food, drinks, flowers and many other things.
After crossing the first part, you reach the first of the amazing parts of the citadel. Here the two main walkways built like galleries, meet each other like a cross (you can see this point in the centre of the map). The meeting of the two walkways forms four small gardens. The gardens are filled with very small pretty housing, finely decorated, surrounded by small walkways that rise above them about 30 cm from the ground. The carvings are very beautiful. Many flower-decorations and Devatas are shown on the façades and sides of these small buildings, and make the place look so beautiful. You can see it in the fourth picture of this group. Anyway, when I was there, although I knew that these were probably storehouses, I felt as if they could be tombs. In fact, in my city we have a "monumental graveyard" and many smaller tombs aren't much different from these storage places (ok, here we don't use the Devatas, but Angels). Anyway, I know that it was just a weird feeling that came from my memory of the "monumental graveyard" of Genova. I spent a long time walking around these gardens, amazed by the discovery of every bas-relief and wonder from every Devata that I met during my strolling around.
The flow of the people started to increase, so I decided to head east before the place became packed with people. I followed the main way. Along it, in every hall, again some Lingam (plural of Linga) or some statues of deities were shown, also some Khmer were asking you to buy some incense stick or something else from them. After getting through the core structure, you enter into a smaller one. Still the ruins look dangerous in some spots. The most interesting thing, is to head north into the central crossing. As you walk through a gate, you find yourself in a big and rectangular garden. Here some sculptured doors decorate the southern walls. The north side, where once was a pool, now is a big swamp. The east and west walls separate the garden from the central structure and from the outside of the citadel. Near the southern walls, a walkway higher than the ground allows you to go toward the eastern gate or go back to the core structure. The bas-relief here aren't massive, but, gentle and beautiful. Long Nagas are the low parapet of the walkway. But here there is something more. A building is different from the rest of the ancient Angkor sites. A two floor round-columned structure stands still, proud defying its own age. It may, somehow, remind of some Greek or Roman temple, but it's not. The scholars think that it's just a grain storage, but there's not a specific carving that tells what it really was in the ancient past. You can see this garden in the fifth and sixth pictures of this group.
After visiting this place, I made my way back to the western gate, and came back to my driver. We had already scheduled the visit to another temple. When I came back to Italy I had time to look for further information about this temple and what I found confirmed my notes as this place had been the house of Jayavarman VII, and also that it had been turned into a sacred place. But I also found something new that later, the sacred place had also been turned into a graveyard. So, the feeling that gave me the idea of being in a cemetery, was confirmed. Still the place is worth a visit when you're in the Angkor archaeological park.
At the north of the Angkor Thom, just next to the North Baray, the Northern water reservoir, you'll find a small citadel called Preah Khan. The name of this citadel means "The Sacred Sword". The legend says that this is where the great king Jayavarman VII defeated the Cham army. The scholars say that probably the king Jayavarman VII also lived here when, in 1177 A.D., the recuperation work in Angkor Thom was taking place after the victorious battle that freed the capital from the Chams. The archaeological site is very beautiful. In fact, the plan is very similar to Ta Prohm, but the partial restoration work allows you to see both the beauty of the place as it would be, and still much of the interaction of the rain forest with the ancient ruins. The king Jayavarman VII placed in this citadel a statue of Jayavarmesvara, that represented no other than his father the king Dharanindravarman. Like Ta Prohm and other temples, it can be visited entering from both the opposite doors.
