Viet-Cam tour – Second leg
Cambodia was part of
Indo-China, a term used to denote a particular part of Southeast Asia occupied
by the countries of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, lands
historically within the cultural influence of India and China. They came under French rule during the days
of colonial expansion and were overrun by Japanese in the Second World War. When Japanese were defeated at the end of Second
World War, French regained control of the area and only after Geneva accord in
1954 France withdrew and the three countries became independent. Khmers or Cambodians regarded Sanskrit as the
language of literature. Further Chinese accounts speak of an Indianized state
called Funan in South Cambodia. Khmer script is a variety of the Grantha script
of South India, which is derived from Brahmi script of ancient India. The names of kings and the temple
architecture speak volumes of Indian influence on Khmer or Cambodian culture. This
was evident in all the monuments we visited.
Our
first visit was to the south Gate of Angkor Thom which is about 7kms north of
Siam Reap. It is flanked by a moat and high walls. On the pathway to the gate
the scene of churning the ocean for divine nectar for immortality (Amrit) is
depicted. On one side are the statues of Devas and on the other side are the
statues of Asuras, both holding the rope for churning, which was none other than
the serpent Vasuki. Inside the gateway
is the richly decorated Bayon temple. Its
distinctive feature is the multitude of massive stone faces on the many towers
which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is also famous for the impressive
sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological,
historical, and mundane scenes. The
temple was built as the official state temple of the
Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman
VII and after Jayavarman’s death it was modified by
later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings. The temple is a striking example of baroque style of Khmer
architecture and is listed as a world heritage monument by UNESCO. Japanese Government is associated with the
conservatory maintenance of this monument.
Adjacent to
Bayon is the Elephants Terrace, used by Angkor's king Jayavarman VII
as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army. This is a vast
platform with five staircases leading to a high platform flanked by Airavata,
the royal elephant of King Indra. The
terrace walls display Garudas and lion-faced monsters besides elephants. We also went to Baksei Chamkrong, a Hindu
temple, not in use, dedicated to Lord
Siva, located in the Angkor complex. The pyramid shaped temple with a number of
steps divided into four tiers was built by King Harshavarman dedicated to his
father Yasovarman. It is said there was a
golden image of Lord Siva here, but now there is only a Sivalinga. There are also inscriptions on stone in this
temple as in historic Hindu temples of South India.
After lunch and a brief rest
we went to the world-famous Angkor Wat, meaning “Capital Temple” in Khmer, the
largest religious monument in the world and a UNESCO classified World Heritage Site. Angkor Wat is considered a striking example
of classic Khmer architecture and the Cambodian flag also features a
depiction of Angkor Wat in the centre.
It was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, in
12th century by king Suryavarman
II,
and later it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and
statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork. Angkor Wat is
surrounded by a moat that runs for more than 5 Km. This moat is 13 feet deep and has helped stabilize the temple’s foundation, preventing groundwater from
rising too high or falling too low. Its
213-foot-tall central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers and a series
of enclosure walls, a layout to recreate the image of Mount Meru. On top of the central tower entered
by way of a steep staircase, is the shrine of Vishnu. The bas reliefs with their intimate attention to detail are quite amazing. The churning of Milky ocean for divine nectar
for immortality (Amrit) by devas and asuras with the snake Vasuki as the rope and
the battle of Sri Lanka from Ramayana and battle of Kurukshetra from Mahabharatha and the depiction of hells and heavens are notable bas-reliefs besides the
historical scene depicting the procession of King Suryavarman II. Large portions of the Angkor Wat temple
complex remain unfinished and it is said that construction stopped when Suryavarman
II died. Angkor Wat also suffered when
the city was sacked by Thais in 15th century and in 1908 the French pioneered Angkor Wat restoration project that
continues to this day.
From Angkor Wat we went to
Bakheng hill, on top of which is a temple, Phnom Bakheng, devoted to
Lord Siva. It is popular because it is a
favourite location of tourists for watching the sunset. Tired as we were, we did not climb upto the
temple but stopped midway at a look out point and watched the sunset. We retired for the day after watching the
sunset.
Next
morning we rose early and went to watch the sunrise in Angkor Wat but were
disappointed as the clouds were crowding the horizon. We returned to the hotel
and after breakfast went to Banteay Srei.
Banteay Srei is a 10th century Cambodian temple dedicated
to Lord Siva. The temple is
comparatively smaller in size, but has rich decorative carvings akin to indian
architecture that led to its being praised as a “jewel of khmer art”. The temple was built by Yajnavaraha, a
Brahmin priest and counselor of King Rajendravarman II. Scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha and of
several Gods and Devas like Lord Siva, and Indra can be seen among others in
the finely depicted ornamental carvings. Located in a remote area the temple was
discovered in 1914.
Ta
Prohm temple which gives an impression of entering a jungle with temple ruins
was the next and the last place of our visit.
Ta Prohm was once a Buddhist temple devoted to king Jayavarman VII’s
mother. The popularity of this place shot
up after the film “Tomb Raider” was shot here making the strangulating tree
root formation known by its nickname as “the Crocodile tree” to be known as the
“Tomb Raider Tree” by all, after the release of the movie. Ta Prohm does not feature many complex
carvings, or narrative reliefs. Maybe original carvings may have decayed in
the jungle, or been destroyed following the death of Jayavarman VII and the
rise of Hinduism. Although
work has been done to stabilize the ruins, Ta Prohm was deliberately left much
as it was found, giving it the nickname “the jungle temple”. As a
result some parts are impassable, and we
explore the temple from one amazing tree formation to the next, rather than by
any temple plan. India is associated
with the project of conservation and restoration of the temple, which like
other monuments is one of the World Heritage sites. Earlier we had a quick walk
around Pre Rup, another pyramid temple devoted to Lord Siva which is now in
ruins. Pre Rup was the state temple of
King Rajendravarman II. The temple which
was completely overgrown and covered with soil was excavated by the French during
the 1930’s and is now a World Heritage site.
The next day we flew to
Hanoi, capital of Vietnam on the third leg of the tour. While in Siam Reap we stayed in Lotus Blanc
Hotel which was in a main road. This
was the best hotel of our stay in the tour. Further the tour guide here, Mr. Sokha, was quite senior-friendly, giving me a
helping hand to negotiate the steep steps in many places. He also guided us to an Indian restaurant, Namasthe, not far from our hotel where the food was good. The Lotus Blanc hotel staff also tried to help us with vegetarian dishes for our dinner. All these extra efforts and my interest in historic
monuments contributed to make our stay in Siam Reap memorable. Photos taken in this leg of the tour can be seen in my Flickr album "Siam Reap" @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157661896278947
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