Siem Reap : Preah Khan Temple

Preah Khan Temple was built by King Jayavarman VII (Jayavarman VII) after he defeated the Cham army in the late 12th century in 1191. During the reign of King Jayavarman VII, Angkor adopted Mahayana Buddhism. Preah Khan Temple has a rectangular layout, 800 meters long and 700 meters wide. The temple has four walls and has gopuras (gates) in the four directions. On each side of the four gopuras, there are sculptures of "Krud" dragons carved into the temple walls. Mr. Chea Sarith, an archaeologist with the Apsara National Authority, in a recent interview with journalists, confirmed that Preah Khan Temple was originally called "Chey Srei". Preah Khan Temple was the former capital of Chey Srei after King Jayavarman VII defeated the Cham army. The temple commemorates his victory.

+The role of Preah Khan Temple

Preah Khan Temple is not only a temple dedicated to his father. Preah Khan Temple was a former capital of King Jayavarman VII when he went to rebuild Angkor Thom, which had been burned by the Cham army. King Jayavarman VII built the walls of Angkor Thom before he built Bayon Temple. After King Jayavarman VII moved to Angkor Thom, Preah Khan Temple was used in the fields of education and religion. “This temple was converted into a large university for training Buddhists. King Jayavarman VII’s father was a philosopher,” says Chea Sarith.

+Religion changes during the reign of King Jayavarman VII

King Jayavarman VII converted from Brahmanism to Mahayana Buddhism. According to Mr. Chea Sarith, in order to unify religions, King Jayavarman VII built a “Krud” statue on the temple wall, which is a representation of Vishnu, representing Brahmanism. He respected Buddhism, but he continued to associate Brahmanism without completely eliminating it. “The Krud statue that he showed on the temple wall of Preah Khan also represents strength and strength after defeating the Cham army.” Mr. Chea Sarith said this, adding that the Krud statue has a dragon below and a Buddha above, which is a symbol of religious harmony at that time. On the eastern entrance to Preah Khan Temple, about 100 Buddha statues are carved on both sides of the entrance before reaching the gopura. This Buddha statue has Buddha images carved around it, which shows that during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, Mahayana Buddhism was the main religion. Currently, these Buddha statues have been destroyed, but one is still in good condition. Archaeologist Chea Sarith claims that the main reason for this destruction was the change of religion during the reign of the king. “In the reign after Jayavarman VII, they converted to Brahmanism. So, the temple was modified. So, everything related to Buddhism was destroyed. Some of the sculptures were converted to Brahmanism,” Chea Sarith explained. The conversion of the Buddhist sculptures probably took place in the 13th or 14th century. All the temples during Jayavarman VII’s reign were converted to Brahmanism.

+Large sculptures of Jayavarman VII

King Jayavarman VII built the Ta Prohm temple to dedicate it to his mother. Later, he built the Preah Khan temple to dedicate it to his father. Finally, Jayavarman VII built the Bayon temple in Angkor Thom, a mountain temple, for his own worship. During his reign, Jayavarman VII built a baray to draw water from the Siem Reap River and named it “Jayathadak” after himself. He then built a temple called Neak Poen in the middle of the baray. This baray, "Jeyatdak", is located near Preah Khan. He also built another temple, Ta Som, in the late 12th century, as a Mahayana Buddhist temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. His works are numerous, especially the restoration of several ancient sites and the Angkor Wat temple.