When you leave your driver, you first have to walk across a bridge over a 1000 year old defensive moat. On the sides of the bridge, many statues of Gods and Demons are pulling an ancient Naga in the act of churning the ocean of milk. The same pattern as on the bridges outside Angkor Thom and Banteay Chmar ( an archaeological site in the North-West direction of Siem Reap, on the border with Thailand). This site is sunken into the deep forest. Some smaller temples rise near to the main citadel, but archaeologist don't know why Jayavarman VII built this citadel in such an infertile area. Probably it was some kind of an outpost. The pattern of the churning of the ocean of milk outlines that it was a royal citadel, and it gives strength to the belief that king Jayavarman VII lived here for some times. The plan of the city shows that it was built by Jayavarman VII as a proto-Angkor Thom style. In fact, in spite the scenes of the churning of the ocean of milk, the gates in the walls aren't yet decorated with the multi-faced towers as it became the distinctive Jayavarman VII style. Beside this, it looks like Jayavarman VII was already on the way to plan his future temples and citadels.
The morning that I went to visit this place was just after a night of heavy rain. The air was moist and the freshness of the early morning soon turned into a very heavy heat. The walk toward the bridge over the moat was difficult for the mud of the earth way. I was happy with my trekking boots, that allowed me to walk straight toward the bridge, without caring about the different centimetres deep pools on the ground. Although it was early morning, some local people were already sitting on the beginning of the bridge trying to sell some things and food too. The idea of some pieces of pineapple was tempting, but it was too early, and I preferred having my hands free for my exploration. So, I crossed the bridge and I reached the first line of the walls. Here a Garuda (a deity an half human and half a bird) is carved on the walls. You can see it in the second picture of this group. The look is menacing, as if to scare all the enemies away. The thing that made me reflect, was how did happen that the Khmers were so closely bound to the Garuda, when they still were so closely connected with the Nagas (the Nagas are snakes and the Garudas are the enemies of the snakes), and still, in a legend the Khmers tell that they are the descendents of the Nagas, so they'd come from the holy snakes.
Looking at the map in the first picture of this group, you can see that the city looks very clear. When you're there, it's still not so easy to navigate. In fact, most of the ways around the centre of the city have collapsed and many of the things that on the map look like housing aren't much more than traces of ruins. I entered the city from the west side (the left-hand side of the map). At the first glance at the city, you can think that it looks quite small and very low. You can see it in the third picture of this group. Like the Bayon temple, it hides its size. In fact, from the outside, it looks small, but when you're on the inside of it, you understand that all the area was optimised to allow everything to fit inside it. Again, this choice to fill the place with passages and housing can make it look a bit confusing.
When you enter the citadel from the west gate, you'll see a straight gallery opening before you toward the east direction. You start to follow it, and you'll find yourself crossing some gallery-intersections. The intersections are square rooms with galleries branching out from every wall. In the centre of them, like a gravity force in the core of the universe of the intersection, you can see a Linga or even a statue of Buddha. Along the gallery-walkway, you'll also see columns with inscriptions carved over them. Most of these inscriptions are of a later date than Jayavarman VII times, and tell of various "good actions" of some people. The city later was filled with many statues of Gods and people came here to worship them bringing here offers like food, drinks, flowers and many other things.
After crossing the first part, you reach the first of the amazing parts of the citadel. Here the two main walkways built like galleries, meet each other like a cross (you can see this point in the centre of the map). The meeting of the two walkways forms four small gardens. The gardens are filled with very small pretty housing, finely decorated, surrounded by small walkways that rise above them about 30 cm from the ground. The carvings are very beautiful. Many flower-decorations and Devatas are shown on the façades and sides of these small buildings, and make the place look so beautiful. You can see it in the fourth picture of this group. Anyway, when I was there, although I knew that these were probably storehouses, I felt as if they could be tombs. In fact, in my city we have a "monumental graveyard" and many smaller tombs aren't much different from these storage places (ok, here we don't use the Devatas, but Angels). Anyway, I know that it was just a weird feeling that came from my memory of the "monumental graveyard" of Genova. I spent a long time walking around these gardens, amazed by the discovery of every bas-relief and wonder from every Devata that I met during my strolling around.
