Angkor Thom is Khmer for "Great City" and was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. King Jayavarman VII established it in the late twelfth century. It covers an area of 9 km².
The city lies on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, a tributary of Tonlé Sap, about a quarter of a mile from the river. The south gate of Angkor Thom is 7.2 km north of Siem Reap, and 1.7 km north of the entrance to Angkor Wat. Moats surround the 8 metre high walls that are built of laterite buttressed by earth, with a parapet on the top. There are gates at each of the cardinal points, from which roads lead to the Bayon (See later posts) at the centre of the city.
The faces on the 23metre towers at the city gates are said to be later additions to the main structure and may represent the king himself.
A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower: these have a row of devas on the left and asuras on the right, each row holding a naga in the attitude of a tug-of-war.
Asuras and Devas have their origins in ancient Hindu Indian mythology. According to my research in Wikipedia, ‘Deva’ is the Sanskrit word for deity and in Hinduism Devas are associated with any benevolent supernatural being. ‘Asuras’ are the half-brothers of Devas and their mortal enemies. ‘Vasuki’ is Shiva's (The destroyer) snake and ‘Amrita’ is the drink of the gods, which grants immortality.
The legend suggests that the devas and asuras used the nāga king Vasuki in order to the churn the ‘Ocean of Milk’ in a quest for amrita, the elixir of life. They did so because as a result of a curse from the sage Durvasa they were beginning to lose their immortality. Assisted by their mortal enemies, the Asuras, they churn the ocean and create (among other wonderful things) amrita, the nectar of immortality.
It is thought that the temple-mountain of the Bayon, or perhaps the gate itself,could have then be the pivot around which the churning took place.
The nagas may also represent the transition from the world of men to the world of the gods (the Bayon) or be guardian figures.
Within the city was a system of canals, through which water flowed from the northeast to the southwest. The secular buildings of the city, of which nothing remains, would have occupied the bulk of the land enclosed by the walls. This area is now covered by forest.
Most of the great Angkor ruins have vast displays of bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses, and otherworldly beings from the mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism (modified by centuries of Buddhism). Mingled with these are roundels depicting various common animals—pigs, monkeys, water buffaloes, roosters and snakes. As no mythological figures appear on the roundels, it has been concluded that these images depict the animals that were commonly seen by the ancient Khmer people in the twelfth century.
This is complicated I know but the extent of the bas-relief carvings here and at all the other sites we visited is truly staggering. Hopefully the photos give you some idea of the ancient Hindu mythology that inspired the building and carving of these holy buildings.
I hope you followed all that? There will be a test at the end!!
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