THE ANCIENT TEMPLE OF ANGKOR

The Ancient Temples of Angkor

The air travel from Phnom Penh to Seim Reap took just 45 minutes and another 15 to 20 minutes by bus to Angkor Wat. It was wonderful to see how the ancient Indians brought religion, a legal system, a script, astronomy and more, about 1000 years ago to this region. I had read about the miss management of restoration work by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) at Angkor Wat. Apparently the Indian Government, under Indira Gandhi had agreed to support the restoration work under the DRK government in Cambodia. The ASI apparently used inappropriate material and port land cement and used ill trained labor, causing damage to the structures. The ASI, however, was working under severe constraints during the time of the civil war when both building material and labor were scarce and there was the ever-present threat of war making working conditions most difficult.

We did see a large placard at Angkor Wat near the famous "Churning of the milk" bass relief sculptures, that repairs and corrective work was on to correct for earlier incorrect restoration work. A couple of ASI staffers, who were with us, were quite indignant about reference to miss management and did talk about the difficult conditions under which the work had been carried out during the civil war. They also said that the work of that period, late 70′s and 80′s, cannot be compared with modern-day restoration practices as major advancements had taken place in restoration techniques. Later on during our visit to the Ta Prom temple, were restoration work was on by ASI, the ASI staff took pains to explain how locally available stones and resins from the trees surrounding the temple were being used in the restoration work, just as they would have over 700 years ago.

                                                                     The Ta Prom temple was almost completely taken over by forests. Many structures had giant trees growing out of them. It made for great and fascinating viewing. This is a very popular temple made unique by the ingress of the forest and the curious juxtaposition of man-made structures and the natural forest, both giant structures. The ASI staff took us through the restoration effort going on at the "Hall of Dances". Considering the state of ruins this hall was in, it did seem a mammoth task to restore. The objective of restoration will be to restore the structures just enough, so that viewers can see partially the glorious structures of the past and just enough to prevent it from total disintegration, when it will be lost forever. .

It was interesting to know that during the reign of the Khmer Kings there was no written records left behind or traceable; even for the reign of Suryavarman 2, the builder and patron of the Angkor Wat city and temple. It was only through painstaking research and breaking of the codes of inscriptions on later temples that the complete linear age and accomplishments of some of the Kings could be unraveled. It is fascinating to read how the jig saw puzzle was put together by groups of dedicated professionals. Some names referred to in literature include,Henri Mouhot, a French Expedition lead by Ernest Doudari de Legree,Dutchman Hendrik Kern who was the first to decipher the Sanskrit inscriptions found in Cambodia and the two Frenchmen, Aguste Barthe and A Bergaigne,who are credited with furthering the field of Khmer epigraphy which lead to the translations of 1200 inscriptions relating to the genealogy of the Khmer Kings. Hats off to these explorers and archaeologists. These individuals reconstructed a bygone age in Cambodia (700 to 1200 AD) and helped build world opinion for the restoration and preservation of these great treasures of humanity.

Each of the four temples we visited, had distinctly different features and each was appealing in its own way. The Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom was characterized by huge images of Bodhisattvas,as this was originally a Mahayana Buddhist temple built by Jayavarman 7th. The temple was converted into a Hindu temple under the reign of Jayavarman 8th and eventually converted into a Theravada Buddhist Temple. Jayavarman 8th was reported to be anti-Buddhist to the extreme and is said to have defaced or removed most of the Buddhist images from the temple. We could see this at the Bayon temple where at several places only recesses remained where earlier Buddhist images would have once been.

       There is an interesting theory about the fall of the Khmer Empire. During the period when the Khmer Empire expanded and established itself as Khambudesa, the Kings were deemed incarnations of Gods as for instances Suryavarman 2nd considered himself as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. They, therefore had unquestioning loyalty and devotion of the people. Their advanced knowledge of water management techniques also lead to prosperity and the ability to carry out gainful trade. During the influence of Theravada Buddhism, the link between the Divine and the King was snapped; it became more difficult to harness the people for major projects and with the ability to manage water also declining, a gradual decline in affluence and a consequent decline of power and authority of the Dynasty took place. The Khmer Kingdom was gradually pushed down to Phnom Penh before dying away.

While the Angkor Wat temple is the most talked about and also the representative symbol of Cambodia, it was the other temples the Bayon, Ta Prohm and Bantey Streiy which caught my fancy a lot more. You explore experience and discover the beauty and fascination of these great structures in your own unique way. Even with limited knowledge of the archaeological significance of these monuments, you do intuitively take to the structures in your own way and discovered them in your own way.