Tam Chuc Pagoda, Vietnam

The largest pagoda in the world, Tam Chuc pagoda is 1.5 hours drive from Hanoi. Located in Ha Nam province, the pagoda has been rebuilt on the grounds of ancient Tam Chuc of Dinh dynasty in the 10th century.

Inaugurated in 2019, this pagoda is largest pagoda to date covering an area of 5,100 hectares. I have so many pictures that I am in a dilemma which ones to chose.

History:

Around 20 years back while surveying the Tam Chuc lake, workers found wooden pillars and other remnents of ancient Tam Chuc Pagoda. The temple was dated back to 1000 years.

The present temple is built on the foundation of the ancient pagoda.

Pagodas as seen from road

Exterior gate, going inside the complex, couldn't take a proper picture

view from inside

The exterior gate is the entry to Tam Chuc complex. The gate has entrances. The top has architecture similar to pagodas in the complex.

The distance from parking lot to pagoda is 5 kms so there are two ways one can reach the pagoda-- by electric motor van or by boat. The van is much faster.

The boat takes about half an hour to reach inner gate. But, that way you get to enjoy the fresh breeze. Also, visit a temple dedicated to queen of Dinh dynasty- Duong Thi Nguyet. People come and pray here.

Architecture of Pagoda:

• The west facing pagoda has Luc Nhuc lake in front and That Thinh mountain behind.
• The Cong Tam Quan or the internal gate has three arched entrances.
• The largest building is Dien Tam The which is at the highest end and houses 3 huge black bronze Buddha images.
• Coming down from Dien Tam The is Dien Phap Cu which has a single image of Buddha.
• Further down is Dien Quan An with an image of Quan An.
• Between the internal gate and Dien Quan An is a garden of 32 pillars.
• This pagoda is very similar to Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh province.

ferry approaching

ferry closer to wharf

passengers get off the boats

Interior gate or Tam Quan Gate:

On getting off the wharf, is the three arched gate.

The gate is located on the Shinto axis, that is the axis between celestial poles. It is similar to Mount Meru or Kailash which forms the center of universe.

Reclining Buddha or "Thich ca thap niet ban" in Vietnamese under the center gate

Images of reclining Buddha are rarely seen in Vietnam in contrast to Thailand where one sees this posture of Buddha in almost all pagodas.

temple guardians on both sides of the hall

Most visitors after the internal gate go to Dien Tam The and then come back visiting  Dien Phap Chu and Dien Quan An temples.

A road goes up towards the Ngoc or ruby pagoda. It is a steep and long climb.

We decided to go to Diean Tam The first, then walk and climb up to Ngoc pagoda and come down seeing Phap Chu and Dien Quan An temples.

Dien Tam The or Main Hall of Buddha of three times:

This biggest temple in this complex is at an altitude of 45 meters above sea level.

The temple has 3 curved roofs.

The corners of roof curve upwards with a dragon mouth open towards inside and tail going up like tidal waves. In the center is the blazing sun with the center of yin and yang.

After taking off shoes and passing through huge wooden doors, one enters a large hall which is 5,100 meters and can accomodate upto 1,500 people.

The three Buddhas: Amitabha, Gautam and Maitreya

In the center of hall are three colossal black bronze Buddha images in three different poses or mudras. Each image weighs about 80 tons and has gold plated Bodhi leaf with small leaves inside.

Tam the Buddha means Buddha of three times: past, present and future. so, it is always worshipped in a set of three. Tam the Buddha is the most worshipped statues in Vietnam.

The past represented by Amitabha Buddha, present is Sakyamuni Buddha and the future is Maitreya Buddha.

back side of each leaf of image

An image of Boddhiattva of compassion, Quan An behind of the images

The hall has reliefs in stone all around the hall. They depict the life of Buddha. There are said to be 12,000 reliefs in the hall.

Kaal chakra or Wheel of time

Three huge reliefs at the back of three statues:

Three huge wall to wall reliefs decorate the back of colossal images. 

