Dr UDAY DOKRAS

SRISHTI DOKRAS Architect

Not All Those who Wander are Lost

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 Dr UDAY DOKRAS
Architect SRISHTI DOKRAS

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

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 Indo Nordic Author’s Collective, Stockholm SWEDEN and Nagpur INDIA

Dr. Uday Dokras

B.Sc., B.A. (managerial economics) LL.B. Nagpur University, INDIA
Graduate Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, CANADA
MBA CALSATATE USA
Graduate Diploma in Law, Stockholm University, SWEDEN
Ph.D. Stockholm University, SWEDEN

Architect Srishti Dokras

1 st Edition 2021
Copyright 2020 Uday Dokras. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by means of electronic, mechanical, photocopy, micro-film, recording or
otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder.
ISBN No. applied for.
Cost US $150. I N R 1500/- Euro 120

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CONTENTS page 3
PART I-INTRODUCTION page 4
CHAPTER I-Memories of the Past-The Wonders of Angkor Wat page 5
CHAPTER II Dashavatara दशावतार page 18
PART II Mysteries Solved page 50
Chapter III Myths and Legends of Angkor 54
CHAPTER IV Anachak Khmer or Khemer Empire page 78
PART III-Technical and Quasi- tech papers
CHAPTER V---1000 Shivlingas of India and Cambodia-Faturing Khal
Spean page 83
CHAPTER VI- Samudra manthan समुद्र मंथनAngkor Wat's marvelous bas
relief - The churning of the ocean of milk page 90

Chapter VII -Banthey Srei- Citadel of Women and gender roles in

Cambodia Page 113

CHAPTER VIII Rama, warrior king & devaraja ?The divine incarnation as
an Inspiration to SE Asian Monarchs page 149

CHAPTER IX SADASHIVA page170

CHAPTER X-A Shivling Established by Lord Kartikeya Himself tht emerges
and submerges each day page 183

CHAPTER XI Architectural knowledge of the Pataliputra capital page 203

ABOUT THE AUTHORS page 218

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 PART I
INTRODUCTION

FROM THE AUTHOR

Between me and my daughter Srishti, an Architect, we have written 15 books
on ancient Cambodia all are collections of my articles and technical papers. The
third accomplice in our endeavor is Ms. Kerry Penny the immensely talented
contemporary artist from U.K
Whenever I publish an original Paper, I make it available as a Chapter in my
forthcoming Books. When enough articulate accumulate- a Book is born.
I thank all my readers Half a Million Plus who read and enjoy my writing. I am
however no scholar- but a popular writer. I popularize whatever interests me.
Thank you for reading my work. May God Shiva Bless You.

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 CHAPTER I
Memories of the Past
The Wonders of Angkor Watt

Fromhttps://100travelstories.com/blog/angkor-wat-wonders/

In a previous life, perhaps I was living in Asia since the connection to this
continent is so strong. In Cambodia is Angkor Wat – truly impressive, a
masterpiece from the past.

“Life is about the adventures you take and the memories you make. So travel
often and live life with open eyes and an open heart.” – Katie Grissom

Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world. It took me two full
days to visit the nearby temples by bicycle, plus one day with tuk-tuk to the
bFROM THE AUTHORF

eautiful Banteai Srei.The temples replicate the spatial universe in miniature.

The one I like the most, the Bayon, has 54 Gothic towers decorated with 216
enormous faces.Parts of the old ruins are “hugged” by big tree roots that give
the unique charm to the Angkor temples.Immerse yourself in the beauty of the
Angkor Wat temples through the power of images and inspirational travel

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quotes.“Angkor Wat 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.” – António da Madalena, 1586

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn
Battuta

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember
more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

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 “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” –
Anais Nin

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 “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between

man and the universe.” – Anatole France

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 “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” – Anonymous

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re
going.” – Paul Theroux

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“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in
having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

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“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” –
Martin Buber

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

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“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and
leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

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 “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

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“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake.
The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

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“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

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“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations
in the world.” – Freya Stark

https://100travelstories.com/blog/angkor-wat-wonders/

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 C H A P T E R II

MYTHS & LEGENDS OF ANGKOR

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In 1861 Henri Mouhaut , a French naturalist, was trekking through the jungles of
northwestern Cambodia when he stumbled upon the ruins of the ancient Khmer
civilization and a great temple, Angkor Wat (Fujioka 7). Located just east of Siam Reap,
Angkor Wat was one of the main temples of the Khmer empire which ruled much of
what is now Cambodia and Thailand, and parts of Vietnam from the 500s C.E.. until
1431 (Srivastava 20-30, Stone 1364). Angkor Wat was built during the reign of
Suryavarman II (1114-1163) and dedicated to the Hindu god Visnu (Fujioka 14). It was
only after Mouhaut’s discovery that Angkor Wat was made known to the West, but he
was not the first to “discover” it after its decline in 1431. In the 17th century both the
Chinese and Spanish have records indicating that they had come upon this ancient
kingdom (Fujioka 7). Angkor Wat is a place surrounded in mystery and magnificence
not only it its aesthetics, but also in its history and religion.

The history of the Khmer people is full of myth and legend. One legend (Reed 210-212)
states that Prince Cambu, who was forced out of India after a severe drought had
overcome his land and people, had made his way to the mighty Mekong river. Here he
met a local man who has found a grain of rice, and the Prince had a vision of how this
rice will conquer the jungle, and how a new race would be “raised up for the glory and
worship of the gods” (Reed 210). Prince Cambu went back with the local man to meet
the ruler, The King of the Cobras, in order to set up a space in his land. Prince Cambu
married the King’s daughter, the serpent princess. The princess was immortal, so when
Cambu died, she married each successor in order for her to look after her children, the
Khmers. The sons of Prince Cambu were called Camboga, and they ruled the land called
Cambodia.

The serpent Queen in this legend, as Reed points out, plays an important role in both
Hinduism and Buddhism (212). The cobra, or Sacred Naga, is featured in many of the
carvings and sculptures found in the temples, especially Angkor Wat, and also in Hindu
and Buddhist literature.

While the beginning of the Khmers may not be clear, it is thought that Indian culture
and language, in the form of the Vedas and Sanskrit, were introduced around the 1st
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century C.E. (Srivastava 19). While the nobles and aristocracy embraced the new Indian
beliefs, the peasants were less inclined to do so. This could be because a king would
claim devotion to a particular deity, Siva, Visnu, or even the Buddha, in order to secure
power by this divine ruling (Srivastava 15). The first Khmers to come from India were
followers of Hinduism, and when they arrived to Cambodia they encountered other
religions such as ancestor worship, totem religion, and Theravada Buddhism (Fujioka
16-17). Instead of wiping out the other religions, the Khmers incorporated aspects of the
other religions into their own therefore not alienating one group because of differing
religious views (Fujioka 17). One of the aspects of Hinduism which was not adapted in
Cambodia was the caste system which plays a prominent role in Hinduism in
India. Southeast Asian historian John F. Cady notes that this could be due to the fact
that Hinduism has a complex cultural basis in India and it is very difficult to transfer as
a whole, and therefore only select parts were transfered to Cambodia (Srivastava 37-38).
While the Khamer style of architecture is similar to that of India, Angkor Wat has its
own unique design to it (Fujioka 25). It is considered a “precious gem of the Khmer art”
and a “masterpiece of architecture” (Srivastava 55). Angkor Wat can be called “Temple
of the Royal Castle,” as angkor means “town” and wat means pagoda or temple (Fujioka
22). What was first noticed of Angkor Wat was its five towers.

The five towers are said to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, the abode of Visnu,
to whom the temple was dedicated (Srivastava 26, 55). The use of the five towers is not
unique to Angkor Wat as many Hindu and Buddhist temples in India and other places
around Asia use the same pattern (Fujioka 26-27). The layout of the Angkor Wat has
many other Hindu features such as multiple corridors and terraces which are laid out in
a explicit geometrical configuration, and displays its “true greatness” (Fujioka
30). Another unique feature of Angkor Wat is the direction of its orientation. All the
temples around Angkor face east, but Angkor Wat faces west (Srivastava 59, Fujioka
31). Many explanations have been given for this, one being “it was situated on the east
side of the road leading to Angkor Thom” (Fujioka 31), but the exact reason for this may
be left with the mystery that is Ankor Wat.

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The temple itself is made of laterite and sandstone. The foundation and internal
structure is comprised of laterite, a relatively soft stone, but when exposed to sunlight
becomes extremely hard (Fujioka 32-33). The laterite was then covered with sandstone
which was easier to carve.

Angkor Wat is said to be the greatest Visnu temple (Fujioka 18). Visnu is the Hindu
“protector” god, and is often depicted with 4 hands carrying a shell, a club, an iron band,
and a lotus stem (Fujioka 17-18). Carvings of Visnu are found all over the temple walls
and along the corridors, as are his many incarnations, Rama and Krsna, from the great
Hindu epics the Ramanyana and Mahabharata (Fujioka 18).

One of the most detailed reports of the Khmer empire comes from a Chinese traveller,
Chow Ta-guan, who visited the region in 1296 (Reed 214). He gives a detailed account of
what the ancient empire was like during its most prolific period. Chow Ta-guan notes
that the population of Angkor, the main city, was over one million people with many
more in the surrounding cities scattered among the rice fields (Reed 214). He observes
that while the houses of the people were made of wood harvested from the encircling
jungle, the temples were made of stone and delicately decorated with gold and intricate
carvings (Reed 214-215). The ornate designs in the stone suggest a background in
woodworking, and not masonry; the use of stone in the same manner as wood suggests
the same (Reed 215). Chow Ta-guan also mentions that the king had five wives: one
chief wife, and four others representing the four cardinal points of a compass (Reed
216). One of the things that strikes him is the amount of times the Khmers bathed, and
the frequency of illness, and particularly leprosy. Chow relates the concepts when he
says, “excesses in love and abuse of baths is what bring on the illness” (Reed 216). Chow
reports of many lepers among the Khmer, and that those with the disease still lived and
ate amongst the others, and that the disease was not contagious because the people were
habituated with it (Reed 216). The prevalence of disease may be one of the reasons for
the downfall of the great empire.

One of the greatest mysteries surrounding the Khmer people and Angkor Wat is what
happened to this once great empire. Many have speculated that the Khmer were
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overtaken by one of its tributaries from Siam after they had been weakened by disease
(Reed 229-231). This would not be that far fetched as diseases such as malaria and
yellow fever have crippled some of the worlds largest and most powerful empires like
that of the Romans and Greeks (Reed 231). What we are left with today is a mystery
hidden among the ruins of this great temple surrounded by overgrown jungle and a

multitude of monkeys.1

THE disappearance of the empire of Funan in the middle of the sixth century came,
according to the Chinese account, through the rebellion of a feudatory state named
Chenla. The History of the Sui describes the occurrence thus: ‘the kingdom of Chenla is
on the south-west of Lin-yi. It was originally a vassal kingdom of Funan. The family
name of the king was Ch’a-li and his personal name Che-to-sseu-na. His predecessors
had gradually increased the power of the country. Che-to-sseu-na attacked Funan and
conquered it.’ Lin-yi is, of course, Champa, Ch’a-li stands for Kshatriya, and Che-to-
sseu-na for Chitrasena. No explanation of the name ‘Chenla’ has yet been found; it

cannot be related to any Sanskrit or Khmer word.2

During the French occupation of Indo-China, the explorer Francois

Mouhot rediscovered the Angkor complex in 1860. The full extent of the temple
complex was gradually revealed through aerial surveys and many more wonders came to
light. The lost kingdom had been found again

Deep in the jungles of southeast Asia, archaeologists have rediscovered the remains of
an invisible kingdom that may have been the template for Angkor Wat

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On a remote plateau, researchers reveal a royal capital whose splendors prefigure the
glories of the Angkor complex. (Chiara Goia)
146326
Jean-Baptiste Chevance senses that we’re closing in on our target. Paused in a jungle
clearing in northwestern Cambodia, the French archaeologist studies his GPS and mops
the sweat from his forehead with a bandanna. The temperature is pushing 95, and the
equatorial sun beats down through the forest canopy. For two hours, Chevance, known
to everyone as JB, has been leading me, along with a two-man Cambodian research
team, on a grueling trek. We’ve ripped our arms and faces on six-foot shrubs studded
with thorns, been savaged by red biting ants, and stumbled over vines that stretch at
ankle height across the forest floor. Chevance checks the coordinates. “You can see that

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the vegetation here is very green, and the plants are different from the ones we have
seen,” he says. “That’s an indication of a permanent water source.”
Seconds later, as if on cue, the ground beneath our feet gives way, and we sink into a
three-foot-deep muddy pool. Chevance, a lanky 41-year-old dressed in olive drab and
toting a black backpack, smiles triumphantly. We are quite possibly the first human
beings to set foot in this square-shaped, man-made reservoir in more than 1,000 years.
Yet this isn’t merely an overgrown pond we’ve stumbled into. It’s proof of an advanced
engineering system that propelled and sustained a vanished civilization.
The vast urban center that Chevance is now exploring was first described more than a
century ago, but it had been lost to the jungle until researchers led by him and an
Australian colleague, Damian Evans, rediscovered it in 2012. It lies on this overgrown
1,300-foot plateau, known as Phnom Kulen (Mountain of the Lychee fruit), northeast of
Siem Reap. Numerous excavations as well as high-tech laser surveys conducted from
helicopters have revealed that the lost city was far more sophisticated than anyone had
ever imagined—a sprawling network of temples, palaces, ordinary dwellings and
waterworks infrastructure. “We knew this might be out there,” says Chevance, as we
roar back down a jungle trail toward his house in a rural village on the plateau. “But this
gave us the evidence we were hoping for.”
Phnom Kulen is only some 25 miles north of a metropolis that reached its zenith three
centuries later—the greatest city of the Khmer Empire, and possibly the most glorious
religious center in the history of mankind: Angkor, derived from the Sanskrit
word nagara, or holy city, site of the famed temple Angkor Wat. But first there arose
Phnom Kulen, the birthplace of the great Khmer civilization that dominated most of
Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The Khmer Empire would find its
highest expression at Angkor. But the defining elements of Kulen—sacred temples,
reflecting the influence of Hinduism, decorated with images of regional deities and the
Hindu god Vishnu, and a brilliantly engineered water-supply system to support this
early Khmer capital—would later be mirrored and enlarged at Angkor. By the 12th
century, at Angkor, adherence to Buddhism would also put its own stamp on the
temples there.

