Angkor Wat Tells Stories Of The Glorious Past

Last Updated (Wednesday, 31 December 1969 15:59) Written by Michael Em Monday, 30 November 2009 16:42

The ancestry of Cambodia is traced back to the legendary Indian Kaundinya and Soma, a Khmer princess, and this lineage was called Somavamsa. It was in the 7th century that Kambu and Mera, another legendary couple established a different lineage, the Suryavamsa. Amidst several warring kings, King Jayavarman II declared himself a universal ruler in 802.

The ancestry of Cambodia is traced back to the legendary Indian Kaundinya and Soma, a Khmer princess, and this lineage was called Somavamsa. It was in the 7th century that Kambu and Mera, another legendary couple established a different lineage, the Suryavamsa. Amidst several warring kings, King Jayavarman II declared himself a universal ruler in 802.

Modern Cambodia is different from the one of the past, when it also included places like China, Thailand, and Vietnam among several others. Jayavarman II made this region the center of his empire and it was later called Angkor. Thousands of Khmer workers cleared the jungles and made the land good for farming. They also started building palaces and temples.

Each and every king of the Khmer empire built several beautiful temples and palaces. This was mostly done to show their power. However, Angkor's finest temple, the Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II, who ruled the Khmer empire from 1113 to 1150. This temple staggers the imagination with its unbelievable architecture.

King Suryavarman gave orders for the construction of a grand Hindu temple to honor Lord Vishnu, and it took thirty-five long years to build. Sculptures of gods, including Lord Shiva grace the walls of the temple. While most other Khmer temples face the East, the Angkor Wat faces the West. Some historians believe that the West, a direction of the setting sun indicates death, but others believe that it shows dedication to Lord Vishnu.

Angkor Wat is based on the temple mountain idea. It has five big towers rising out of a larger pyramid shaped temple that represents the whole mountain. The same shapes appear over and over again throughout the temple indicating the perfect symmetry and repetition. It is not just a temple, but a small city in itself. There are four galleries surrounding the main temple area and are famous for their detailed art work. The temple architecture leaves many modern architects speechless.

There was a unique controversy surrounding the temple, which was soon put to an end. It questioned the history of when the temple was built. The Europeans came up with the notion that the temple was built after the--th century because the temple's motifs look exactly like the motifs from the Italian Renaissance. However, this rumor and allegation was instantly proved wrong, with historians saying that the opposite was true - that it was the Europeans that took the oriental art from Angkor Wat to Europe.

Inscriptions on the walls of Angkor Wat reveal that Divakara Pandit, a priest who lived around 1050-1135 was highly respected. These inscriptions and his image talk of his achievements with great love. He was said to be the chief architect for this temple. Through the carved writings found in the region that show royalty as well as the common people, archeologists get a lot of information. Everything about Angkor Wat reveals a story that helps us visualize the temple and the Khmer Empire in all its glory.