Angels and fairies can be seen above the meditating or preaching Buddha.

abhay mudra(do not fear) or even the blessing or var mudra

Buddha in dyaan mudra or meditative posture

Buddha in preaching posture

huge bell inside the hall

The courtyard:

Going down the stairs is a huge courtyard.

an incense burning urn flanked by cranes sitting on turtle

crane with a lotus in its beak symbolises purity and longevity

This image of crane sitting on top of turtle is very frequently seen in Vietnamese pagodas and also in Chinese temples.

I was never able to figure out the significance of this posture earlier.

Both, crane as well as turtle are a symbol of longevity and together they represent a long and healthy life.

According to a folk tale, many years back Vietnam was flooded and a crane flying up could find no dry place to land. A turtle swimming in water, came out and offered its back to the bird. Many years later, the country was struck with a bad drought and there was no water for the turtle. This time the crane flew down and carried the turtle to a lake thus repaying his debt.

These two are thus always displayed together. They also signify helping those in need.

The 30 ton bronze Pho Minh cauldron is 4 meters high and has famous spiritual landscapes of Vietnam sculplted on it.

Zen Master Ngyun Minh Khong

He was one of the Zen Masters who was the ancestor of Bai Dinh pagoda and contributed to the development of Buddhism in Vietnam.

Tam Chuc Pagoda- Ha Nam

Trang An Pagoda--- Bai Dinh

Bai Dinh Pagoda-- Ninh Binh

On the sides are images of Buddha in different mudras or hand gestures

Bodhi tree, a sapling of which came from Sri Lanka and said to be from a 2, 125 year old Bodhi tree in India.

We made our way to Jade pagoda or Ngoc Pagoda. After visiting that pagoda, we come down to see Phap Cu, Dien Quan An. That, I shall be covering in my next post.

Ta Prohm in Tonle Bati, Takeo province, Cambodia

Ta Prohm near Tonle Bati lake is situated 30 kms from Phnom Penh. Incidentally, there is a Ta Prohm with the same name in Seam Reap. Both these temples belong to the same Angkorian period. I found both the temples very different from each other. Maybe, the overgrown trees and vines around the temple in Ta Prohm, Siem Reap gives a different impression. I am talking about the famous Ta Prohm with overgrown trees, Ta Prohm, Siem Reap

History of  the temple:

• the temple was named Sri Suryaparvata or Suryagiri (mountain of sun, for both names in Sanskrit)
• the earlier temple was a place of worship with Hindu deities, built in the 6th century
• the temple was dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu. No doubt you see many Garuda figures here.
•  along with Vishnu, Shiva was also worshiped here. The presence of Shiva Yoni confirms this. Harihara meaning the presence of both deities. Hari (Vishnu), Hara (Shiva). Harihara were reigning deities in Angkor at one time also.
  
• Ta Prohm is placed on the site of  the old Hindu temple. It was built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII(1181-1201) in the late 12th or early 13th century.
  
• the structure is made of brick and laterite. It must have been decorated with relief earlier, most of them on the ground now.
• Jayavarman converted to Buddhism and followed the Mahayana stream.
  

Layout of temple:

The layout of the temple is very simple. There is an outer wall with four entrances, only two can be seen now. The outermost wall is almost non-existent, visible only in small places. Entrance to temple complex is through two gopuras, one on east and the other on west.

A inner gallery with four gopuras surrounds the central sanctuary. Laterite has been used for building walls but sandstone has been used in pediments, lintels, relief as this gave good results after sculpting.

Map taken from http://www.asienreisender.de/taprohm.html

 

 The main tower or sanctuary stands in the center.

A covered cloister surrounds the central tower connecting to gopuras in four directions.

sig

a beautiful wat nearby

part of the crumbling outer wall

buying flowers

As soon as tourists arrive at the temple, girls run to sell lotus flowers and joss sticks which are offered at temple inside.

east entrance gate

What now remains of the gate are huge laterite blocks.

view of east entrance gate from inside

east gopura with north gopura on left and south gopura on the right side

small shrine near the entrance

relief on ground which once decorated either the temple or the entrance gopura

Ponds on both sides of temple

Srahs and barays were reservoirs. They served both for agricultural and religious purposes. Many temples in Siem Reap were built near huge barays.

a lone naga stone

 Indra on three-headed Airawat

meditating Buddha

temple remains

east entrance gopura

Two relief are seen on either side of east entrance gopura.

relief probably depicting a scene from Mahabharata

The relief shows Lord Krishna pulling chariot for Arjuna during the battle.