The flow of the people started to increase, so I decided to head east before the place became packed with people. I followed the main way. Along it, in every hall, again some Lingam (plural of Linga) or some statues of deities were shown, also some Khmer were asking you to buy some incense stick or something else from them. After getting through the core structure, you enter into a smaller one. Still the ruins look dangerous in some spots. The most interesting thing, is to head north into the central crossing. As you walk through a gate, you find yourself in a big and rectangular garden. Here some sculptured doors decorate the southern walls. The north side, where once was a pool, now is a big swamp. The east and west walls separate the garden from the central structure and from the outside of the citadel. Near the southern walls, a walkway higher than the ground allows you to go toward the eastern gate or go back to the core structure. The bas-relief here aren't massive, but, gentle and beautiful. Long Nagas are the low parapet of the walkway. But here there is something more. A building is different from the rest of the ancient Angkor sites. A two floor round-columned structure stands still, proud defying its own age. It may, somehow, remind of some Greek or Roman temple, but it's not. The scholars think that it's just a grain storage, but there's not a specific carving that tells what it really was in the ancient past. You can see this garden in the fifth and sixth pictures of this group.
After visiting this place, I made my way back to the western gate, and came back to my driver. We had already scheduled the visit to another temple. When I came back to Italy I had time to look for further information about this temple and what I found confirmed my notes as this place had been the house of Jayavarman VII, and also that it had been turned into a sacred place. But I also found something new that later, the sacred place had also been turned into a graveyard. So, the feeling that gave me the idea of being in a cemetery, was confirmed. Still the place is worth a visit when you're in the Angkor archaeological park.
Preah Neak Pean - The entwined serpents
Near to Preah Khan, going east, you'll reach a place where an artificial island once rose from the middle of the Northern Baray. Here you can find one of the most unbelievable places of all the archaeological park. The surroundings of this site alternate rice fields and forest. You can't spot this place from the street. To reach it, you have to take a walkway that is flat, narrow and very long. The heat of the day was very unpleasant and many insects started to bother me. The best idea was to pour some water over myself, and then to spray some insect repellent. I did like this, pouring over myself more than half litre of water and it worked fine. Along the way, as in every other place, local people are trying to sell you something. Here, for the first time, I also found some guys that were trying to sell some little bronze statues, probably made in China, pretending that they found them into some ancient temple. At the end of the walkway, in the heat of the day, some villagers were having a rest near their fresh-fruit shops, consisting of a table with some fruits on it. A mom was resting on an hammock with her newborn baby, while other kids were playing in the water of a rice field. That's the life in the poor Kampuchea. Some tourists were looking at the Khmer shops like they never seen a table with fruit on it. The image of those people is still in my mind, their eyes, of the survivors of a genocide, living day-by-day. People of my age that survived the killing fields, and if you listen to them, they have a really hard story to tell. A bitter story that will hit you like a punch in the stomach. And again, the smile of these people when you greet them as you walk away.
To break this moment, where time had stopped, were again the tourists. Those tourists that set before me picturing these pieces of life. I wondered how many of them knew at least a little bit about Kampuchea. At least, I hope that these scenes will mean more to them than just a picture to show to the friends back home. Still I'll not forget these people and the kids that waved a "Hello" with their small hands to me while I was going away. I have a theory, or even a rule for taking pictures. I don't like to steal scenes of people in their private life. So, I picture people only when they place just before me, or before some monument or if being pictured is their way to live or again if I see something really strange to me. I pictured the Karen Tribes in Thailand, but it was a village where they were showing their customs, so, that was their business being pictured, and I did it again in the Tonle Sap lake. But I'll not steal pictures of the lives of these people. So I kept going along the walkway.