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LIDAR studies reveal the Rong Chen Temple and other sites

Nothing ignites an archaeologist’s imagination like the prospect of a lost city. In the late
19th century, French explorers and scholars, pursuing fragmentary clues about the
existence of Phnom Kulen, hacked their way through the jungles of Southeast Asia.
Inscriptions found on temple doors and walls made mention of a splendid hilltop capital
called Mahendraparvata (the mountain of the great Indra, king of the gods), and its
warrior-priest monarch, Jayavarman II, who organized several independent
principalities into a single kingdom in the beginning of the ninth century.
Another French archaeologist, Philippe Stern, trekked to the top of the Phnom Kulen
plateau in 1936, and in five weeks of excavations he and his co-workers uncovered the
ruins of 17 Hindu temples, fallen carved lintels, statues of the Hindu god Vishnu, and
remnants of a great stone pyramid. Stern believed that he had located
Mahendraparvata. But the temples of Angkor, built on a more accessible flat plain and
visible on a larger scale, were more compelling to archaeologists, and the excavations at
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Phnom Kulen never advanced much beyond Stern’s initial dig. The jungles of Kulen
presented a problem, however: Rampant illegal logging of valuable hardwoods had
stripped away much of the primary forest, allowing dense new undergrowth to fill in the
gaps. It was unclear whether the lasers could locate enough holes in the canopy to
penetrate to the forest floor. Despite skepticism, Evans, with help from Chevance, raised
enough money to survey more than 90,000 acres in both Phnom Kulen and Angkor.

The ruins at Angkor Wat have been left pretty much as they were found when they were
discovered in the 1860s. Here, a tree grows from the temple of Ta Prohm, which was
constructed by Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and
university. (Chiara Goia)

In April 2012, Lidar technicians flew in a helicopter at 2,600 feet in a crosshatch pattern
over Phnom Kulen. About two months after the overflights, they discovered a royal
palace, a vast structure surrounded by a network of earthen dikes—the ninth-century
fortress of King Jayavarman II. Now Lidar images are being used to understand how
Mahendraparvata developed as a royal capital. The early water-management system
they now saw in detail demonstrates how water was diverted to areas on the plateau that
lacked a steady flow, and how various structures controlled supplies during rainless
periods. “They employed a complex series of diversions, dikes and dams. Those dams
are huge, and they required huge manpower,” Chevance says. At the dawn of the Khmer
Empire, he goes on, “They were already showing an engineering capacity that translated
into wealth and stability and political power.”

The Lidar imagery also has revealed the presence of dozens of ten-foot-high, 30-foot-
wide mounds in symmetrical rows on the jungle floor. Chevance and Evans at first
speculated that they were burial sites—but, in succeeding excavations, they found no
bones, ashes, urns, sarcophagi or other artifacts to support that hypothesis. “They were
archaeologically sterile,” says Evans. “They are a mystery, and they may remain a
mystery. We may never know what those things are.” Lidar surveys of Angkor also
detected several mounds that are virtually identical to those at Phnom Kulen—just one
of many startling similarities of the two cities. Indeed, as the archaeologists studied the
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images of Mahendraparvata, they realized with a flash of insight that they were looking
at the template for Angkor.

Garden of the Chinese

At the highest point on the plateau, on foot up a slope is a monumental five-tiered

platform made of sandstone and laterite (a rusty-red rock): the mountaintop pyramid of
Rong Chen. The name translates as Garden of the Chinese, and refers to a local myth in
which Chinese seafarers smashed their ship against the mountaintop at a time when an
ocean supposedly surrounded the peak. It was here, in A.D. 802, according to an
inscription in Sanskrit and ancient Khmer found in an 11th-century temple in eastern
Thailand, that Jayavarman II had himself consecrated king of the Khmer Empire, at that
time a dominion probably a bit smaller than contemporary Cambodia. And it was here,
too, that the king created a cult of divinely ordained royal authority. More than 1,200
years later, in 2008, Chevance had arrived at the mountaintop with a team of 120 locally
hired laborers. Government experts demined the area; then the team began digging. The
excavation suggested that it was the centerpiece of a royal metropolis—a conviction later
confirmed by the Lidar overflights. “You don’t build a pyramid temple in the middle of
nowhere,” Chevance tells me. “It’s an archaeological type that belongs to a capital city.”
Today Rong Chen is a darkly numinous place, where the glories of an ancient Khmer
civilization collide with the terrors of a modern one. Unexploded mines still lie buried
here—the result of Khmer Rouge efforts to protect their mountain redoubt from assault.

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“We saw a few mines at the last moment when we were doing the excavations,”

Here one can see remnant of Jayavarman II’s capital: an 80-foot-high tower, Prasat O
Paong (Temple of the Tree of the Small River), standing alone in a jungle clearing. The
facade of the Hindu temple glows a burnished red in the setting sun, and intricate
brickwork reaches to the apex of the tapered column. Ceramics inside this and other
temples excavated on Phnom Kulen prove that they remained pilgrimage sites as late as
the 11th century—an indicator that the structures continued to influence the rest of the
Khmer Empire long after Jayavarman II moved his capital from Phnom Kulen to the
Angkor plain and the city’s original population had disappeared.

Engineered landscape: Angkor—wsas an engineered landscape on a scale perhaps

without parallel in the preindustrial world achieving its apogee in the late 12th and early
13th centuries, the site, at its peak, it was an urban center extending over nearly 400
square miles. To support Angkor’s expanding population, which may have reached one
million, engineers developed a water-distribution system that mirrored the one used on
the plateau. They collected water from the Siem Reap River, a tributary of the Mekong,
that flows from the plateau, in two enormous reservoirs, then built an intricate series of
irrigation channels, dams and dikes that distributed water evenly across the plain.
Although Angkor’s soil is sandy and not highly fertile, the masterful engineering allowed
farmers to produce several rice crops annually, among the highest yields in Asia. The
secret to their success was their ability to even out the peaks and troughs seasonally and
annually, to stabilize water and therefore maximize food production.

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Angkor was at its height during the reign of Jayavarman VII (circa 1181-1220), regarded
by scholars as the greatest king of the Khmer Empire- The king’s masterpiece, was the
temple known as the Bayon. No king who came afterward ever built on this scale again.
Jayavarman VII, who made Mahayana Buddhism the Khmer Empire’s state religion,
grafted what are commonly believed to be his own features onto a serenely smiling
Buddhist divinity. Its massive stone face beams in dozens of iterations throughout this
complex, radiating compassion and kindness across the four corners of the empire.
It is here, in the heart of Jayavarman VII’s capital, that the histories of Angkor and
Mahendraparvata converge most powerfully were cities that are widely separated in
space and time but each had an urban core defined by a grid of streets and a central
state temple—the Bayon here, Rong Chen there—at the center.

Yet the Lidar data show that the cities followed divergent paths. While
Mahendraparvata was a masterpiece of urban planning, with temples and dwellings
carefully laid out by Jayavarman II around wide boulevards—a Khmer version of
Haussmann’s Paris—Angkor developed haphazardly. Densely populated neighborhoods
of wooden houses squeezed against the edges of the Bayon. Angkor could be described
as a messy aggregation of centuries of development, with features superimposed one on
top of another.

The sheer ambition of the Khmer kings, their re-engineering of a jungled landscape into
an urban one, sowed the seeds of destruction. New research has provided a clearer
picture of the sequence of events that may have doomed Mahendraparvata. The Lidar
data revealed that its population didn’t engage in terraced rice farming in their
mountain metropolis—which meant that they almost certainly relied on slash-and-burn
agriculture. That would have depleted the soil rapidly, and probably contributed to the
decline and fall of the city. The evidence backs up research conducted by experts who
analyzed soil samples taken from a reservoir on Phnom Kulen. Evidence showed that
vast amounts of soil and sand got washed down the valley, indicating deforestation. Soil
from a later date contained a high concentration of jungle vegetation, which suggests
that the land had been abandoned and taken over again by the tropical forest.

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In the case of Mahendraparvata, this process likely occurred more rapidly than at
Angkor—a major population center for about 600 years—where decline came more
slowly. Over time, the artificially engineered landscape almost certainly led to topsoil
degradation, deforestation and other changes that drastically reduced the capacity to
feed the population and made Angkor increasingly difficult to manage.

War: Leaders of the rival kingdom of Ayutthaya, in what is now Thailand, sacked
Angkor in 1431. It was abandoned and left to decay, doomed to the same fate as its
predecessor, Mahendraparvata. The Spanish explorer Marcelo de Ribadeneyra wrote
when he chanced upon Angkor nearly two centuries later:

“It is a marvelous fact that none of the natives can live in these ruins, which are the
resorts of wild beasts.”

While temples —built for the ages—endure, Mahendraparvata’s population constructed

their dwelling places out of wood, which rotted away long ago. Even the royal palace,
which probably employed thousands of people, has been reduced to a few crumbling
platforms, pavements, gutters, dikes and roof tiles.3
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE -https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lost-city-
cambodia-180958508/

Maṇḍala and Suvarnabhumi

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word meaning 'circle'. It denotes a model for describing a pattern
of diffuse political power distributed among Mueang or Kedatuan (principalities)
in early Southeast Asian history, when local power was more important than the central
leadership. The concept of the mandala balances modern tendencies to look for unified
political power, i.e., the power of large kingdoms and nation states of later history — an
inadvertent byproduct of 15th century advances in map-making technologies.[ the words
of O. W. Wolters who further explored the idea in 1982:

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 The map of earlier Southeast Asia which evolved from the prehistoric
networks of small settlements and reveals itself in historical records was a
patchwork of often overlapping mandalas.
It is employed to denote traditional Southeast Asian political formations, such
as federation of kingdoms or vassalized polity under a center of domination. It was
adopted by 20th century European historians from ancient Indian political discourse as
a means of avoiding the term "state" in the conventional sense. Not only did Southeast
Asian polities except Vietnam not conform to classical Chinese and European views of
a territorially defined state with fixed borders and a bureaucratic apparatus, but they
diverged considerably in the opposite direction: the polity was defined by its centre
rather than its boundaries, and it could be composed of numerous other tributary
polities without undergoing administrative integration.

In some ways similar to the feudal system of Europe, states were linked in suzerain–
tributary relationships. The term draws a comparison with the mandala of
the Hindu and Buddhist worldview; the comparison emphasises the radiation of power
from each power center, as well as the non-physical basis of the system.

Other metaphors such as S. J. Tambiah's original idea of a "galactic polity" describe

political patterns similar to the mandala. The historian Victor Lieberman prefers the
"solar polity" metaphor, referencing the gravitational pull the sun exerts over the
planets

Intersecting mandalas circa 1360: from north to south: Lan

Xang, Lanna, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Khmer and Champa.

Historically, the main suzerain or overlord states were the Khmer

Empire of Cambodia; Srivijaya of South Sumatra; the successive kingdoms
of Medang, Kediri, Singhasari and Majapahit of Java;the Ayutthaya
Kingdom of Thailand; Champa and early Đại Việt. China occupies a special place in that
the others often in turn paid tribute to China, although in practice the obligations
imposed on the lesser kingdoms were minimal. The most notable tributary states
were post-Angkor Cambodia, Lan Xang (succeeded by the Kingdom of
Vientiane and Luang Prabang) and Lanna. Cambodia in the 18th century was described

31
by the Vietnamese emperor Gia Long as "an independent country that is slave of two"
(Chandler p. 119). The system was eventually ended by the arrival of the Europeans in

the mid-19th century. Culturally, they introduced Western geographical practices, which
assumed that every area was subject to one sovereign. Practically, the colonisation
of French Indochina, Dutch East Indies, British Malaya and Burma brought pressure
from the colonisers for fixed boundaries to their possessions. The tributary states were
then divided between the colonies and Siam, which exercised much more centralised
power but over a smaller area than thitherto.

Historian Martin Stuart-Fox uses the term "mandala" extensively to describe the history
of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang as a structure of loosely held together mueang that
disintegrated after Lan Xang's conquest by Thailand starting in the 18th century.

32
Thai historian Sunait Chutintaranond made an important contribution to study of the
mandala in Southeast Asian history by demonstrating that "three assumptions
responsible for the view that Ayudhya was a strong centralized state" did not hold and
that "in Ayudhya the hegemony of provincial governors was never successfully
eliminated."

Bunga mas (Flowers of Gold), tribute from northern Malay states in Malay
peninsula for Siam. National Museum, Kuala Lumpur.)

