Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu at first, then Buddhist temple complex and the
largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the
Khmer King
Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in
Yasodharapura present-day
Angkor), the capital of the
Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the
Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to
Vishnu.
As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have
remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first
Hindu, then
Buddhist.
The temple is at the top of the high classical style of
Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of
Cambodia,
[1] appearing on
its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.
History
Angkor Wat[அங்கோர் வாட்] lies 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north of the modern town of
Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at
Baphuon.
It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of
ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.
The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of
Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to
Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation
stela
nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been
found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as
"Varah Vishnu-lok" ( literally "Holy Vishnu Location", Old Khmer
Cl. Sanskrit") after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the
bas-relief decoration unfinished.
[5] In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the
Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king,
Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (
Angkor Thom and the
Bayon respectively) a few kilometres to the north.
In the late 13th century, Angkor Wat gradually moved from Hindu to
Theravada Buddhist
use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among
the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the
16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being
due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from
encroachment by the jungle.
[6]
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was
António da Madalena, a
Portuguese
monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary
construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen,
particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has
towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can
conceive of."
[7] In the mid-19th century the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer,
Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:
"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."[8]