After the square where you can find these fresh fruit shops, you have to go thought a gate. Behind it, a very short and a little rough way will lead you to the temple. In the beginning, you can't understand clearly what's before you. Before describing the structure to you, let me tell you that the magic of the place is only if you go there when there is water. I was lucky that I went at the end of the rainy season, so there was plenty of water. If somebody went later, they could find the place bone-dry. Anyway, when I reached the place, a large pool was before me. The shape is a square, and in the centre of it, a small circular temple, looking like a mountain, stands still and mysterious. You can see it in the fourth picture of this group. The sides of the shores of the square pools, separate it from four smaller pools. Each one orientated toward each of the cardinal points. You can see the map of this place in the first picture of this group. At the half way point of each shore, a small structure, that rises from the walkways only by its roof (you can see it in the second picture of this group), marks four sacred spots.
On the shores a stone ‘stele’ give us a charming image of the meaning of this place and how it looked. It says "Like a mirror, coloured by stones, gold and garlands. The pool shines, illuminated by the light of the golden prasat (Note by Franz: the central tower-temple) and coloured red with lotus blossom, evoking an image of the pool of blood spilled by the Bhargava: inside is an prominent island, charmed by the pools which surround it, cleansing from the stain of sin all those who come into contact with it and serving as a vessel to cross the Ocean of Existence". Here the legend, the myth, the magic, the ancient medical beliefs and the hope of the people, melt down into a single name of three words, Preah Neak Pean. The symbolism of this place is far more complicate than the graceful bearing of this temple. When we think about the Khmer temples, our imagination brings to mind temples and citadels like The Bayon temple, the Angkor Wat or the Ta Prohm. The kings were used to building massive temples for their own purposes and also to show their own power. But beside this, king Jayavarman VII also decided to build a temple that could be for the princesses too. The idea was to make a place that could look like a fairy garden. A pond of shallow water, with on the surface many lotus flowers and a core temple itself also shaped like a lotus flower. To complete the figure, two Nagas encircled the core temple, both defending it, and also to prevent that a princess could fall in the water.
At a point half way from the core temple and the shore were two statues standing out of the water, these days you can only see one of them. The statue represents Lokesvara, the saviour of the men, shaped like an horse with human legs. The legend says that he could save people from drowning. In Angkor times a medicine already existed that could compare to the traditional Chinese one, but the composition of these medicine wasn't recorded and it got lost through the centuries.
The same Mr. Zhou Daguan also describe this place like "Five li (about 2,5 km) to the north of the city wall lies the North Lake. In the middle of it is a gold tower, square in shape, with several dozen stone chambers. A gold lion, a gold Buddha, a bronze elephant, a bronze cow and a bronze horse - these are all there", and he also writes about medicine reporting that, beside the traditional medicine, there was some kind of magical belief about the medicine and "There are also witchdoctors of some kind that give people their help. It's really most amusing". So, it's quite possible to guess that, beside their traditional medicine, people were also seeking help from the healing powers of their Gods. And it's not much different from the beliefs of our day in all the world. It's possible that in those times, while building this temple, the Khmers were inspired by the Buddhist tradition and tried to replicate the sacred lake Anavatapta.
This is a mythical lake in the Himalayas, from where spring the four main rivers of the world (of those times), and which waters could heal every illness. In one legend inside the lake lives a blessed dragon, in others, two king Nagas called Nanda and Upananda, like the two nagas in Preah Neak Pean. An ancient report from the Chinese monk Xuanzang (in Chinese 玄奘) about his journey in India, gives the following description of the sacred lake Anavatapta "in the middle of the Land of Jambu (Note by Franz: it should be in the Kashmir of the present days) is Lake Anavatapta, to the south of the Fragrant Mountains and to the north of the Great Snowy Mountains. It's eight hundred li in circumference. Its banks are decorated with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and glass crystals. Golden sand stretches far and wide, and it's clear waters are bright and smooth as a mirror. Through the power of his will a Bodhisattva changed himself into a snake and lives hidden in the middle of the lake, putting forth clear, cool water for the Land of Jambu. By this means the waters of the River Ganges flow from the mouth of a silver ox on the east side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the South-eastern Sea. The waters of the Sindhu flow from the mouth of a gold elephant on the south side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the South-weastern Sea. The waters of the Oxnus flow out of the mouth of a lapis lazuli horse on the west side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the North-westerns Sea. And the waters of the Yarkand flow out the mouth of a glass crystal lion on the north side of the lake, circle the lake once, and go into the North-eastern Sea (translated by Peter Harris in the book A Record of Cambodia)".