The obligations on each side of the relationship varied according to the strength of the
relationship and the circumstances. In general, the tributary was obliged to pay bunga
mas, a regular tribute of various valuable goods and slaves, and miniature trees
of gold and silver (bunga mas dan perak). The overlord ruler reciprocated with presents
often of greater value than those supplied by the tributary. However, the tributary also
had to provide men and supplies when called on, most often in time of war. The main
benefit to the tributary was protection from invasion by other powers, although as South
East Asia historian Thongchai Winichakul notes, this was often "mafia-like
protection"[13] from the threats of the overlord himself. In some cases, the overlord also
controlled the succession in the tributary, but in general interference with the tributary's
domestic affairs was minimal: he would retain his own army and powers of taxation, for
example. In the case of the more tenuous relationships, the "overlord" might regard it as

33
one of tribute, while the "tributary" might consider the exchange of gifts to be purely
commercial or as an expression of goodwill (Thongchai p. 87).

Kinship - Recognition of fluidity in kinship meanings and relations

The emphasis on personal relationships was one of the defining characteristics of the
mandala system. The tributary ruler was subordinate to the overlord ruler, rather than
to the overlord state in the abstract. This had many important implications. A strong
ruler could attract new tributaries, and would have strong relationships over his existing
tributaries. A weaker ruler would find it harder to attract and maintain these
relationships. This was put forward as one cause of the sudden rise
of Sukhothai under Ramkhamhaeng, for example, and for its almost equally steep
decline after his death (Wyatt, 45 and 48). The tributary ruler could repudiate the
relationship and seek either a different overlord or complete independence. The system
was non-territorial. The overlord was owed allegiance by the tributary ruler, or at most
by the tributary's main town, but not by all the people of a particular area. The tributary
owner in turn had power either over tributary states further down the scale, or directly
over "his" people, wherever they lived. No ruler had authority over unpopulated areas.

The personal relationship between overlord and subordinate rulers is also defining the
dynamic of relationship within mandala. The relations between Dharmasetu of Srivijaya
and Samaratungga of Sailendra for instance, defining the succession of these dynastic
family. Dharmasetu was the Srivijayan Maharaja overlord, while the house of Sailendra
in Java is suggested to be related and was subscribed to Srivijayan mandala domination.
After Samaratungga married Princess Tara, the daughter of Dharmasetu, Samaratungga
become his successor and the house of Sailendra was promoted to become the dynastic
lineage of later Srivijayan kings, and for a century period the center of Srivijaya was
shifted from Sumatra to Java.

The overlord-tributary relationship was not necessarily exclusive. A state in border areas
might pay tribute to two or three stronger powers. The tributary ruler could then play
the stronger powers off against each other in order to minimise interference by either
one, while for the major powers the tributaries served as a buffer zone to prevent direct
conflict between them. For example, the Malay kingdoms in Malay

34
Peninsula, Langkasuka and Tambralinga, earlier were the subject to Srivijayan mandala,
and in later period contested by either Ayutthaya mandala in north and Majapahit
mandala in south, before finally gain its own gravity during Malacca Sultanate.

Suvarṇabhūmi - सुवर्णभूमि
Suvarṇabhūmi (Sanskrit: सुवर्णभूमि; Pali: Suvaṇṇabhūmi) is a toponym, that appears
in many ancient Indian literary sources and Buddhist texts[1] such as
the Mahavamsa, some stories of the Jataka tales, the Milinda Panha and
the Ramayana.

There is a common misunderstanding that the Edicts of Ashoka mention this name.
The truth is the edicts relate only the kings' names and never reference Suvarnabhumi
in the text] Moreover, all of the kings referenced in the text reigned their cities in the
region that located beyond the Sindhu to the west. The misunderstanding might come
from a mixing of the story of Ashoka sending his Buddhist missionaries to
Suvarnabhumi in "Mahavamsa" and his edicts

The oldest Southeast Asian inscription from Cambodia dated to 7th century issued
during the reign of King Isanavarman I, identified Suvarnabhumi with
Cambodian Kingdom of Chenla (6th-9th century), the successor of Funan Kingdom (1st-

35
7th century).Though its exact location is unknown and remains a matter of debate,
Suvarṇabhūmi was an important port along trade routes that run through the Indian Ocean,
setting sail from the wealthy ports in Basra, Ubullah and Siraf,
through Muscat, Malabar, Ceylon. Nicobars,

Crisa and Aureia, the Isles of Gold, near the Aurea Chersonese, the Golden
Peninsula, near Java in the Indian Ocean, on the map of Andreas Walsperger,
around 1448.Territorial extent of the Kingdom of Funan (1st to 7th century)
covering much of mainland Southeast Asia including present day Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Suvaṇṇabhumī means "Golden Land" or "Land of Gold" and the ancient sources have
associated it with one of a variety of places throughout the Southeast Asian region.

It might also be the source of the Western concept of Aurea Regio in

Claudius Ptolemy's Trans-Gangetic India or India beyond the Ganges and the Golden
Chersonese of the Greek and Roman geographers and sailors. The Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea refers to the Land of Gold, Chryse, and describes it as "an island in the
ocean, the furthest extremity towards the east of the inhabited world, lying under the
rising sun itself, called Chryse... Beyond this country... there lies a very great inland city
called Thina".[9] Dionysius Periegetes mentioned: "The island of Chryse (Gold), situated
at the very rising of the Sun".

36
Or, as Priscian put it in his popular rendition of Periegetes: “if your ship… takes you to
where the rising sun returns its warm light, then will be seen the Isle of Gold with its
fertile soil.”[11] Avienus referred to the Insula Aurea (Golden Isle) located where "the
Scythian seas give rise to the Dawn".Josephus speaks of the "Aurea Chersonesus", which
he equates with the Biblical Ophir, whence the ships of Tyre and Israel brought back
gold for the Temple of Jerusalem.[13] The city of Thina was described by
Ptolemy's Geography as the capital city of the country on the eastern shores of
the Magnus Sinus (Gulf of Thailand).

The location of Suvarnabhumi has been the subject of much debate, both in
scholarly and nationalistic agendas. It remains one of the most mythified and
contentious toponyms in the history of Asia. Scholars have identified two regions as
possible locations for the ancient Suvarnabhumi: Insular Southeast Asia or Southern
India. In a study of the various literary sources for the location of Suvannabhumi, Saw
Mra Aung concluded that it was impossible to draw a decisive conclusion on this, and
that only thorough scientific research would reveal which of several versions of
Suvannabhumi was the original.

Some have speculated that this country refers to the Kingdom of Funan. The main port
of Funan was Cattigara Sinarum statio (Kattigara the port of the Sinae)

Due to many factors, including the lack of historical evidence, the absence of scholarly
consensus, various cultures in Southeast Asia identify Suwannaphum as an ancient
kingdom there and claim ethnic and political descendancy as its successors. As no such
claim or legend existed prior to the translation and publication of the Edicts, scholars
see these claims as based in nationalism or attempts to claim the title of first Buddhists
in South-East Asia.

Mainland Southeast Asia Theory= Cambodia theory

Funan (1st–7th century) was the first kingdom in Cambodian history and it was also the
first Indianized kingdom prospered in Southeast Asia. Both Hinduism and Buddhism
flourished in this kingdom. According to the Chinese records, two Buddhist monks from
Funan, named Mandrasena and Sanghapala, took up residency in China in the 5th to

37
6th centuries, and translated several Buddhist sūtras from Sanskrit (or a prakrit) into
Chinese.

The oldest archaeological evidence of Indianized civilization in Southeast Asia comes

from central Burma, central and southern Thailand, and the lower Mekong delta. These
finds belong to the period of Funan Kingdom or Nokor Phnom, present day Cambodia
and South Vietnam including part of Burma, Lao, and Thailand, which was the first
political centre established in Southeast Asia. Taking into account the epigraphic and
archaeological evidence, the Suvarnabhumi mentioned in the early texts must be
identified with these areas. Of these areas, only Funan had maritime links with India
through its port at Oc Eo. Therefore although Suvarnabhumi in time became a generic
name broadly applied to all the lands east of India, particularly Sumatra, its earliest
application was probably to Funan. Furthermore, the Chinese name "Funan" for
Cambodia, may be a transcription of the "Suvaṇṇa" of "Suvaṇṇabhumī".

In December 2017, Dr Vong Sotheara, of the Royal University of Phnom Penh,

discovered a Pre-Angkorian stone inscription in the Province of Kampong
Speu, Basedth District, which he tentatively dated to 633 AD. According to him, the
inscription would “prove that Suvarnabhumi was the Khmer Empire.” The inscription
was issued during the reign of King Isanavarman I (616–637 AD) of the
Cambodian Kingdom of Chenla, the successor of Funan and the predecessor of Khmer
Empire. The inscription, translated, read:

“The great King Isanavarman is full of glory and bravery. He is the King of Kings, who
rules over Suvarnabhumi until the sea, which is the border, while the kings in the
neighbouring states honour his order to their heads”.

The Inscription is the oldest evidence ever found in Southeast Asia, mentioning
Suvarnabhumi and identified it with Chenla. The inscription is now exhibits in
the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. However, his claim and the findings
are yet to be peer-reviewed, and they are remained in doubt with other historians and
archaeology experts across the region.

38
Thailand theory

In Thailand, government proclamations and national museums insist that

Suwannaphum was somewhere in the coast of central plain, especially at the ancient city
of U Thong, which might be the origin of the Mon Dvaravati Culture. These claims are
not based on any historical records but on archaeological evidences of human
settlements in the area dating back more than 4,000 years and the findings of 3rd
century Roman coins. The Thai government named the new Bangkok
airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, after the mythic kingdom of Suwannaphum, in
celebration of this tradition. This tradition, however, is doubted by scholars[who?] for the
same reason as the Burman claim. The migration of the Thai peoples into Southeast
Asia did not occur until centuries later, long after
the Pyu, Malays, Mons and Khmers had established their respective
kingdoms.[24] Suphan Buri (from the Sanskrit, Suvarnapura, "Golden City") in present
day west/central Thailand, was founded in 877-882 as a city of the Mon-
Khmer kingdom of Dvaravati with the name, Meuang Thawarawadi Si
Suphannaphumi ("the Dvaravati city of Suvarnabhumi"), indicating that Dvaravati at
that time identified as Suvarnabhumi.

Insular Southeast Asia theory

39
The Golden Chersonese - details from the eleventh map of Asia (southeast Asia). Details from
Nicolaus Germanus's 1467 copy of a map from Ptolemy's Geography, showing the Golden
Chersonese, i.e. the Malay Peninsula. The horizontal line represents the Equator, which is misplaced
too far north due to its being calculated from the Tropic of Cancer using the Ptolemaic degree, which
is only five-sixths of a true degree.

Suvarnadvipa :The strongest and earliest clue referring to the Malay Peninsula came
from Claudius Ptolemy's Geography Geography (Ptolemy) who referred to it
as Chersonesus Aurea (which literally means Golden Peninsula) which pinpointed
exactly that location in South East Asia

The term Suvarnabhumi ("Land of Gold"), is commonly thought to refer to the

Southeast Asian Peninsula, including lower Burma and the Malay Peninsula. However
there is another gold-referring term Suvarnadvipa (the Golden Island or Peninsula,
where dvipa may refer to either a peninsula or an island), which may correspond to
the Indonesian Archipelago, especially Sumatra. Both terms might refer to a powerful
coastal or island kingdom in present-day Indonesia and Malaysia, possibly centered on
Sumatra or Java. This corresponds to the gold production areas traditionally known in
Minangkabau highlands in Barisan Mountains, Sumatra, and interior Borneo. An eighth
century Indian text known as the "Samaraiccakaha" describes a sea voyage to
Suvarnadvipa and the making of bricks from the gold rich sands which they inscribed
with the name dharana and then baked. These pointing out to the direction of western
part of insular Southeast Asia, especially Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Java.

Benefitting from its strategic location on the narrow Strait of Malacca, the insular theory
argued that other than actually producing gold, it might also be based on such a
kingdom's potential for power and wealth (hence, "Land of Gold") as a hub for sea-trade
also known from vague descriptions of contemporary Chinese pilgrims to India. The
kingdom referred to as the center of maritime trade between China and India
was Srivijaya. Due to the Chinese writing system, however, the interpretations of
Chinese historical sources are based on supposed correspondences of ideograms – and
their possible phonetic equivalents – with known toponyms in the ancient Southeast
Asian civilizations. Hendrik Kern concluded that Sumatra was the Suvarnadvipa

40
mentioned in ancient Hindu texts and the island of Chryse mentioned in the Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea and by Rufius Festus Avienus.

The interpretation of early travel records is not always easy. The Javanese embassies to
China in 860 and 873 CE refer to Java as rich in gold, although it was in fact devoid of
any deposits. The Javanese would have had to import gold possibly from neighbouring
Sumatra, Malay Peninsula or Borneo, where gold was still being mined in the 19th
century and where ancient mining sites were located. Even though Java did not have its
own gold deposits, the texts make frequent references to the existence of goldsmiths,
and it is clear from the archaeological evidence such as Wonoboyo Hoard, that this
culture had developed a sophisticated gold working technology, which relied on the
import of substantial quantities of the metal.

The Padang Roco Inscription of 1286 CE, states that an image of Buddha Amoghapasa
Lokeshvara was brought to Dharmasraya on the Upper Batang Hari - the river
of Jambi - was transported from Bhumi Java (Java) to Suvarnabhumi (Sumatra), and
erected by order of the Javanese ruler Kertanegara: the inscription clearly identifies
Sumatra as Suvarnabhumi.

