Preah Vihear
Inherited Sacred Power of the Mountain

In 1018A.D, Suryavarman I placed lingas named “Suryavarmesvara” In four large temples to mark the boundaries of his empire. The temples are Preah Vihear, Preah Khan in Kompong Svay, Phnom Chisor, and Wat Basset. Some temples, like many regional temples, were built using the natural features of mountains. Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced however nature spirits were still sacred.
Phnom Kulen, the birthplace of the Khmer Empire, continued to be an important sanctuary to Angkor even 300 years after its establishment. At Kbal Spean, from where water from Phmom Kulen flows to the Siem Reap River, the rocky riverbed is sculptured with a thousand linga and various other religious carvings. Water, as a precious resource throughout the Angkor region, was purified by the sacred powers of the linga at Kbal Spean before being delivered to the people.

Phimeanakas
Sacred Spirits of the Water

While Khmer kings embraced the foreign religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, it was also important that they believed in the power of the serpent, the symbol of the native spirit. Before foreign cultures were introduced to Angkor, the serpent was one of the most important symbols of local beliefs. Since ancient times, it was considered a “spirit of the water” and was worshipped as the god of agriculture. The significance of the serpent is illustrated in a legend surrounding Phimeanakas, a small pyramid-temple situated in the center of the royal court in Angkor Thom.
According to legend, a serpent-spirit lived in Phimeanakas, or the “celestial palace”. Every night the king had to sleep with the serpent-spirit, who took the form of a beautiful woman, of risk the fall of his empire. The sculptures of the multi-headed serpent Naga that are found throughout the temples of the Khmer Empire are the guardian spirits of the god of water.
The Angkor kings called themselves “Kamrateng Jagat ta Raja (supreme king of the guardian spirits)” in the ancient Khmer language, which translates to “Deva-raja (king of the gods)” in Sanskrit. These names indicate that the kings practiced Hinduism as a state religion, but also believed strongly in the native spirit that emphasized their absolute divine power.
Angkor temples were built in a uniquely Khmer style with Hindu deities, and symbolized the merging of the native traditional beliefs with non-native religious symbolism.

Phnom Kulen
Temple of the God-King

Jayavarman II founded the Khmer Empire in 802A.D. by declaring mount Phnom Kulen as its state-temple, and proclaiming that the king himself is god. Thus was born the “Deva-raja (god-king)” cult that came to be one of the distinctive features of kings of the Khmer Empire. The pyramid-shaped mountain-temple was dedicated to the god-king and worshipped along with numerous other deities. An inscription at the summit of Phnom Kulen states that this mountain-temple is the center of the royal city as well as the universe, and the king becomes one with the gods through a sculpture offered to the gods.
The Siva sect of Hinduism believed that the source of the king’s power came from a phallic symbol called linga. Therefore, a linga sculpture was erected at the top of the mountain-temple. The linga itself was considered the guardian god of the empire. Through a ritual preformed by a Brahmin priest. siva, the creator of the universe, descended on the linga representing the king.

Koh ker
The Short-lived Capital of the Colossal Linga

The history of the royal families of the Khmer Empire represents a history of power struggles over the throne. In the beginning of the 10th century, Jayavaman IV, the seventh king of the Khmer Empire transferred the capital away from Angkor a city called Chok Gargyar, 80 km north. The city is known today as the site of the Koh ker Monuments.
In 921 A.D., he housed his god-king statue on the summit of Prasat Thom, a pyramid mountain-temple in the center of the city. Koh Ker was the capital of the Khmer Empire for twenty years. Though the capital was returned to Angkor immediately upon the death of Harshavarman II, the successor of Jayavarman IV, Koh Ker remained home to numerous temples housing huge Linga in their main sanctuary.

Bayon
A Grand Scheme Symbolic of a New Empire

The Champa Kingdom of the Chams, which flourished in the southern half of Vietnam, was engaged in a long-standing battle with the Khmer Empire. In 1177, Champa king Jaya indravarman invaded the Khmer Empire by sending a Champa fleet to Lake Tonle Sap.
“ Jaya Indravarman, the king of the chams, presumptuous as Ravana, transported his army in chariots, and went to fight the country of Kambu, in hordes” – Inscription on a royal monument.
The Champa army seized Angkor, plundered the towns, and took back to Champa the spoils of their victory. The Khmer king was dethroned. Jayavarman VII was determined to recover national dignity and the kingdom, and fought the Chams in numerous battles. Jayavarman VII ultimately won back his country and annexed a large part of the Champa kingdom and the Indochina region to his empire. Four years after the invasion of the Chams, Jayavarman VII restored peace to the kingdom through military victories, and his handling of internal state affairs.
Jayavarman VII was devoted to Buddhism. He chose to house a Buddha image in the main chamber of Bayon Temple as a symbol of his divine spirit. The construction of Bayon Temple was a grand scheme aimed to unify the entire empire. Unlike temples such as Angkor Wat, built based on a tradition of Hindu religious doctrine, the Bayon temple looked completely different. Not restricted to any one religion, it appears as though a mixture of gods were brought together in the limited space of the temple.

“The Jayagiri (mountain of victory) scrapes the brilliant sky at its top and a Jayasindhu (sea of victory) touches at its impenetrable depth the world of the serpents. Jayagiri and Jayasindhu are rainbow bridges of great glory” –Inscription on the four Prasat Chuong temples at the four corners of the enclosure of Angkor Thom.
Construction of the Bayon temple and the King Jayavarman VII
Bayon displays an intricate mixture of dark, highly dense spaces resembling a maze, and bright, heaven-like spaces protected by statues. This contrast between light and dark probably emerged because the temple was not constructed according to a single design plan. For instance, the original plan was repeatedly modified, and the galleries of the temple were interconnected and bent in ways that were not originally intended. A larger number of towers than planned were squeezed into limited spaces, and the platform ended up engulfing a sanctuary that originally existed.
Here we examine the process by which Bayon came to take on its present appearance. Let us also take a close look at Jayavarman VII, the king who constructed the complex Bayon temple and gain a view of his fanatic dedication to temple construction.

Bakong and Phnom Bakheng
Development of Massive Mountain-Temples

In 881 A.D. Indravarman I built a temple at Bakong and dedicated it to the god-king Indresvara. Bakong is the central temple of the Roluos Group of Monuments, and marks the beginning of advances in rapid development of mountain0temple construction. Around the year 900 A.D. Yasovarman I built the first large city in the Angkor region and a pyramid temple dedicated to the god-king Yasodaresvara on the summit of Phnom bakheng, a mountain located in the center of the city. He also built mountaintop temples on Phnom Krom and Phnom Bok, two of few natural stone mountains in the flatlands of Angkor.

Angkor Wat
The Ultimate Grandeur

In the 11th century, a golden lingo sculpture that was believed to be the central axis of the world was erected in Baphuon.
“As Mt. Meru is the center of the universe it shall also be the center of the royal city” –Mid-11th century inscription at Baphuon.
In the 12th century, the royal religion shifted from Siva to Visnu. Angkor Wat is a Visnu temple that was built at the height of the Visnu religious movement in Angkor. In area it is the largest pyramid temple in the world, and represents the ultimate grandeur of Khmer architecture.
Angkor Watt has also been interrelated as the symbol of Mount Meru. The seven circles of the central tower corresponded to the seven chains of the mountains of Mount meru. The three terraces of the temple corresponded to the three platforms of earth, and the water filled moat for the ocean. It brings together a perfectly systematized religion and a diverse wisdom into perfect harmony

Preah Visnu