The symbolic meaning of the lake Anavatapta and some Lingam carved into the stones of the main pool, turned the place into a pool of holy healing water. Here people weren't soaked in the lake water, but they were brought into the four chapel-like structures, that from the shores of the lake can only be seen as "roofs", and had their heads washed with the holy water. Inside of each of the chapels, like in the description of the lake Anavatapta, there is a stone head with inside it a hole that let the water pass through it and pour from the mouth.
Starting from the north-chapel, you'll first meet an elephant head, you can see it in the third picture, which Mr. Daguan describe as coated in bronze. Going east you'll encounter a chapel with a stone human head (probably the one described by Mr. Daguan as a golden Buddha), that you can see in the fourth picture. In the southern one you can find the head of a lion (the golden lion), that you can see in the fifth picture, and in west one you can see the head of an horse (the bronze horse), that you can see in the sixth picture. As you see, the stone heads don't match perfectly with those of the legend, but probably for the king Jayavarman VII it was better to replace one of then with something related to Buddha. The sick people were brought to this place, and the monks poured water from the lake into a hole in the roof of the chapels. The water flowed through a waterway and exited from the mouth of the stone heads, falling onto the heads of the people. It was very interesting to be there and this little temple can give you a really inner sense of peace. The sounds of the street are far away and the visit to this temple is a good reason to relax in this sacred place. When you are there, enjoying the late afternoon with the sunlight that starts to turn orange, you can't stop smiling, thinking, or better, hoping, that some of its healing power has still lasted to our days, giving some peace to its visitors.
On my way back to my driver I was stopped by a policeman. His gun hanging on his side and a book in his hand. He waved at me and screamed "Hi, Hey... Hello!" and soon later "One minute Sew (his way to say "Sir")!". I thought that it was one more check for my ticket and I started to take mine out, to show it to him. He said "No! One... Hèw (I don't know how to write it, but it's how he pronounced "Here" in his "Khmer English")... See..." showing his book, and on this point I thought that he wanted to sell me his book, then he continued "You... You talk Englisss?", I answered that I can, somehow, speak English, and he replied "I don't udewstand... Hèw", showing some lines in his book. So, he needed that I explained to him the meaning of some sentences of a novel. So, I decided to help him out. He was reading Ian Fleming's James Bond. After my, difficult, explanations (it wasn't so easy for me), he asked for more. In the end, he was happy for my help and he let me leave. But many kids surrounded me. I think that they had fun seeing me helping the policeman with his English. In spite that it may look that I'm making fun of him, I felt a big respect for him for learning languages, and in the end, it was also fun to do that. It also helped me to learn better how to understand the Khmer pronunciation of English, as for them, many sounds are quite difficult, like for example, the use of the "r". This mutual language lesson, helped me some days later, so, somehow, I'm grateful to that policeman.
To break this moment, where time had stopped, were again the tourists. Those tourists that set before me picturing these pieces of life. I wondered how many of them knew at least a little bit about Kampuchea. At least, I hope that these scenes will mean more to them than just a picture to show to the friends back home. Still I'll not forget these people and the kids that waved a "Hello" with their small hands to me while I was going away. I have a theory, or even a rule for taking pictures. I don't like to steal scenes of people in their private life. So, I picture people only when they place just before me, or before some monument or if being pictured is their way to live or again if I see something really strange to me. I pictured the Karen Tribes in Thailand, but it was a village where they were showing their customs, so, that was their business being pictured, and I did it again in the Tonle Sap lake. But I'll not steal pictures of the lives of these people. So I kept going along the walkway.