There is actually new evidence that gold was more abundant in the Philippines than in
Sumatra. Spanish chroniclers, when they stepped foot on Butuan, remarked that gold
was so abundant that even houses were decorated with gold; "Pieces of gold, the size of
walnuts and eggs are found by sifting the earth in the island of that king who came to
our ships. All the dishes of that king are of gold and also some portion of his house as we
were told by that king himself...He had a covering of silk on his head, and wore two large
golden earrings fastened in his ears...At his side hung a dagger, the haft of which was
somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood. He had three spots of
gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold." [ As written
by Antonio Pigafetta on Rajah Siagu of Butuan during Magellan's voyage. Rajah Siagu
was also a cousin of Rajah Humabon of the Rajahnate of Cebu, thus suggesting that the
two Indianized kingdoms were in an alliance together with Hindu Kutai against the
Islamic Sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu.

41
Butuan was so rich in treasures that a museum curator, Florina H. Capistrano-Baker,
stated that it was even richer than the more well-known western maritime kingdom
of Srivijaya; "The astonishing quantities and impressive quality of gold treasures
recovered in Butuan suggest that its flourishing port settlement played an until recently
little-recognized role in early Southeast Asian trade. Surprisingly, the amount of gold
discovered in Butuan far exceeds that found in Sumatra, where the much better known
flourishing kingdom of Srivijaya is said to have been located." This despite that most of
the gold of Butuan were already looted by invaders.

R E F E R E N C E S

1.http://www.mahavidya.ca/2008/06/22/angkor-wat/
2. The Khmers and AngkorD G E Hal,Part of the Macmillan Asian Histories
Series book series, A History of South-East Asia pp 105-150
3.The Lost City of Cambodia, By Joshua Hammer; Photographs Chiara Goia

42
 CHAPTER III

អាណាចក្រខ្មែ រ
Anachak Khmer or Khemer Empire

The history of Angkor as the central area of settlement of the historical kingdom
of Kambujadesa is also the history of the Khmer kingdom from the 9th to the 13th
centuries.
From Kambuja itself—and so also from the Angkor region—no written records have
survived other than stone inscriptions. Therefore, the current knowledge of the
historical Khmer civilisation is derived primarily from:
 Archaeological excavation, reconstruction and investigation
 Stone inscriptions (the most important of which are foundation steles of temples),
which report on the political and religious deeds of the kings
 Reliefs in a series of temple walls with depictions of military marches, life in the
palace, market scenes, and the daily life of the population
 Reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders and travellers.
Formation and growth- Jayavarman II – the founder of Angkor

Archers mounted on elephants

According to Sdok Kok Thom inscription, circa 781 Indrapura was the first capital
of Jayavarman II, located in Banteay Prei Nokor, near today's Kompong Cham.[10] After
he eventually returned to his home, the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly built up

43
his influence, conquered a series of competing kings, and in 790 became king of a
kingdom called Kambuja by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest
to Mahendraparvata, far inland north from the great lake of Tonle Sap.
Jayavarman II (802–835) is widely regarded as a king who set the foundations of the
Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with a grandiose consecration ritual
that he conducted in 802 on the sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom
Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from a place inscriptions call
"Java". At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch
(Cambodian: Kamraten jagad ta Raja) or God King (Sanskrit: Deva Raja). He declared
himself Chakravartin in a ritual taken from the Hindu tradition, thereby not only
becoming the divinely appointed and therefore uncontested ruler, but also
simultaneously declaring the independence of his kingdom from Java. According to
some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign
of Sailendras, or "The Lords of Mountains", hence the concept of Deva Raja or God King
was ostensibly imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java,
Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia, around the Mekong delta.
The first pieces of information on Jayavarman II came from the K.235 stone
inscription on a stele in Sdok Kok Thom temple, Isan region, dating to 1053. It recounts
two and a half centuries of service that members of the temple's founding family
provided for the Khmer court, mainly as chief chaplains of the Shaivite Hindu religion.

Historians debate whether "Java" means the Indonesian island of Java, Champa or a
different location. According to an older established interpretation, Jayavarman II was a
prince who lived at the court of Sailendra in Java and brought back to his home the art
and culture of the Javanese Sailendran court to Cambodia.[8]:97 This classical theory was
revisited by modern scholars such as Claude Jacques[16] and Michael Vickery, who noted
that Khmer used the term chvea to describe the Chams, their close
neighbours. Moreover, Jayavarman's political career began
at Vyadhapura (probably Banteay Prei Nokor) in eastern Cambodia, which makes the
scenario of longtime contacts with the Chams (even through skirmishes, as the
inscription suggests) more probable than the scenario of a long stay in distant Java.
Finally, many early temples on Phnom Kulen show both Cham (e.g. Prasat Damrei
44
Krap) and Javanese influences (e.g. the primitive "temple-mountain" of Aram Rong Cen
and Prasat Thmar Dap), even if their asymmetric distribution seems typically Khmer.[19]
In the following years, he extended his territory and, later in his reign, moved from
Mahendraparvata and established his new capital of Hariharalaya near the modern
Cambodian town of Rolous. He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor, which was to
arise some 15 km to the northwest. Jayavarman II died in the year 835[11]:59 and he was
succeeded by his son Jayavarman III. Jayavarman III died in 877 and was succeeded
by Indravarman I.

The successors of Jayavarman II continually extended the territory of

Kambuja. Indravarman I (reigned 877–889) managed to expand the kingdom without
wars and initiated extensive building projects, which were enabled by the wealth gained
through trade and agriculture. Foremost were the temple of Preah Ko and irrigation
works. Indravarman I developed Hariharalaya further by constructing Bakong circa 881.
Bakong in particular bears striking similarity to the Borobudur temple in Java, which
strongly suggests that it served as the prototype for Bakong. There must have been
exchanges of travelers, if not missions, between the Khmer kingdom and the Sailendras
in Java, transmitting to Cambodia not only ideas, but also technical and architectural
details.
Yasodharapura – the first city of Angkor

1.Bakong, one of the earliest temple mountains in Khmer architecture

2.Banteay Srei, a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva
2.Ta Keo, a state temple built around the year 1000

45
Baphuon, a temple-mountain dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva
Indravarman I was followed by his son Yasovarman I (reigned 889 – 915), who
established a new capital, Yasodharapura – the first city of Angkor. The city's central
temple was built on Phnom Bakheng, a hill which rises around 60 m above the plain on
which Angkor sits. Under Yasovarman I the East Baray was also created, a massive
water reservoir of 7.1 by 1.7 km.

At the beginning of the 10th century, the kingdom split. Jayavarman IV established a
new capital at Koh Ker, some 100 km northeast of Angkor, called Lingapura. Only
with Rajendravarman II (reigned 944–968) was the royal palace returned to
Yasodharapura. He took up again the extensive building schemes of the earlier kings
and established a series of temples in the Angkor area, not the least being the East
Mebon, a temple located on an artificial island in the center of the East Baray, and
several Buddhist temples, such as Pre Rup, and monasteries.In 950, the first war took
place between Kambuja and the kingdom of Champa to the east (in the modern
central Vietnam).

The son of Rajendravarman II, Jayavarman V, reigned from 968 to 1001. After he had
established himself as the new king over the other princes, his rule was a largely
peaceful period, marked by prosperity and a cultural flowering. He established a new
capital slightly west of his father's and named it Jayendranagari; its state temple, Ta
Keo, was to the south. At the court of Jayavarman V lived philosophers, scholars, and
artists. New temples were also established: the most important of these are Banteay
Srei, considered one of the most beautiful and artistic of Angkor, and Ta Keo, the first
temple of Angkor built completely of sandstone.

Tamil Contacts: A decade of conflict followed the death of Jayavarman V. Three kings
reigned simultaneously as antagonists until Suryavarman I (reigned 1006 – 1050)
gained the throne. Suryavarman I established diplomatic relations with the Chola
dynasty of south India. Suryavarman I sent a chariot as a present to the Chola
Emperor Rajaraja Chola I. His rule was marked by repeated attempts by his opponents
to overthrow him and by military conquests. Suryavarman was successful in taking
46
control of the Khmer capital city of Angkor Wat. At the same time, Angkor Wat came
into conflict with the Tambralinga kingdom of the Malay peninsula. In other words,
there was a three-way conflict in mainland Southeast Asia. After surviving several
invasions from his enemies, Suryavarman requested aid from the powerful Chola
Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty against the Tambralinga kingdom. After
learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Rajendra Chola, the Tambralinga kingdom
requested aid from the Srivijaya King Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led
to the Chola Empire coming into conflict with the Srivijaya Empire. The war ended with
a victory for the Chola dynasty and of the Khmer Empire, and major losses for
the Srivijaya Empire and the Tambralinga kingdom. This alliance also had religious
nuance, since both Chola and Khmer empire were Hindu Shaivite, while Tambralinga
and Srivijaya were Mahayana Buddhist. There is some indication that before or after
these incidents Suryavarman I sent a gift, a chariot, to Rajendra Chola I to possibly
facilitate trade or an alliance. Suryavarman I's wife was Viralakshmi, and following his
death in 1050, he was succeeded by Udayadityavarman II, who built
the Baphuon and West Baray. In 1074, conflict arose between Harshavarman III and
the Champa King Harivarman IV.
REFERENCES
1. and 3. .J. L. Moens (1951). "Barabudur, Mendut en Pawon en hun onderlinge samenhang
(Barabudur, Mendut and Pawon and their mutual relationship)" (PDF). Tijdschrift voor de
Indische Taai-, Land- en Volkenkunde. Het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en
Wetenschappen: 326–386. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2007. trans. by Mark
Long
2. 1.Beschrijving van Barabudur,Krom (N.J.) & Van Erp (T.),Martinus Nijhoff, 1920-31., 1920
4."Mataram, Historical kingdom, Indonesia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 1
January 2015.
See also The Role of Dutch Colonialism in the Political Life of Mataram Dynasty: A Case
Study of the Manuscript of Babad, Tanah Jawi, Asian Social Science 10(15) · July 2014
5. Art of Indonesia: Pusaka, Haryati Soebadio, Bambang Sumadio, et al. | 1 March 1998
6.Archaeoastronomy of the “Sun path” at Borobudur,Giulio Magli,School of Architecture,
Urban Planning and Construction Engineering,Politecnico di Milano, Italy

47
7. BESCHRIJVING VAN BARABUDUR. EERSTE DEEL. ARCHAEOLOGISCHE
BESCHRIJVING DOOR,
Krom, N.J.; Erp, T. van.,Published by 's-Gravenhage, 1920. (1920)

Not the Borobudur but a Thigh temple like a lotus concept

48
 PART II
Technical and Quasi- tech papers

49
 CHAPTER IV
Dashavatara दशावतार- The 10 Avataras of Vishnu

AVATAR a Sanskrit word made common by the movie- AVATARA

Avatar- /ˈavətɑː/
noun
1. 1. HINDUISM--a manifestation of a deity or released soul in bodily form on earth; an incarnate
divine teacher.
2.
3. An icon or figure representing a particular person in a video game, internet forum, etc.
"conversation is depicted in a balloon over the avatar's head"

Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The
word Dashavatara derives from daśa, meaning 'ten', and avatar (avatāra), roughly equivalent to
'incarnation'.
The Dashavatara Sanskrit: दशावतार, daśāvatāra) refers to the ten primary (i.e. full or
complete) incarnations (avatars) of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation which has Rigvedic
origins.
The list of included avatars varies across sects and regions, particularly in respect to the inclusion
of Balarama (brother of Krishna) or Gautama Buddha. Though no list can be uncontroversially
presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is [...] Krishna,
Buddha." Most draw from the following set of figures, in this
order: Matsya; Kurma; Varaha; Narasimha; Vamana; Parashurama; Rama; Krishna or Balarama;

50
Buddha or Krishna; and Kalki. In traditions that omit Krishna, he often replaces Vishnu as the
source of all avatars. Some traditions include a regional deity such as Vithoba or Jagannath in
penultimate position, replacing Krishna or Buddha. All avatars have appeared except Kalki, who
will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga.
The order of the ancient concept of Dashavataras has been interpreted to be reflective of
modern Darwinian evolution – it is the theory of evolution told as a story, written between
12,000 and 14,000 years ago. It describes the cycle of human evolution beginning in water as
Matsya the fish, on to the amphibious phase (half land and water) as Koorma, the tortoise, on to
begin firmly established on land as the wild boar Varaha, then Narsimha (half man–half animal),
followed by Vamana, the Dwarf man, on to Parashurama, the emotionally volatile man, on to
Rama, the peaceful man, then Krishna, a loving man followed by Buddha, the meditative man,
who is said to be succeeded by the final incarnation of Vishnu, or the last stage of evolution as
Kalki, the mystical man. This is thus also a description of the evolution of consciousness.
'Dashavatara' or 'daśāvatāra' (दशावतार) means 'ten avatars' or 'ten incarnations':

 'Dash' or 'Daśā' (दश) means 'ten'

 'Avatara' (अवतार) means 'incarnation

According to Swami Parmeshwaranand, although the avatars of Vishnu are countless in number
and include hermits, Manus, sons of Manus, and other Devas (gods), due to the curse of
a Rishi called Bhrgu most are only partial (i.e. incomplete) incarnations. The Dashavatara is a list
of the ten complete (i.e. full) incarnations.
Lists
Various versions of the list of Vishnu's avatars exist, varying per region and tradition. Some lists
mention Krishna as the eighth avatar and the Buddha as the ninth avatar, while others – such as
the Yatindramatadipika, a 17th-century summary of Srivaisnava doctrine – give Balarama as the
eighth avatar and Krishna as the ninth. The latter version is followed by some Vaishnavas who
don't accept the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. Though no list can be uncontroversially
presented as standard, the "most accepted list found in Puranas and other texts is either Krishna,
Buddha."

