Preah Khan temple, Siem Reap

Preah Khan transliterated as Prah Khan is six minutes drive from Angkor Thom and was built by King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century.

Our driver dropped us off at the western entrance so we started our journey from the west end. We faced one disadvantage, the sun was glaring onto our camera so taking pictures was not easy. It is better if one starts from the east end, that way sun is behind you but looks over at the temple gopuras.

eastern gate of outermost enclosure

History of the temple:

• Preah Khan, pronounced Pra Khan means 'sacred sword', was built on the site where King Jayavarman VII (23rd king of Khmer Empire)  defeated the Chams in 1191.
• The temple's stele which was found in the central sanctuary gives information about the history of the temple. The temple was dedicated to Dharanindravarman II, Jayavarman VII's father.
• According to information from the inscription, 430 images of Hindu deities were placed here.
• The main image in the center of temple represented bodhisattva Avalokiteshwar in the form of Dharanindravarman II.  It has been replaced by a stupa now.
• Ta Prohm, also made by Jayavarman VII, was dedicated to his mother, Queen Sri Jayarajachudamani, where he identified his mother with goddess Prajnaparamita. After five years completion of Ta Prohm temple, Jayavarman VII constructed this temple.
• The temple had 430 deities and shrines.
• Preah Khan means 'sacred sword', is derived from the temple's original name, Nagara Jayashri (नगर जयश्री), meaning city of victory. in Khmer, Shri is also spelt as "Sri" which mean holy or great.
• The temple covers an area of 138 acres. It also covers Neak Pean, in Jayatataka Baray where the King used to visit to pay homage.
• The King himself lived here till his place at Angkor Thom was  constructed.
• When Jayavarman VIII, (grandson of Jayavarman VII) came to power he removed all Buddha images. Moreover, much damage was done during Khmer Rouge during which period many images were stolen.

Restoration of temple:

Restoration of temple has not been easy with trees penetrating the walls.

tree finds its way into the walls

• The clearing of temple took place from 1927 to 1932. With partial anastylosis, attempts were made to restore the temple. Many statues and stele have been removed to keep them safely.
• After 1991, the temple has been maintained by the World Monuments Fund.
• Continuous effort to conserve the temple is taking significant time.

Plan of the temple:

When I visited the temple, just reading from the notes I had made was very confusing, so I thought of adding location to the temple map by Maurice Glaize

I, II, III, IV--- 4 temple boundaries, 1. western satellite temple, 2. north Shiva temple, 3 south temple, 4. central sanctuary, 5. north east temples, 6. two- storey building, 7. ceremonial platform, 8. Hall of Dancers, 9. libraries, 10. water pit, 11. moat and west and east gopura,  12. avenue with bollards, 13. Fire house

three enclosures, fourth being the outermost

• The outer or the fourth enclosure wall made of laterite has 72 Garudas at a distance of 50 meters  each. This also served as a city wall.
• The wall is circled by a moat measuring 800 by 700 meters.
• This area inside the second wall was the  was living place for monks, students, and common men.
• Between the second and third enclosure are temples in north, south and west direction. The temples on west are dedicated to Vishnu, on north to Shiva. The southern section which has hardly any intact temples was for ancestor worship.
• The eastern direction formed the grand entrance to central shrine which was the accepted direction for a temple to face.
• The plan of the temple is not confusing. Entrance to temple gopura on each cardinal direction is connected by a causeway over a moat. The sides depict a scene from churning of sea, samudra manthan, to get the elixir. Here, the asur and devta are seen with Vasuki, the naga king as the rope.
• Hall of dancers connects eastern entrance to the central sanctuary. Central sanctuary is surrounded by many temples especially in the north eastern direction.
• The satellite temple on north is dedicated to Shiva, where as temple on the west to Vishnu.
• On the south, is ancestor place in memory of the deceased parents.
• The area in the north eastern area of central sanctuary has become very congested owing to continuous later additions of temples.
• Apart from being a temple, Preah Khan was also a Buddhist monastery, a Mahayana university with 1000 teachers, shrines for almost 430 Hindu gods and professional dancers who used to dance in the Hall of dancers.
• With an area of 56 hectares,  the temple served not only as a temple but as a complete city with over 100,000 people. The wooden structures have long since gone.
• A House of Fire can be seen to north after the third enclosure measuring 200 meters by 175 meters.

The devtas can be seen on one side and asur on the other side. The style is very similar to that of moat in Angkor Thom.

moat with churning of the ocean, asur on one side and devta on the other side

moat outside the wall

Angor Thom and Preah Khan are so close to each other that their moats are just 250 meters away from each other.

The laterite wall of the outermost fourth enclosure is more than 3 kms and has 72 Garuda, each 5 meter tall, all around at regular intervals. On the four corners, they are much higher.

Each garuda holds a naga in each hand

The vast area of this temple city surrounded by moat was equipped with wooden houses and huts where the people lived. With the passage of time, these wooden houses are no more. It also had hospitals, house with fire for cooking or dharmsala.

The stone structures of temples have somehow endured the onslaught of time.

a chopped off tree which has engulfed the walls and inside structure

Degradation of structure:

Most of the archeological sites are struggling with microbial degradation.

discoloration of stone

water seepage and algae damaging the wall

Algae Trentepohlia, which thrives on hot and humid climate leading to degradation of stone

                             What could be better than coconut water at the end of a trip?

The temple is largely unrestored and lots of effort needs to be put to restore it properly. We shall now be entering the temple. 

I initially thought of writing gate wise but that became too complicated so decided that enclosure wise would be much better.

Entering the temple, Outer walls