After the square where you can find these fresh fruit shops, you have to go thought a gate. Behind it, a very short and a little rough way will lead you to the temple. In the beginning, you can't understand clearly what's before you. Before describing the structure to you, let me tell you that the magic of the place is only if you go there when there is water. I was lucky that I went at the end of the rainy season, so there was plenty of water. If somebody went later, they could find the place bone-dry. Anyway, when I reached the place, a large pool was before me. The shape is a square, and in the centre of it, a small circular temple, looking like a mountain, stands still and mysterious. You can see it in the fourth picture of this group. The sides of the shores of the square pools, separate it from four smaller pools. Each one orientated toward each of the cardinal points. You can see the map of this place in the first picture of this group. At the half way point of each shore, a small structure, that rises from the walkways only by its roof (you can see it in the second picture of this group), marks four sacred spots.
On the shores a stone ‘stele’ give us a charming image of the meaning of this place and how it looked. It says "Like a mirror, coloured by stones, gold and garlands. The pool shines, illuminated by the light of the golden prasat (Note by Franz: the central tower-temple) and coloured red with lotus blossom, evoking an image of the pool of blood spilled by the Bhargava: inside is an prominent island, charmed by the pools which surround it, cleansing from the stain of sin all those who come into contact with it and serving as a vessel to cross the Ocean of Existence". Here the legend, the myth, the magic, the ancient medical beliefs and the hope of the people, melt down into a single name of three words, Preah Neak Pean. The symbolism of this place is far more complicate than the graceful bearing of this temple. When we think about the Khmer temples, our imagination brings to mind temples and citadels like The Bayon temple, the Angkor Wat or the Ta Prohm. The kings were used to building massive temples for their own purposes and also to show their own power. But beside this, king Jayavarman VII also decided to build a temple that could be for the princesses too. The idea was to make a place that could look like a fairy garden. A pond of shallow water, with on the surface many lotus flowers and a core temple itself also shaped like a lotus flower. To complete the figure, two Nagas encircled the core temple, both defending it, and also to prevent that a princess could fall in the water.
At a point half way from the core temple and the shore were two statues standing out of the water, these days you can only see one of them. The statue represents Lokesvara, the saviour of the men, shaped like an horse with human legs. The legend says that he could save people from drowning. In Angkor times a medicine already existed that could compare to the traditional Chinese one, but the composition of these medicine wasn't recorded and it got lost through the centuries.
The same Mr. Zhou Daguan also describe this place like "Five li (about 2,5 km) to the north of the city wall lies the North Lake. In the middle of it is a gold tower, square in shape, with several dozen stone chambers. A gold lion, a gold Buddha, a bronze elephant, a bronze cow and a bronze horse - these are all there", and he also writes about medicine reporting that, beside the traditional medicine, there was some kind of magical belief about the medicine and "There are also witchdoctors of some kind that give people their help. It's really most amusing". So, it's quite possible to guess that, beside their traditional medicine, people were also seeking help from the healing powers of their Gods. And it's not much different from the beliefs of our day in all the world. It's possible that in those times, while building this temple, the Khmers were inspired by the Buddhist tradition and tried to replicate the sacred lake Anavatapta.
This is a mythical lake in the Himalayas, from where spring the four main rivers of the world (of those times), and which waters could heal every illness. In one legend inside the lake lives a blessed dragon, in others, two king Nagas called Nanda and Upananda, like the two nagas in Preah Neak Pean. An ancient report from the Chinese monk Xuanzang (in Chinese 玄奘) about his journey in India, gives the following description of the sacred lake Anavatapta "in the middle of the Land of Jambu (Note by Franz: it should be in the Kashmir of the present days) is Lake Anavatapta, to the south of the Fragrant Mountains and to the north of the Great Snowy Mountains. It's eight hundred li in circumference. Its banks are decorated with gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and glass crystals. Golden sand stretches far and wide, and it's clear waters are bright and smooth as a mirror. Through the power of his will a Bodhisattva changed himself into a snake and lives hidden in the middle of the lake, putting forth clear, cool water for the Land of Jambu. By this means the waters of the River Ganges flow from the mouth of a silver ox on the east side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the South-eastern Sea. The waters of the Sindhu flow from the mouth of a gold elephant on the south side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the South-weastern Sea. The waters of the Oxnus flow out of the mouth of a lapis lazuli horse on the west side of the lake, encircle the lake once, and go into the North-westerns Sea. And the waters of the Yarkand flow out the mouth of a glass crystal lion on the north side of the lake, circle the lake once, and go into the North-eastern Sea (translated by Peter Harris in the book A Record of Cambodia)".