Buddha is not mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the more ancient Vaishnava Texts known
as Pancharatra. His place there is taken by Balarama. Adopting Buddha into the Hindu pantheon
was a way of trying to neutralize the popularity of Buddhism. This inclusion took place in
the Gupta period between 330 and 550 CE. The mythologies of the Buddha in
the Theravada tradition and of Vishnu in Hinduism share a number of structural and substantial
similarities.
Since I do not believe that Buddha is an AVATAR the discussion of who made him one etc is
pointless. The following table summarises the position of avatars within the Dashavatara in many
but not all traditions:

51
 The Dashavatara or the ten avatars of Vishnu are
perhaps among the most well-known facts
of Hinduism. There are hundreds of temples
and other structures in India and even abroad
where the ten avatars of Vishnu are pictured,
painted or carved.
However, not all the ten avatars of Vishnu are
worshipped. The last avatar of Kalki is yet to
take shape. Among the avatars, the most
worshipped are Rama, Krishna and Narasimha.
The other six avatars-Matysa, Kurma, Balarama,
Vamana. Parashurama and Varaha are
worshipped but they are not all that popular and
the temples to them are far and few.
Though there are plenty of temples for Krishna,
Rama and Narasimha, there have been only a
handful for all the avatars put together. One such
temple, which goes back to great antiquity, is in
Deogarh in Madhya Pradesh.

Balarama,
Krishna, Krishna, Balarama,
Krishna Balarama,
Position Vithoba Jagannatha Yuga
(Vaishnavites)

1 Matsya (fish)

2 Kurma (turtle, tortoise) Satya Yuga[

3 Varaha (boar, wild swine)

52
 Balarama,
Krishna, Krishna, Balarama,
Krishna Balarama,
Position Vithoba Jagannatha Yuga
(Vaishnavites)

4 Narasimha (man-lion)

5 Vamana (dwarf-god)

6 Parashurama (Brahman warrior) Treta Yuga[

7 Rama

8 Krishna Balarama Balarama Krishna[ Balarama

Dvapara
Yuga,
9 Balarama Krishna Balarama Vithoba Jagannatha

10 Kalki (prophesied 10th avatar who ends the Kali Yuga) Kali Yuga

In the Puranas
The Agni, Padma, Garuda, Linga, Narada, Skanda and Varaha Puranas mention the common
(Krishna, Buddha) Dashavatara list. The Garuda Purana has two lists, one longer list with
Krishna and Buddha, and a list with Balarama and Buddha, which substitutes Vamana for Rama.
The Shiva Purana has Balarama and Krishna. The list with Krishna and Buddha is also found in
the Garuda Purana Saroddhara, a commentary or ‘extracted essence’ of the Garuda Purana (i.e.
not the Purana itself, with which it seems to be confused):
The Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-Lion, the Dwarf, Parasurama, Rama, Krisna, Buddha,
and also Kalki: These ten names should always be meditated upon by the wise. Those who recite
them near the diseased are called relatives.

— Garuda Purana Saroddhara by Navanidhirama (translated by E. Wood and S. V.

Subrahmanyam), Chapter VIII, Verses 10-11

53
 1st to 5th of the Dashavatars on Udupi temple gopuram, Karnataka.

1 - Matsya, the fish. King Vaivasvata Manu finds a little fish in the palm of his hands when
performing the tarpana (water-offering). Manu keeps the fish, which keeps growing,
eventually releasing it into the ocean, realizing it is Vishnu. Vishnu informs Manu of the
coming destruction of the world, by means of fires and floods, and directs Manu to collect
"all creatures of the world" and keep them safe on a boat built by the gods. When
the deluge (Pralaya) comes, Vishnu appears as a great fish with a horn, to which Manu ties

the boat, which leads them into safety.

2 - Kurma, the giant tortoise. When the devas and asuras were churning the Ocean of
milk in order to get Amrita, the nectar of immortality, the mount Mandara they were using as

54
the churning staff started to sink and Vishnu took the form of a tortoise to bear the weight of

the mountain.

3 - Varaha, the boar. He appeared to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth,
or Prithvi, and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean (much like in
ether theory) in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have
lasted for a thousand years, which the former finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the
ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in the universe.

4 - Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion. Jaya and his brother Vijaya are cursed by the
sage Sanaka when they stop him from seeing Vishnu, and will be reborn three times as
demons (asura) to be killed by Vishnu. In their first demonic birth they become Hiranyaksha
and Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu persecuted everyone for their religious beliefs
including his son who was a Vishnu follower. he was protected by Brahma, and could by no
means be killed. Vishnu descended as an anthropomorphic incarnation, with the body of a
man and head and claws of a lion. He disemboweled Hiranyakashipu, and brought an end to
the persecution of human beings including his devotee Prahlada.
55
5 - Vamana, the dwarf. The fourth descendant of Vishnu, Bali, with devotion and penance
was able to defeat Indra, the god of firmament. This humbled the other deities and extended
his authority over the three worlds. The gods appealed to Vishnu for protection and he
descended as a boy Vamana. During a yajna (यज्ञ) of the king, Vamana approached him and
Bali promised him for whatever he asked. Vamana asked for three paces of land. Bali agreed,
and the dwarf then changed his size to that of a giant Trivikrama form. With his first stride
he covered the earthly realm, with the second he covered the heavenly realm thereby
symbolically covering the abode of all living beings. He then took the third stride for the
netherworld. Bali realized that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate. In deference, the king offered
his head as the third place for Vamana to place his foot. The avatar did so and thus granted
Bali immortality and making him ruler of Pathala, the netherworld. This legend appears in
hymn 1.154 of the Rigveda and other Vedic as well as Puranic texts.

56
Vamana LEFT Parshuram RIGHT

6 - Parashurama, the warrior with the axe. He is son of Jamadagni and Renuka and was
granted as boon, an axe after a penance to Shiva. He is the first Brahmin-Kshatriya in
Hinduism, or warrior-sage, who had to follow the Dharma of both, a Brahmin as well as
a Kshatriya. Once, when king Kartavirya Arjuna and his hunting party halted at the ashrama
of Jamadagni, the father of Parashurama, and the sage was able to feed them all with the aid
of the divine cow Kamadhenu. The king demanded the cow, but Jamadagni refused.
Enraged, the king took it by force and destroyed the ashram. Parashurama then killed the
king at his palace and destroyed his army. In revenge, the sons of Kartavirya killed
Jamadagni. Parashurama took a vow to kill every Kshatriya on earth twenty-one times over,
and filled five lakes with their blood. Ultimately, his grandfather, Rishi Rucheeka, appeared
before him and made him halt. He is a chiranjeevi (immortal), and believed to be alive today
in penance at Mahendragiri. He also credited for creating coastal belt
of Karnataka and Kerala throwing his mighty axe as per Hindu mythology. The place the axe
landed in sea got its water displaced and the land which emerged thus came to be known as
coast of Karnataka and whole of Kerala.

Ram LEFT Krishna RIGHT

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7 - Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya. He is a commonly worshipped avatar
in Hinduism, and is thought of as the ideal model of a common prince without super powers,
despite being an incarnation. His story is recounted in one of the most widely read scriptures
of Hinduism, the Ramayana. While in exile from his own kingdom with his
brother Lakshman and the God Hanuman, his wife Sita was abducted by the demon king
of Lanka, Ravana. He travelled to Lanka, killed the demon king and saved Sita. Rama and
Sita returned home and were crowned. The day of the return of Prince Rama to the kingdom
of Ayodhya is celebrated in the form of festival Diwali all over India.

8 - Krishna (sometimes at 9 or "0") or Balarama:

Krishna was the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva and the foster-son
of Yashoda and Nanda. A frequently worshipped deity in Hinduism, he is the hero of various
legends, particularly the Kansa-vadha and Mahabharata and embodies several qualities such
as love, duty, compassion, and playfulness. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by
Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in
late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. Krishna is usually depicted with a
flute in his hand. Krishna is also a central character in Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana, and
the Bhagavad Gita.Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna, is regarded generally as an avatar
of Shesha an extension of Ananta, a form of Lord Vishnu. Balarama is included as the eighth
avatar of Vishnu in the Sri Vaishnava lists, where Buddha is omitted and Krishna appears as
the ninth avatar in this list. He is particularly included in the lists where Krishna is removed
and becomes the source of all.

9 - Krishna, (sometimes at 8 or "0"), Vithoba, or Jagannath. Krishna; commonly at 8,

sometimes at "0". In Maharashtra and Goa, Vithoba's image replaces Buddha as the ninth
avatar of Vishnu in some temple sculptures and Hindu astrological almanacs. In certain Odia
literary creations from Odisha, Jagannath has been treated as the Ninth avatar, by
substituting Buddha.

10 - Kalki is described as the final incarnation of Vishnu, who appears at the end of
each Kali Yuga. He will be atop a white horse and his sword will be drawn, blazing like a
comet. He appears when only chaos, evil and persecution prevails, dharma has vanished, and
he ends the Kali Yuga to restart Satya Yuga and another cycle of existence.

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 Historical development;
Vishnu Dashavatara inscription
Matsyah Kurmo Varahas-cha Narasimhas-cha Vamana
Ramo Ramas-cha Ramas-cha Buddha Kalki-cha te dasa

The Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-lion, the Dwarf,
Parasurama, Dasarathi Rama, Balarama, Buddha and Kalki – thy ten.[40][41]
—Sanctum entrance, Adivaraha cave (7th century), Mahabalipuram;
earliest avatar-related epigraphy

Temple door depicting Dashavatar with Vithoba, at Sree Balaji Temple, Goa. From leftmost upper corner,
clock wise: Matsya, Narasimha, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Kalki, Vamana, Vithoba, Varaha and Kurma.
Krishna
Jayadeva, in his Pralaya Payodhi Jale from the Gita Govinda, includes Balarama and
Buddha where Krishna is equated with Vishnu and the source of all avatars.
In traditions that emphasize the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna is the original Supreme
Personality of Godhead, from whom everything else emanates. Gaudiya
Vaishnavas worship Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, or source of the incarnations.
The Vallabha Sampradaya and Nimbarka Sampradaya, (philosophical schools) go even
further, worshiping Krishna not only as the source of other incarnations, but also Vishnu
himself, related to descriptions in the Bhagavata Purana. Mahanubhavas also known as
the Jai Kishani Panth, considers Lord Krishna as the supreme God and don't consider the
list of Dashavatara while consider another list of Panchavatara (5 Avatars).

59
Thirty-nine avatars are mentioned in the Pañcaratra including the likes of Garuda.
However, despite these lists, the commonly accepted number of ten avatars for Vishnu
was fixed well before the 10th century CE.

Astrological Interpretations JYOTISHA

The term 'Jyotisha' refers to Hindu or Vedic astrology, one of the six Vedangas or
ancillary disciplines linked with the Vedas. The Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra mentions
the Dashavatara as follows:
From the Sun God the Incarnation of Rama, from the Moon that of Krishna, from Mars
that of Narasimha, from Mercury that of Buddha, from Jupiter that of Vamana, from
Venus that of Parasurama, from Saturn that of Koorma (Tortoise), from Rahu that
of Varaha [Boar] and from Ketu that of [Matsya] (fish) occurred. All other incarnations
that these are through the Grahas. The beings with more Paramatmamsa [i.e. Rama,
Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha] are called divine beings'.

— Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Translated by R. Santhanam (1984), Chapter 2, Verses 5-7

Notably, according to the Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra - an important Smriti Sastra or
compilation of Indian astrology for prediction (i.e. fortune telling) - although all ten of
the Dashavatara have corresponding astrological symbols, only four are considered as
divine beings (i.e. Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha).
The sun is the soul of all. The Moon is the mind. Mars is one's strength. Mercury is
speech-giver while Jupiter confers knowledge and happiness. Venus governs semen
(potency) while Saturn denotes grief.

Of royal status are the Sun and the Moon while Mars is the army chief. Prince-apparent
in Mercury. The ministerial planets are Jupiter and Venus. Saturn is servant. Rahu and
Ketu form the planetary army.

— Brihat Parasara Hora Sastra, Translated by R. Santhanam (1984), Chapter 3, Verses 12-15

Dasavatar, 19th century, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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Some modern interpreters interpret Vishnu's ten main avatars as an ascending order from
simple life-forms to more complex life-forms, and see the Dashavataras as a reflection, or a
foreshadowing, of the modern theory of evolution. Such an interpretation was first propounded
by the Gaudiya Vaishnava saint Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his 1873 book Datta-kaustubha and
again in his 1880 book Kṛṣṇa-saṁhita. Theosophist Helena Blavatsky also reiterated this in her
1877 opus Isis Unveiled. Bhaktivinoda Thakura proposed the following ordering of the
Dashavataras:

 Matsya - fish (Paleozoic era)

 Kurma - amphibious tortoise (Mesozoic era)
 Varaha - boar (Cenozoic era)
 Narasimha - man-lion, the last animal and semi-human avatar (Cenozoic era)[66][67]
 Vamana - growing dwarf and first step towards the human form
 Parasurama - a hero, but imperfect human form
 Rama - another hero, physically perfect, befriends a speaking vanara deity Hanuman
 Krishna - son of Devaki
 Buddha - the Buddhism founder
 Kalki - yet to happen and the savior, and is like Christian Advent, which Madame Blavatsky
believed Christians "undoubtedly copied from the Hindus"
Blavatsky believed that the avatara-related Hindu texts were an allegorical presentation
of Darwinian evolution. Some Orientalists and reformist Hindus in India picked up this idea to
rationalize Hinduism as being consistent with modern science. Keshub Chandra Sen stated in
1882,
The Puranas speak of the different manifestations or incarnations of the Deity in different epochs
of the world history. Lo! The Hindu Avatar rises from the lowest scale of life through the fish,
the tortoise, and the hog up to the perfection of humanity. Indian Avatarism is, indeed, a crude
representation of the ascending scale of Divine creation. Such precisely is the modern theory of
evolution.
Similarly Aurobindo regarded "Avataric Evolutionism" as a "parable of evolution", one which
does not endorse evolutionism, but hints at "transformative phases of spiritual
progress. According to Nanda, the Dashavatara concept has led to some Hindus asserting that
their religion is more open to scientific theories, and has not opposed or persecuted scientists
midst them like the way Christianity and Islam has. But, adds Nanda, Hinduism has many
cosmological theories and even the Vaishnava one with Dashavatara concept does not explicitly
teach evolution of species, rather it states an endless cycles of creationism.

