Prasat Bayon, Siem Reap

One of the irresistible and unique temple in the Angkor area is Bayon. 1500 meters away from the South gate stands this extraordinary temple. The smiling faces give an ethereal aura to the whole place. After seeing Ta Prohm, we headed towards Bayon. One could imagine how beautiful it must have looked so many years back. The monument now with fallen stones and towers with still stand majestically with smiling faces . It is the main temple in Angkor Thom.

Some history and facts of the temple:

• After the Cham army attacked Cambodia and destroyed Yashodharapur in 1177, Jayavarman VII ousted the Chams in 1178 and proclaimed himself as the ruler of the Khmer empire.
• He was the last great King of Angkor who ascended the throne of Angkor in 1181. He was a strong profounder of Mahayana Buddhism and also got a huge 3.6 meter tall of Buddha erected in the central tower. His wives were a big source of encouragement to him who themselves were devout Buddhists.
• He made Angkor Thom (great city) his capital and enclosed the city with a wall.
• Bayon was built almost in the center of city of Angor Thom.
• The temple was originally named Jayagiri (जयगिरि) or the "mountain of victory". After French colonized the country they started calling it Banyan temple under the assumption that Buddha attained Nirvana under that tree! Though it is the Bodhi tree or Peepal tree under which he attained enlightenment.
• The word banyan got distorted to Bayon by the locals and that name continued.
• Most of the temples are surrounded by walls or enclosure but Bayon does not have a moat or any outer wall.  It is situated exactly in center of the city of Angor Thom which is protected by an outer wall. It was thus built as a state temple.
• It was built almost 100 years after Angkor Wat.
• After his death in 1219, Indravarman II ascended the throne, he continued being a follower of Mahayana.
• In 1243, Jayavaraman VIII became the king. He was a strong Shaivite (follower of Shiva) and the state religion shifted to Hinduism.
• He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Sri Indravarman who was a follower of Thervada Buddhism. The temple practice thus shifted to Thervada from Hindu religious practices.
• Many Buddha statues along with the huge 3.60 meter Buddha statue were destroyed. It was later restored and is now enshrined in Vihear Prapil Loveng in Angkor Thom.
• The temple had 54 towers each with four faces in the cardinal directions totally to 216 faces. This is double of 108, a number considered sacred to Buddhism because he attained nirvana or enlightenment in 108th life.
• After so many years there are just 49 towers, very few of them complete.
• The towers are 45 meters away from each other and are 5 meters high.
• The smile on each face with half closed eyes and a peaceful smile is compared to Mona Lisa smile and referred to as the "smile of Khmer".

South gate entrance to Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was the city in the center of which stands Bayon.

Bayon, full view

lions guard the west entrance

east entrance to temple

dancing figures on lintel 

dancing figures

east entrance

Earlier there were 54 towers with smiling faces on all sides mounting to 200 but now only 37 remain.

South inner enclosure

There are sitting figures with folded hands under the face.

figures with folded hands under the face

The layout of Bayon is simple and consists of two square galleries which contain bas-reliefs and the central tower or sanctuary at the top which is circular. The circular central part has narrow alleys and is quite confusing. The steep stairs make it all the more difficult.
In contrast to Angkor Wat which has broad corridors, this temple has very narrow ones.

The outer gallery which is 140 meters x 160 meters has bas-reliefs from scenes portraying everyday life, battle scenes.

bas-reliefs on the outer wall of  first level

this is a scene on the eastern gallery

 bas relief showing marching Khmer army in battle between the Khmers and Chams on the eastern gallery

war scene

war procession

war procession

war procession

war procession

Dancing Apsaras:

Apsaras have always been an important part in any Khmer temple. The style and architecture differs with different periods.

This is a very typical Bayon architecture showing three apsaras dancing on top of lotus. The formation is almost triangular with central figure being bigger than the two on its sides.

the style is same but hand movements are different

all three apsaras dancing on lotus

The corridors are open and do not have any roof on them. This gives a perfect opportunity to see and photograph them clearly.

Here, on a column, the apsaras are dancing side by side beside lotus buds.

columns lie on ground

 two apsaras dance side by side on lotus

different style of apsara form

apsara figures on doorway

Third or the topmost level:

This level brings one very close to the smiling faces of Avalokiteshwara. and is one of the most attractive feature in this temple.  It is slightly cramped and gives an impression of its being added as an after thought so as to fit in a limited space.

topmost level or the central sanctuary

The passage has a seven hooded naag balustrade.

All towers have a full bloomed lotus on top and below are four faces in four cardinal directions. 

The temple's condition makes it difficult to assess the original number of faces on towers. But it is thought to have total of 200 faces. Most of the towers have four faces on all four sides, some have three and one tower which has only one face for reasons unknown.

Looking closely one might see different expressions on the face.

broad smile and open eyes, beautiful ornaments and headgear

The four faces depict the omnipresent Avalokiteshwar or Avalokiteshvara. Infact, it has been a matter of debate where the faces represent Avalokiteshwar or Lokeshwar meaning "God of the world".

It is also said to represent Jayavarman VII himself.  Jayavarman VII considered himself as Devaraja (देवराजा ), meaning the "God-King". Here, a king is not only the head of state but is also considered an embodiment of God. In that case, the faces may represent either of the two or may also mean Bodhisatva Avalokiteshwar and Jayavarman together as one.

There was another theory in which the faces on four sides represented Brahma but that was soon ruled out.

close up of the tower with a peaceful smile

The air is magical standing in front of the smiling tower with half closed eyes and a peaceful smile. The smile is often said to be the " Smile of Khmer".

The nose is broad reflecting Khmer features and the head sports a head gear.

Indra on three-headed Airawata

In the center is the central sanctuary

The central tower is surrounded by a ring of towers. The layout is such that the central tower is the highest and the height of towers decrease as they move outwards towards the peripheral towers. It rises 45 meters above ground.

the central tower

The central tower is surrounded by 12 towers. These towers are further surrounded by 21 towers. The towers in both enclosures have four faces on each cardinal direction.

in front of central sanctuary

There are small rooms with small windows in the center. Below the windows one can see dancing apsaras.

dancing apsaras

On the sides stand alone apsaras can be seen.

a shiva yoni in inner gallery

view from the north side

north side of north library

The libraries which are always built in pairs contain religious scriptures or are a place for monks to assemble is not clear.

ruins of Bayon

Lots of work remains to be done for full restoration of temple.

Buddha image facing the temple

Small temple in front of Bayon

With a contented smile we move to another temple.