The symbolic meaning of the lake Anavatapta and some Lingam carved into the stones of the main pool, turned the place into a pool of holy healing water. Here people weren't soaked in the lake water, but they were brought into the four chapel-like structures, that from the shores of the lake can only be seen as "roofs", and had their heads washed with the holy water. Inside of each of the chapels, like in the description of the lake Anavatapta, there is a stone head with inside it a hole that let the water pass through it and pour from the mouth.
Starting from the north-chapel, you'll first meet an elephant head, you can see it in the third picture, which Mr. Daguan describe as coated in bronze. Going east you'll encounter a chapel with a stone human head (probably the one described by Mr. Daguan as a golden Buddha), that you can see in the fourth picture. In the southern one you can find the head of a lion (the golden lion), that you can see in the fifth picture, and in west one you can see the head of an horse (the bronze horse), that you can see in the sixth picture. As you see, the stone heads don't match perfectly with those of the legend, but probably for the king Jayavarman VII it was better to replace one of then with something related to Buddha. The sick people were brought to this place, and the monks poured water from the lake into a hole in the roof of the chapels. The water flowed through a waterway and exited from the mouth of the stone heads, falling onto the heads of the people. It was very interesting to be there and this little temple can give you a really inner sense of peace. The sounds of the street are far away and the visit to this temple is a good reason to relax in this sacred place. When you are there, enjoying the late afternoon with the sunlight that starts to turn orange, you can't stop smiling, thinking, or better, hoping, that some of its healing power has still lasted to our days, giving some peace to its visitors.
On my way back to my driver I was stopped by a policeman. His gun hanging on his side and a book in his hand. He waved at me and screamed "Hi, Hey... Hello!" and soon later "One minute Sew (his way to say "Sir")!". I thought that it was one more check for my ticket and I started to take mine out, to show it to him. He said "No! One... Hèw (I don't know how to write it, but it's how he pronounced "Here" in his "Khmer English")... See..." showing his book, and on this point I thought that he wanted to sell me his book, then he continued "You... You talk Englisss?", I answered that I can, somehow, speak English, and he replied "I don't udewstand... Hèw", showing some lines in his book. So, he needed that I explained to him the meaning of some sentences of a novel. So, I decided to help him out. He was reading Ian Fleming's James Bond. After my, difficult, explanations (it wasn't so easy for me), he asked for more. In the end, he was happy for my help and he let me leave. But many kids surrounded me. I think that they had fun seeing me helping the policeman with his English. In spite that it may look that I'm making fun of him, I felt a big respect for him for learning languages, and in the end, it was also fun to do that. It also helped me to learn better how to understand the Khmer pronunciation of English, as for them, many sounds are quite difficult, like for example, the use of the "r". This mutual language lesson, helped me some days later, so, somehow, I'm grateful to that policeman.