The Dashavatara Temple

The Dashavatara Temple is a Vishnu Temple (often termed Dashavatara Temple) located
at Deogarh in Central India built in c. 500 ADThe temple is one of the earliest Hindu stone
temples to still survive today. Built in the Gupta Period (320 to c. 600 AD), Vishnu Temple
shows the ornate and beauty seen in Gupta style architecture- This temple is also a good resource
for examining Gupta style sculpturesand art. The Dashavatara temple is locally known as Sagar

61
marh, which literally means "the temple on the tank", a name it gets from the square water pool
cut into the rock in front.
The temple site is in Deogarh, also spelled Devgarh (Sanskrit: "fort of gods" in the Betwa River
valley at the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. It is an ancient Hindu temple below
the Deogarh hill, towards the river, about 500 metres (1,600 ft) from a group of three dozen Jain
temples with dharmashala built a few centuries later, and the Deogarh Karnali fort built in early
13th-century.
The Dashavatara temple is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Lalitpur town in Uttar Pradesh, 220
kilometres (140 mi) west of Khajuraho, 250 kilometres (160 mi) south of Gwalior, 230
kilometres (140 mi) northeast of Bhopal, and about 400 kilometres (250 mi) southwest
of Kanpur. The nearest railway station is located in Lalitpur, while the closest major airport with
daily services is Khajuraho (IATA: HJR) and Bhopal (IATA: DBH).
The site is on the western edge of the Lalitpur range, with rocky Betwa river rapids about 500
metres (1,600 ft) away, amidst a forest. The British India era archaeologist Alexander
Cunningham visited this site in 1875 and called the general location as "singularly picturesque".
The fort has several Jain temples, and the Dashavatara temple is solitary Hindu monument
midway between the fort and the Deogarh village.
Even though The temple at Deogarh is dedicated to Vishnu but includes in its small footprint
images of various gods and goddesses such as Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, Brahma, Indra, River
goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as a panel showing the five Pandavas of the Hindu
epic Mahabharata. The Temple was built out of stone and masonry brick. Legends associated
with Vishnu are sculpted in the interior and exterior walls of the temple. Also carved are secular
scenes and amorous couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy.
This temple was built according to the third khanda of the Hindu text Vishnudharmottara Purana,
which describes the design and architecture of the Sarvatobhadra-style temple, thus providing
a floruit for the text and likely temple tradition that existed in ancient India. Though ruined, the
temple is preserved in a good enough condition to be a key temple in the Hindu temple
architecture scholarship, particularly the roots of the North Indian style of temple design.

Dashavatara Temple on its jagati.

62
 How Ancient Indian Temples including the Dashavatara were built?

Looking back in time, the Indian sub-continent has been through diverse evolution, be it
in discoveries, social structures, arts and cultures, science and
technology, architecture and so on. There also have been revolutions with foreign invasions
on Indian lands. All these have left remarkable impressions on the indigenous identity of
India. India is known for the conscientious knowledge that the ancestors were well versed
with. This is evident with the facts that so many inventions in the fields of science
(astronomy), mathematics (concept of zero), medicine (Sushruta’s theories and practices of
Ayurveda), lifestyle (Yoga and Pranayam) etc took place in the Indian subcontinent. When
we look at ancient Indian wisdom, it is the Vedas that form a deep rooted foundation in the
evolution of the sub-continent. One of the areas that interested me is the conceptualisation o f
the “Indian Temple” and this article emphasises the concept of “Temple” as a physical and
spiritual expression, through its evolution – spiritually and architecturally.

The Vedic Tradition

The Vedic literature is an ocean of knowledge which was handed d own from generation to
generation by oral transmission. It is not just religious knowledge but also provides one a
plethora of spiritual well-being of humans. Such elaborate collection of hymns, prayers,
incantations and sacrificial formulas expressed in the form of Samhitas, Brahmanas,
Aranyakas and Upanishads shows detailed study and thought behind its conceptualisation.
The newer additions were regarded as improvisations or changes with respect to changes in
society and human behaviour. What is thought provoking is the fact that humans always
regarded some super power which is above their capacities and they constantly were under
the influence of the behaviour of those super powers. Vedic Gods were nature Gods – Agni,
Indra, Varuna, Rudra, Vishnu, Surya, Chandra and female Gods like Ushas, Prithvi, Nirruti
etc. The Vedic tradition believed in the ideas of give and take and were primarily based on
the performance of the yadnya. It was more of a karma kanda (ritualistic section) where the
yajmaan would perform the yadnya at a temporarily erected structure made of timber and
reed. The object of veneration was the vedi or the fire alter with the yadnyakunda where
offerings in various forms were given through the sacrificial fire to the deity.

Vedic Symbolism
The Vedas give us information about the hidden aspects of the deities and their symbolic
significance in the human body. Since it has a holistic approach, it encompasses the entire
gamut of human endeavors – bodily, mental, societal, environmental and spiritual aspects.
The very fact that the Vedic deities were symbolically perceived as a part of our own system
i.e. human and then characterized as per our basic needs i.e. food, shelter and survival
illustrates such a fundamental ideology deeply rooted in thought. Symbolism is also reflected
in the mental perception of these deities e.g. Varuna with thousand eyes – symbolism in
thought. In later periods we also see symbolism in physical appearance i.e. the elephant
headed Ganpati or the eight armed Durga. In temple sculptures we find this symbolic
representation of Gods and Goddesses as the ones one of us yet they are something more
(more powerful, more skilled or more stronger) than us.

63
During the Vedic era, there were no temples. The Vedic people were nomads who used to
travel from one place to the other. As they advanced and started practicing agriculture, the
lifestyle became more settled than nomadic. They no more depended completely at the mercy
of these natural forces and had gained knowledge about certain basics of survival. Sooner as
life became little predictable and changes in social structures happened, there came many
changes in the lifestyle of the people too. The ritual of the yagna slowly started fading away
giving way to the puja. Puja involved more of an emotional connect with the God. Gods were
worshipped, appease and adored. Gods were now perceived as a part of us i.e. human but
with some superpower, and hence not human but God.

This change in thought led to ideas of having a house for the Gods – architecturally
expressed as a Temple i.e. God’s residence. Gods in the form of idols started taking shape. It
was preferred to enhance the emotional connect between the devotee and the idol in
humanised form. This idol would be different to any ordinary idol, as the aura it carried
could respond to the sensitive and emotional connect that a human needed. With more and
more humans seeking this aura, it could fade away in time, hence, it was needed to be
securely preserved. A space which is secluded, dark and with just one side open responded to
this requirement. It resembled the womb – where life begins, hence termed as the
“garbhagriha” or “gabhara”. Later rituals and ceremonies related to the God-human
relationship became more elaborate, we see evolution of the temples corresponding to the
same.

Evolution Of Temple Architecture

Temples were initially rock cut and later we see examples to structural temples too. Early
examples include temple no. 17 at Sanchi having just a square garbhagriha with a rectangular
porch and flat roof.

Temple no. 17, Sanchi/// Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh

Addition of an ambulatory path or the pradakshina path is seen in examples like the Shiva
temple at Bhumara. At Dashavatara temple, Doegarh, a small squat shikhara or the pyramidal
tower is seen along with a high plinth. Here we also see the concept of a Panchayatan making
its entry. These examples belong to the Gupt era which is also known as the phase when
temple architecture was in its formative stage.

During the Chalukyan phase in the southern parts of India, we see many experiments done at
Aihole and Badami, and, at Pattadakkal in Karnataka these temple styles achieved
standardization. Three distinct styles viz. Dravida, Nagara and Vesara evolved.

64
Durga Temple,Aihole/ Sangameshwar and Galaganath Temples, Pattadakkal
Architecture responded to the changes of time and rituals, in the form of additional spaces
like antarala or the vestibule, different mandapas or halls for public gatherings like natya
mandapa, bhoga mandapa, kalyana mandapa etc.

Vitthala Temple, Hampi

The temples were slowly progressing into not just free standing structures but were now
encompassed in a temple complex with gopurams or entrance gateways facing the four
cardinal directions. These compound walls also house miniature shrines or the devakulikas of
the deities belonging to the pantheon of the main deity of that temple.

65
Vitthala Temple, Hampi
As the rituals become more and more elaborate, temple towns came into being with furthe r
additions of concentric rings of walls and walkways or the prakarams. Interesting additions
included the 1000 pillared halls, water tanks and so on.

Meenaxi Temple, Madurai-Written by, Ketaki Patwardhan,Director, Green Hat Studio Pvt. Ltd

Gupta Period is called the “Golden age of India” or the “Classical Age of India” partially
due to the unprecedented activities and development in the arts, architecture, sculpture, painting
and literature.During Gupta Era, the rock cut architecture reached its zenith and this era
marked the beginning of the Free Standing temple Architecture. Most of the temples built in
the Gupta era were carved with representation of Gods (mainly avatara of Vishnu and
Lingams) and Goddesses. The most important temple of Gupta era is the Dasavatar Temple of
Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh mentioned above which we will study closely soon.

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Following is a brief description of the temples & Stupas of the Gupta Era:
1. Dasavatara temple, Deogarh Uttar Pradesh
Dasavatara temple is located in Deogarh Village in Lalitpur town in Uttar Pradesh. The
temple was discovered by Captain Charles Strahan and was named so by Alexander
Cunningham. It depicts the 10 avatara of Vishnu. It is a large and elaborate edifice with
typical temple art of Guptas (without Shikhara) and cubical Garbhagriha. This temple has
also been linked to the “Sarvatobhadra temple” mentioned in the Vishnudharmottara
Purana by several scholars.
2. Bhitargaon Temple
Bhitagaon Temple is located in Kanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. It is the oldest
remaining Hindu temple, and was built in the Gupta Era in 6th century.
3. Dhamekha Stupa
The Dhamekha stupa is located at Sarnath, 13 km away from Varanasi. It marks the deer
park or Rishipattana where Buddha gave his first sermon. As per an inscription dated
1026 AD, recovered from the site, its older name is Dharmachakra Stupa. Archeologist,
Alexander Cunningham in search of a relic casket bored a vertical shaft through it center
down to the foundation and at a depth of around 91 centimeter he found a slab with an
inscription…..Ye Dharma Hetu Prabhava Hetu…..written in Brahmi script. This
inscription is of 6th or 7th century. Below this, one more stupa made of mauryan bricks
has been found which gives in indication that Asoka might have commissioned it.
Other temples of the Gupta Era are as follows:
1. Vishnu Temple of Tigawa Jabalpur
2. Shiva Temple of Bhumara
3. Parvati Temple of Nachria Kathura
4. Mukund Darra Temple of Kota
5. Lakshaman Temple of Raipur
6. Shiva Temple of Koh.
7. Bhitari Temple at Ghazipur
Salient features of the Gupta Temples:
In Gupta period, the basic, characteristic elements of the Indian temple consisting of
a square sanctum sanctorum and a pillared porch had emerged.
1. The Shikhara was not much prominent in the early Gupta temples but was prominent
in later Gupta era. There was a single entrance or mandapa or Porch.
2. Gupta style temple was modeled on the architectural norms of the Mathura school.
3. Some Other Notes about Gupta Temples
4. Sanchi temple at Tigwa has a flat roof.
5. Dasavatar Temple at Deogarh , Bhitargaon temple and Mahadev Temple at Nachna
Kuthar have a square tower of Shikhara.
6. Manyar Math at Rajgriha is a circular temple of Gupta Era.

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 7. Main style of temple architecture in i.e. Nagara style and Dravida style actually began
from the Gupta era.
8. The earliest stone temple with Shikhara is Dasavatar Temple at Deogarh.
9. The Bhitargaon temple at Kanpur is entirely made up of Bricks.

Architecture of Dashavatara Temple speaks a lot about the extensiveness and grandeur of the
design. Dashavatara Temple was the first North Indian temple with tower or shikhara, even
though the shikhara is unfinished and part of it has also disappeared (details as to when the
shikara disappeared are not reported). The temple has high plinth and is set with cellar
terrace. Dashavatara temple has a "compelling presence" in spite of its decaying condition.