This relief shows Samudra manthan, Churning of the Ocean

An image stands in the center

rear view, missing pediment on top of gopura

Central Sanctuary:

The enclosure surrounding central tower is 42 meters long and 36 meters wide. The laterite sanctuary in the center is decorated with stunning relief of apsaras, praying ascetics, Garuda. Some of them are seen on the ground now.

east entrance to central sanctuary

dwarapala or temple guardians on the side at entrance

guardians outside the temple with clubs in their hands

 

 reclining Buddha on pediment

Sandstone carving of reclining Buddha at entrance. Some colors are still visible. I am sure it must have looked beautiful earlier.

The sanctuary has 5 chambers one behind the other.

 

East facing, 13th century standing Buddha image in the 1st chamber

Past the first chamber is another image in the second chamber

On the side is seen a Shiva yoni. Combined worship of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) was worshiped. Maybe, an image of Vishnu also stood here.

view from southern entrance

3rd , 4th and 5th chamber as visible from the 2nd chamber

4th chamber, a statue once stood here

5th chamber

entrance on south side of central tower

 

this is the entrance to 2nd chamber

Vishnu with four arms on tympanum

meditating Shiva on lintel

ascetics on doorjamb

 

 south gopura

Vishnu on the north entrance

Here, Vishnu or Noreay (Narayan) has 6 arms each holding a weapon. A row of praying ascetics sit below him

doorjamb at entrance

a relief panel on ground in front of north entrance to temple

 

Other relief structures outside the central tower:

The walls of temple are richly decorated and there is hardly any place left which I could not think of taking a picture of.

the relief work is so similar to those at Angkor Wat

work on sides of temple

Garuda

 

 lotus buds beneath a false window

Angkorian style apsaras by the false window

 

 

Apsaras depicting Angkor style

praying ascetics above the false window

Apsaras with praying ascetics above them

Apsaras on temple side

relief on southern wall, no place left undecorated

samudra manthan or Churning of Ocean

Temple of Preah Noreay:

On the north of central sanctuary was once a sanctuary of Preah Noreay.

A stone image of Noreay or Narai or Narayana or Vishnu once stood in the temple. It now graces the National Museum at Phnom Penh.

Preah Noreay

this is the only image in temple now

Libraries:

In front of central sanctuary, on either side of east gopura are the two libraries.

north and south libraries on either side of east gopura

Garuda by side entrance, near south library

On south library is a carving of Buddha sitting on pediment above the lintel

inside the library south

lintel shows Vishnu with a conch in his hand, Garuda beneath him and probably his three wives: Lakshmi, Ganga and Saraswati

north library

 fragmented pediment on north library

south gopura and cloister

Inside the cloister on the south side, a single image stands.

standing image

it had rained sometime back, water was dropping from roof made holes in the soft floor

relief of meditating Shiva with kaal and singha (lion) beneath him

another relief

 

West entrance:

On the west side of temple complex is another entrance, the west entrance. The west entrance must have been similar at one time. Fortunately, this entrance still remains.

The outer wall is made of laterite, the pillars of entrance and lintel is sandstone.

entrance gate

Because the surface of laterite is uneven and not smooth, it is not fit for carvings. The pediment in southern library also has an image in laterite which can be appreciated only from a distance.

Sandstone, however has been used in lintel here.

Lintel shows Garuda, arms raised in a gesture of holding the pediment.

Sandstone which was procured from Kulen mountains in Siem Reap was more expensive than laterite. So, may be laterite was thought as an alternative.

side view temple, central sanctuary, south gopura seen

rear view of temple

Palm trees from which the sap for making palm jaggery is extracted

 Tonle Bati:

Tonle Bati which is a small lake is a popular weekend getaway. People come from Phnom Penh to relax over the weekends.

shacks by Tonle Bati

One can hire a shack for a day and relax on hammocks. Frogs are the most popular and favorite food served here.

family enjoying a meal by the lake

fishing time

caught a fish at last

time to enjoy

 

A beautiful place which has been neglected, Ta Prohm is definitely a place to visit.