East Mebon - The island of the ancestors
in the times of the Khmer Empire, there were three water reservoirs that surrounded the city of Angkor Thom. The water reservoirs are named "Baray". In the middle of each of them there was an artificial island which was called "Mebon". On our days, only the "Western Mebon" still has its original island characteristics, as the other two water reservoirs dried up. Now the Eastern Mebon (or East Mebon) is a temple in the middle of the rice fields and tropical tree plantations, while the "Northern Mebon" is also known as Preah Neak Pean. I suppose that it would have been majestic to see the East Mebon, a mountain temple, rising from the mirror-like waters of the Baray. In our days, you can reach this temple easily. The size is huge. But when you're there, you'll also notice how it looks like the Ta Keo temple (the temple for the Ancestor Keo) and another temple called "Pre Rup". The characteristic that makes it recognisable from the others is the presence of huge stone elephants statues. While looking back at my pictures I was happy that I wrote after every visit to a temple many notes, otherwise it'd be impossible to recognise it from its twin temple "Pre Rup" (I call it the "Twin Temple" for the problems that I had to sort which one was the Mebon and which the Pre Rup). This temple was built by the king Rajendravarman and it was dedicated to Shiva and Parvati (it's plausible that the king compared the two Gods to his parents) and also to Vishnu and Brahma. The temple was built in the second half of the 900 A.D.. It's quite interesting to climb up this temple. From the top of it, you can have a beautiful view of what's surrounding it.
Anyway, it's advisable to go there in the morning or late afternoon, seeing that, when I climbed it was just in the early afternoon and the heat was almost unbearable. Again, when I was on the top, I had to pour a lot of water over myself to freshen myself. One more thing. The pictures of this group are frames from a video that I took there. In fact, the "real" pictures that I took there weren't so good, and I decided to show you the frames of the movie as they are more beautiful.
Anyway, it's advisable to go there in the morning or late afternoon, seeing that, when I climbed it was just in the early afternoon and the heat was almost unbearable. Again, when I was on the top, I had to pour a lot of water over myself to freshen myself. One more thing. The pictures of this group are frames from a video that I took there. In fact, the "real" pictures that I took there weren't so good, and I decided to show you the frames of the movie as they are more beautiful.
Pre Rup - Where they turned the body
When you're on the grand circuit, about 500 metres from the East Mebon, you can find another mountain-temple. This one is called Pre Rup. The outlook of this temple is absolutely similar to the East Mebon. The main difference between the two mountain temples is that the Pre Rup was made of red stone, and it's advisable to visit this temple in the morning or at the sunset as the orange light makes the place glow in a golden impression. The temple was made in the second half of 900 A.D.. It seems like the king Rajendravarman built it, in his own memory and that of his closer relatives. The scholars believe that the temple was also used for funerary purposes, probably starting with the king Rajendravarman that died untimely. A rectangular stone tank stands at the bottom of the main stairway. Probably it was there where the funeral ceremony was held. The same name "Pre Rup" also means "Turn the body", in memory of the custom of drawing the shape of a body into the ashes left after the funeral pyre on a board, and then to turn the body in each of the cardinal points. The temple is very beautiful, but again the climb of it, in the day time, can be a bit hard. I'm happy that I trained myself hard before going as I've seen many untrained people having trouble getting to the top of these mountain-temples. When I reached the top I had before me a beautiful sunset. Far clouds were announcing that soon later we'd have an heavy storm. But the red light caressed the red stones of the temple, rendering for me a beautiful memory of the place. I sat on a side of the west stairway watching the sunset. A small girl saw me from the bottom and she climbed to the top to sell me some postcards, but I didn't need them. For good luck I'd brought some pencils with me and I gave them to her as a reward for the climbing. I didn't want to give her sweets as I don't want to be the cause of her toothache. She was happy and then, barefoot, she went to other people keeping on her mission to sell something to them. Even this is Kampuchea. When I was there I wandered if, maybe, one of her ancestors was the king Jayavarman VII (the greatest king), Rajendravarman (the builder of that temple) or Suryavarman II (the builder of Angkor Wat). It may be possible as the kings had many concubines and from them had absolutely many children. After having thanked the temple for the beautiful feelings that it gave to me, I came back to my driver and I came back to Siem Reap for the evening.