The old discourse of Vishnudharmottara Purana explains many temples including a

"Sarvatobhadra temple" that has been contrasted by archaeologists and Indologists with the
Dashavatara Temple (Vishnu temple) or the Gupta Mandir of Deogarh. A comparative study also
revealed that the perfect temple design depicted in the discourse as "Sarvatobhadra temple" was
the same as the Vishnu temple of Deogarh. The conclusion was inferred on the basis of size,
plan, iconography and numerous other customs illustrated for building Hindu temples. On the
basis of this comparison the structural details of the Deogarh temple have been inferred. Various
maps have also been drawn of temple structure. The approximate date of construction of temple
has been estimated to between 450 and 650. During this period, the temple was highly venerated.

Temple face west, with slight deviation to south that also enables the setting sun's rays to fall on
the main idol in temple. The platform also measures 55.5 feet (16.9 m), about 9 feet (2.7 m) on
top of the foundation step (called the moon stone) of the shrine. In the layout of nine squares, the
temple of Lord Vishnu is in the middle square. Outside the platform, there are four stairways that
provide access to the temple. However, as per details of excavation, combined with two small
shrines with middle shrine seen now, the layout of the temple has been interpreted to represent a
typical Panchayatana style of the temples of North India. The full height of the shrine is also
based on isometric projections is about 45 feet (14 m). There are provisions of porches that has
been corroborated but some equivalent comparisons with Varaha temple (boar incarnation of
Vishnu) in the fort precincts, which belonged to the same period, suggests the existence of
porticoes even in the Vishnu temple. Further, a later date with Kuriya Bira temple about 2 miles
(3.2 km) to the south of the Vishnu Temple has been cited to substantiate that this temple had a
Mandapa around a small Shikara.shrine.

Gupta Temple was a "shikara" type of temple, built in a straight edged pyramid shape, but
this cannot be fully set up by active proof. Yet, the partisan features of copying and amalakas (a
bulbous stone finial), support the theory that a shikara existed as part of the main shrine. Finally, it
was concluded that the graceful and favourable Deogarh Temple tallied with the account provided
for the Sarvatobhadra Temple in the antique discourse of Vishnudharmottara Purana. The temple of
Lord Vishnu and its uniqueness have been expressed succinctly by archaeologist Percy Brown, in
these words:

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Deogarh is an ancient site. Numerous inscriptions in different languages and scripts have been
found here, as have a series of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments. These suggest that it was
once a significant human settlement, likely a location on an imperial trade route that brought
people from different linguistic backgrounds to it. According to Madho Vats, Deogarh nestled
within picturesque hills in north, west and south along with its abundant waters was conveniently
located between the major ancient economic centers such as Pataliputra (Patna), Kashi
(Varanasi), Sanchi, Udayagiri, Ujjain, Bhilsa and Bagh. Gupta script are visible and few others
that cannot be deciphered.
The phrase "Om! namah Shivaya! (...)", and the samvat dates included within the inscriptions
meant that the various inscriptions ranged from 808 CE to 1164 CE, none before the 8th-century
or after the 13th-century. The colossal Tirthankaras statutes in the Jain part of the temples site
distinguished them from "Gupta Temple".The architectural style and themes displayed in the
Dashavatara temple suggest that the temple must have been built before 700 CE, probably being
600 to 700 CE.
The temple was visited by Charles Strahan around 1871, who found it midst the jungle growth.
Strahan shared his enthusiasm;
The jungle is heaviest in the immediate neighborhood of Deogarh, where the Betwa is overlooked on
either bank by rocky cliffs once sacred to Hindu shrines, whose ruins display the utmost profusion of
the art of sculpture, but which now hardly overtop the surrounding trees. One temple of great
magnificence, with a broad paved causeway leading from the foot of the hill on which it stands, along
the face of the rocks, is of great archaeological interest, some of the sculptures being well preserved.
– Charles Strahan

Vishnu sleeping, protected by Shesha the serpant RIGHT 1880 sketch of 9-squared Dashavatara temple plan (not to
scale, some parts not shown
In 1899, P.C. Mukerji surveyed the site more comprehensively on the behalf of Archaeological
Survey of India. He noticed the profusion of Vishnu imagery in the reliefs and accepted the local
oral tradition that claimed that the ten avatars of Vishnu were carved on the temple but are now
missing. In his report, he called it the Dashavatara temple and mentioned the local Sagar
Marh name for the temple.

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In the decades following the Mukerji's report, excavations in the Deogarh region in early 20th-
century such as those by Daya Ram Sahni yielded evidence of more Hindu shrines as well
inscriptions, Jain temples and Buddhist monuments. These include the Naharghati inscriptions, a
monastic cave and the inscribed relief of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers, Shaktism). In 1918,
Sahini also found panels from the temple buried near the foundation and used by someone to
build a wall nearby. These panels narrated scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to
Bruhn, the Deogarh Naharghati inscriptions, cave and sculptures are all Hindu monuments and
one of richest archaeological findings in Deogarh area, and they include Gupta era art, several
early and late Nagari script inscriptions, an early Mahishasura-mardini Durga relief, Shiva lingas
and various Hindu statues.
In early 20th-century, the missing ten avatars that Sahni knew about but no one else had seen
proof of, led to a debate whether the temple should be called Dashavatara temple or something
else. However, the excavations and subsequent study of reliefs from the Deogarh temple site by
scholars such as Vats yielded the evidence of reliefs showing Krishna, Narasimha, Vamana,
Balarama, Rama, and others. Thereafter the temple has generally been known as the
Dashavatara temple of Deogarh. According to Vats, the evidence suggests that a large number of
reliefs that existed in late 19th century went missing in the first few decades of the 20th century.
Much of the Dashavatara temple, along with Jain temples nearby, are in ruins and shows signs of
damage.
Archaeologists have inferred that it is the earliest known Panchayatana temple in North India. It
was subsequently renamed by Cunningham as Dashavatara Mandir or Dashavatara Temple
(because the temple depicts ten incarnations of Vishnu), and also as Sagar Marh (meaning: the
temple by the well).

Sanctum door reliefs. TO RIGHT

Date
The Dashavatara temple is generally dated between late 5th-century and early 6th-century, or
about 500 CE. Benjamín Preciado-Solís, a professor of Indian History specializing in Hindu and
Buddhist iconography, dates it to the 5th-century. According to George Michell, an art historian
and a professor specializing in Hindu Architecture, it is unclear when exactly the Dashavatara

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temple was built but its style suggests the sixth century. Michael Meister, another art historian
and professor of Indian temple architecture, dates the temple to between 500–525 CE.
The Dashavatara temple has a high plinth (jagati) and is set with a basement porch. The temple
provides steps in the center of all sides of the platform to let the pilgrim enter the temple from all
four directions.
The temple faces west, with slight deviation to the south that enables the setting sun's rays to
fall on the main idol in the temple. The plinth is square with a 55.5 feet (16.9 m) side, about 9
feet (2.7 m) above the bottom step (called the moon stone) of the shrine.] Each corner of the
platform has a 11 feet (3.4 m) square projection with remnants of a shrine. The plinth was
molded in four parallel courses, each molding about 0.95 feet (0.29 m) thick. Above the four
moldings, rectangular panels separated by pilasters ran all along the plinth with friezes narrating
Hindu texts such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Some of these friezes are now in
museums such as the National Museum in Delhi. These show, for example, the narratives from
the Krishna legend.
On the platform is a nine squares layout. The surviving Vishnu temple is in the middle square.
The sanctum is a square with 18.5 feet (5.6 m) side. Its doorway is intricately carved with reliefs.
The images on the top of the lintel of the sanctum and walls show Vishnu and Lakshmi, flanked
by Shiva, Parvati, Indra, Kartikeya, Ganesha, Brahma and others. The outer wall of the sanctum
on three sides have niches with sculptures of Vishnu legends: Gajendra-moksha flying in with
Garuda, Nara-Narayana seated in lalitasana position, and Anantasayi Vishnu in reclining
position.
On the top of the sanctum is the remnants of sikhara of the Dashavatara temple. According to
Vats, this sikhara is one of the earliest extant lithic illustration in North India along with the one
in Mundeshvari temple in Bihar. The Deogarh temple is built on a square plan, while the
Mundeshvari temple is built on an octagonal plan. The Deogarh temple sikhara was pyramidal of
receding tiers (tala), with a straight edge.
The Dashavatara Temple is closely related to the iconic architectural temple structure described
in the Viṣṇudharmottara purāṇa, and can be interpreted as an architectural representation of
the Caturvyuha concept and the Pancaratra doctrine, centering on the depictions of the four main
emanations of Vishnu: Vāsudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

Sculptures

Left: Sheshashayi Vishnu reclining on the serpent-bed of Shesha. Right: Vishnu or Vāsudeva in sitting posture under the
serpent's hood.

Sculpted panels are seen on the terraced basement, with carved figurines of river goddesses
Ganga and Yamuna flanking the doorway to the sanctum sanctorum, standing respectively on

71
their vahanas: crocodile and tortoise. The panels of the stone door have intricate carvings
showing amorous couples in different stages of courtship and intimacy. On the facade are two
males standing, one holding a flower and the other a garland as if greeting the visitor.
The relief on the doorway lintel of the sanctum shows Vishnu. He is four-armed, holds his iconic
conch shell in his rear left hand, the iconic chakra in his rear right, front right hand is
in abhaya mudra while the left front is on his thigh. Below him, to his right, is a female figure
presumably Lakshmi but her iconic details are missing. Below to his left is . To the right, he is
flanked by standing Narasimha (the man-lion avatar of Vishnu) in namaste posture, while on left
is a dwarf who has been interpreted as Vamana (the dwarf avatar), or more often Gana as he
lacks the iconic details of Vamana.

A relief at Dasavatara temple (L to R): Kartikeya, Indra, Brahma, Shiva, Parvati, Nandi. RIGHT PIC Mahabharata relief (L to R):
Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhisthira, Nakula, Sahadeva and Draupadi.
On the outer walls of each side of the sanctum are niches. Each niche has an alto-relievo
of Vaishnava mythology.

 On the north side is the Gajendra Moksha in a niche that is 3.25 feet by 5 feet (0.65:1 ratio).
A symbolic elephant is praying for help with his leg inside a pond and lotus flower in his
trunk, where he is being strangled. Vishnu is shown flying in on Garuda to liberate the
elephant from evil strangulation.
 On the east side is the Nara Narayana alto-relievo. Nara and Narayana are seated in
meditation in lalitasana. Both of them hold a rosary in hand, are shown to be with closed
eyes and calm, as if lost in their meditation. Apsaras are shown flying above with cusped
hands as if showering flowers. Below Nara and Narayana sit lion and deer in peace and
without anxiety. The panel also has four headed Brahma seated on lotus and in lotus asana.
 In the south side niche is the Anantasayi Vishnu legend as he rests after creating a new
cosmic cycle. He sleeps on Sesha whose 7-headed hood shades him. Lakshmi is sitting near
Vishnu's feet and shown caressing his right leg. Vishnu is wearing an elaborate crown
(kiritamukuta) and neck, ear, arm and body jewelry. A miniature four headed Brahma is
above in center, but he does not emerge from Vishnu navel (a version found in later-dated
Puranas). Brahma also has only two hands, with one holding his iconic kamandalu (water
pot). Others flanking Brahma are Indra and Kartikeya (Skanda) on one side, Siva and Parvati
on Nandi, and a person with a garland. Below the reclining Vishnu is a panel depicting the
five males (Pandavas) and one female (Draupadi) of the Mahabharata legend.


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 Nara Narayana panel on the eastern wall of the Vishnu temple

According to Lubotsky, it is likely that the entrance is dedicated to the Vāsudeva aspect of
Vishnu; the Anantashayana side is his role as the creator (Aniruddha); the sage form of Nara-
Narayana side symbolizes his preservation and maintainer role in cosmic existence (Pradyumna);
and the Gajendramoksha side represents his role as the destroyer (Samkarsana).
Reliefs and museums
The Dashavatara temple had numerous plinth panels of about 2.5 feet by 2 feet each, with friezes
related to secular life and themes of Hinduism. Some of these reliefs were found during
excavations at the site, some recovered nearby and identified by their location, the material of
construction and the style. Many are lost. The recovered reliefs are now housed in major
museums. Some of the significant reliefs identified include:

 Ramayana scenes: a panel depicts the Ahalya-uddhara legend where Hindu god Rama
redeems Ahalya. The scene shows Ahalya in a reverential state offering flowers, Rama and
Lakshmana holding their bows, and a rishi monk sitting nearby with a rosary. Other legends
include the departure of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana for their exile; the three arriving at sage
Atri's hermitage; the Surpanakha legend; the Dandaka forest legend; the abduction of Sita by
Ravana; the bullying of Sita by Ravana legend; the Sugriva victory legend and the Hanuman
bringing the herb containing mountain for Lakshmana legend.

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A Deogarh temple Ramayana relief now in National Museum, Delhi; L to R: Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, in lower
right is demoness Surpanakha caught after harassing Sita and Rama.

 Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana scenes: a panel narrates the Krishna's birth in a prison
legend; Yashoda and Nanda playing with Baladeva and Krishna; Krishna battling Kamsa
legend; Krishna stealing bathing gopi clothes and two nude women concealing their breasts;
the Sudama legend and a few others. One of the panels shows the Vamana, Bali and
Trivikrama legend; another the Narasimha saving Prahlada legend.
 Secular life scenes: A number of panels show solitary women with various expressions;
small boys playing; girls picking flowers in a field; six girls together of which five are
watching and one is dancing; five girls of which one in center is dancing and the other four
are playing musical instruments; a woman giving a baby to a man so that he can hold the
baby but the man stands indifferent; and others.
 Kama and mithuna scenes: lovers are shown as if having a conversation with one of his hand
on her shoulder, the shy woman looking the other way; she sitting in his lap and he fondling
her breasts; a man and woman with intertwined bodies, her body reclined on his; a man
turning away while the woman embracing him from behind and clinging to him; another
panel showing a woman declining a man making advances; and others.
Another sculpture found in the Vishnu temple depicts the Krishna legend in which Devaki hands
over her new born son Krishna to her husband Vasudeva. This sculpture is said to be one of the
best depictions of Gupta period art, based on the sensuous and graceful modelling of the
figurines, but different in that its clothes are shown draped in an exclusive fashion. It is now
housed at the National Museum in New Delhi.
The panels show the culture and dress of ancient India. The jewelry and clothing
including dhoti, sari, kurta, lahanga, blouse, pleated skirt, dopatta (uttariya), langoti, neck wear
and others.

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Textual roots
The Hindu treatise Vishnudharmottara Purana describes several temples including a
"Sarvatobhadra temple", which has been compared by archaeologists and Indologists with the
Dashavatara Temple (Vishnu temple) or the Gupta Mandir of Deogarh. According to Lubotsky, a
comparative study suggests that the ideal temple design and iconography described in the treatise
as "Sarvatobhadra temple" was the same as the Vishnu temple of Deogarh.[39] This conclusion
was based on plan, size, iconography and several other norms described for building the
Sarvatobhadra style Hindu temples. Based on this comparison, the structural details of the
Deogarh temple have been inferred. Maps have also been drawn of the temple structure. The
probable date of the temple's construction has been estimated to be between 425 and 525.
The Sarvatobhadra design requires a superstructure with nine sikharas. The Dasavatara temple at
Deogarh shows only one "shikara", and right squares with no remnant structure. Lubotsky
acknowledges that this aspect of the Sarvatobhadra design cannot be fully established by existing
evidence. However, the supporting features of copings and amalakas (a bulbous stone finial)
have been found in the ruins, which supports the theory that more shikaras existed on eight
mandapas, as part of the temple.
Four stairways outside the platform provide access to the temple. However, as per excavation
details, combined with the two small shrines with the central shrine seen now, the layout of the
temple has been interpreted to represent a typical Panchayatana style of the temples of North
India. The total height of the shrine based on isometric projections is about 45 feet
(14 m). Provision of porches has not been corroborated but some analogous comparison with the
Varaha temple (boar incarnation of Vishnu) in the fort precincts, which belonged to the same
period, suggests the existence of porticoes even in the Vishnu temple. Further, a later date Kuriya
Bira temple about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south of the Vishnu temple, has been cited to
substantiate that this temple had a mandapa around a small shikara shrine, as required in the
Sarvatobhadra design.
According to Lubotsky, the Deogarh temple tallied with the description provided for the
Sarvatobhadra temple in the ancient treatise of Vishnudharmottara Purana.
Reconstructions Proposed
Cunningham had originally proposed a reconstruction of the temple with four columns on each
side supporting a portico and a shikhara topped by an amalaka. However Vats and Imig have
proposed that it was a panchayatana temple. Imig compared a number of temples from the region
and from other regions from similar period, and concluded that the garbhagriha (sanctum) cell
was surrounded by a wall forming an ambulatory.

Dashavatara Temple Dedicated to 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu

Many of these early Hindu stone temples were dedicated to a single Hindu deity. The temple at
Deogarh is dedicated to the Vishnu These temples made in the early part of the 6th century of the
Gupta Period housed images and symbols of Hindu gods. These temples allowed people to make
contact with the gods they were worshiping. The Temple was built out of stone and brick
consisting of a single cubical sanctum that sheltered the images within Statuaries of the Vishnu
were both sculpted in the interior and exterior walls of the temple. The temple’s affiliation with
the deity Vishnu can be seen by looking at the statuary of the deity seated on a coiled serpent

75
seat that decorates the carved doorway into the temple. There are also many sculpted panels
showing the myths and tales connected with Vishnu.
Vishnu Temple is a great example of early Gupta architecture. The style and organization of the
structure was the method for the decoration of many Hindu temples seen around India at the
time.[1]Though it is in poor condition, having a damaged tower, the temple still exudes the ornate
decorations and structural complexity created back in the early 6th century.
The Dashavatara Temple is an early 6th century Vishnu Hindu temple located at Deogarh, Uttar
Pradesh in the Betwa River valley in north-central India. It has a simple, one cell square plan and
is one of the earliest Hindu stone temples still surviving today. Built in the Gupta Period, the
Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh shows the ornate Gupta style architecture.
It has a simple, one cell square plan and is one of the earliest Hindu stone temples still surviving
today.Built in the Gupta Period, the Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh shows the ornate Gupta
style architecture.The Temple was built out of stone and masonry brick.Legends associated with
Vishnu are sculpted in the interior and exterior walls of the temple.
.
Dashavatara Temple is identical to the Sarvatobhadra Temple of Vishnudharmottara
Purana

During the early days of temple construction, each temple is dedicated to single Hindu god or
goddess. This temple is a prime example of that. However, there are images and symbols of
other Hindu gods here too, which allows people to harmonize with their devotion to God by
worshipping. The temple is built out of stone and brick, with a single cubical sanctum that
shelters the images within. Vishnu is carved in both the interior and external walls of the temple.
The affiliation with Vishnu can be seen primarily with the statuary of the deity seated on a coiled
serpent seat that decorates the carved doorway into the temple. But it’s not just that, other
sculpted panels also show myths and tales connected with Vishnu. The temple also served as a

76
prototype for Sarvatobhadra temple as described in Vishnudharmottara Purana, according to
Dakog Otin.

The Architecture of Dashavatara Temple

The Dashavatara temple is the first North Indian temple with a tower, although the shikhara is
curtailed and part of it has disappeared. There are a basement porch and a high plinth. Though
the condition is poor Currently, the temple still has a compelling presence.

The treatise of Vishnudharmottara Purana talks about a Sarvatobhadra temple, which the
archaeologists and Indologists compare with this temple or the Gupta Mandir of Deogarh. The
study shows that the style and architecture are ideally similar to the one mentioned in the
Vishnudharmottara Purana. Factors like plan, size, iconography and several other norms were
accounted for. The estimated date of construction is around 425-525. The temple was a primary
place of veneration till the seventh century from its construction.

Dashavatara Temple faces west, with a slight inclination towards the south. This enables the sun
rays to fall on the main idol of the temple. The plinth of the temple is 55.5ft, about 9ft from the
moonstone, the bottom step. Outside the temple is a platform that provides access to the temple.

However, the two small shrines and the central shrine that is seen today is similar to the layout of
the temple of typical Panchayatana style of the temple of North India, as per the excavation
details. Based on isometric projections, the total height of the shrine in the temple is 45feet.
Some suggest that porticoes existed even in the Vishnu temple, with analogous comparison made
with the Varaha temple (the boar incarnation).

Narasimha Avatar and Prahlad - An Ardent Devotee of Lord Vishnu

The existing evidence does not fully support the claim that the Gupta temple was of
shikhara style, with a straight edged pyramid shape. But it does suggest features of
copings and Amalakas (a bulbous stone finial), which in turn suggests a theory that
the shikhara existed. Percy Brown, a famous archaeologist, says:

77
“When complete, this building was unquestionably one of rare merit in the
correct ordering of its parts, all alike serving the purpose of practical utility, yet
imbued with supreme artistic feeling. Few monuments can show such a high
level of workmanship, combined with a ripeness and rich refinement in its
sculptural effect as the Gupta temple at Deogarh.”

Proposed Reconstructions
The original reconstruction had been proposed by Cunningham himself, by starting with the four
columns on each side supporting a portico and a Shikara topped by Amalaka. But Vats and Imig
proposed to start with the Panchayatana style of Temple by comparing with other temples in the
region of similar period. He even concluded that Garbhagriha cell was surrounded by a wall
forming an ambulatory.

The Sculptures in Dashavatara Temple

On the terraced basement, sculpted panels can be seen. It consists of carved figurines of river
goddesses Ganga and Yamuna flanking the doorway to the sanctum sanctorum. On the other
side, mythology related to Gajendra moksha, Nara Narayana Tapasya, and the Sheshashayi
Vishnu are carved on panels. After the discovery, a protective wall of stone was built around the
temple. However, the main idol of the temple is still missing and is believed to have been
relocated somewhere else.

Vishnu reclining on the serpentShesha (Ananta) on a side panel of the Vishnu temple of 5th century

The Sheshashayi Vishnu shows reclining Vishnu on the serpent Shesha, with four-arms lying
down on the spiral of the serpent with seven hoods, forming a shade over his crowned head. At
his feet are Lakshmi and other two attendants. It also shows other gods looking at that picture,
and another panel shows two demons Madhu and Kaitabha about to attack. But they are shown
to be repulsed with the four personified weapons of Ayudhapurushas of Vishnu. Some

78
interpretations claim that the lower panel might be that of five Pandavas and their common wife
Draupadi.

The relief on the temple shows Vishnu on Shesha, with Lakshmi sitting down and caressing his
feet, flanked by two incarnations of Vishnu Narasimha and Vamana.

T- he Dashavatara Temple or Vishnu Temple also called Gupta temple at Deogarh.

Other carved panels at the side and back of walls show Vishnu’s life. There is a Gajendra
Moksha carved on a panel in the northern wall, which represents Vishnu arriving to rescue the
elephant Gajendra. Nara-Narayana is depicted on a panel on the eastern side wall, while on the
southern wall, Vishnu is shown to be reclining on the serpent in relaxing or sleeping mode.
These show the four facets of Vishnu:

the entrance represents Vasudeva; the Gajendramoksha side is referred as Samkarshana, the destructive aspect of Vishnu;
the Nara-Narayana side is known as Pradyumna, the preserving aspect of Vishnu; and the Anantashayana side is known as
Aniruddha.

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 There is another sculpture that shows the legend of Krishna where Devaki hands Krishna to her
husband Vasudeva. It is considered to be the best of Gupta form of art, based on sensuous and
graceful depictions of the figures, and yet, still different form of clothing as if it were an
exclusive fashion. This is now housed at the National Museum in New Delhi.
https://vedicfeed.com/dashavatara-temple/

What does Sarvatobhadra type of temple in ancient India mean?

With the construction of the Stupas, the construction of the Hindu temples also started as free
standing structures. The subject matter of the deities in the Hindu temples were the mythical
stories narrated in the Puranas. There were three kinds of the temples on the basis of access and
the circumambulatory path built in it.
 Sandhara: These types of the temples have a square sanctum enclosed by a gallery of pillars
meant for Pradakshina. Thus, the Sandhara temples have a Pradakshinapatha.
 Nirandhara: This type of temples do NOT have Pradakshinapathas
 Sarvatobhadra: These types of the temples have four functional doors on cardinal direction and
also a Pradakshinapatha with a row of 12 pillars around the santum sanctorum. These types of
temples could be accessed from all sides.
The earliest temples of India include the Dasavatar temple at Deogarh, in Uttar Pradesh, Nachna-
Kuthara and Udaygiri near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh. All of these temples are simple
structures consisting of a veranda, a hall and a shrine at the rear.

Sarvatobhadra: These types of the temples have four functional doors on cardinal direction and
also a Pradakshinapatha with a row of 12 pillars around the santum sanctorum. These types of
temples could be accessed from all sides.

NEELKANTHMAHADEV TEMPLE The NeelkanthMahadev Temple is a very famous Shiva

Temple which is located in the Kumbhalgarh Fort. The temple was built in 1458 AD and has a six
feet high Shivling, made of stone. One of the unique featuresof this temple is the fact that you can
enter it from all four directions, which is commonly referred to as a Sarvatobhadra
.
temple (welcomerajasthan, Feb 2020)

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Sarvatobhadra Jain - Circa 6-7th Century CE - ACCN 00-B-65 - Government Museum - Mathura

Angkor Wat: Buddha seated on Adishesha

81
 Angkor Wat is an enormous Buddhist temple
complex located in northern Cambodia. ...
Originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu,
Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple by the
end of the 12th centuryMany of the 10
main incarnations are depicted in carvings all
over Angkor temples.

Krishna is most common Pic Below

one more krishna

Narasimha at Angkor(Bante Brei)

Even the Buddha statute added later soeak visually of him as a Vishnu Avatar
Buddha with the Dhyana Mudra gesture seated on Adishesha See pic Above
Situated on the eastern gallery of the uppermost terrace (also known as Bakan)
of Angkor Wat Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the sculpture shown in the
image depicts Buddha seated on Adishesha, a seven-headed mythical serpent.
By depicting Buddha seated on Adishesha, this carving affirms Buddha is
indeed an avatar of Vishnu.

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 Vishnu as Kurma
the turtle at Khal Spiem

Buddha is considered one of the ten avatars (Dashavatara) of Vishnu, one of

the Hindu Trinity. Some of Vishnu’s depictions show him seated on Adishesha.
Adishesha is known by many names, including Shesha, Sheshanaga, and
Ananta. Interestingly, two mathematical concepts are buried in these names. In
Sanskrit, shesha means one that remains (i.e., remainder), and ananta means
endless (i.e., infinity). What this means is that Shesha remains even after the
end of the universe, and Ananta exists for eternity.

Notice how Buddha’s hands are placed on his lap. As you can see, both of his
palms are facing upwards and the right palm is above the left. This type of
hand gesture is called Dhyana Mudra, which is a symbolic way of representing
meditation. See a Buddha statue with the Dhyana Mudra gesture
in Borobudur.

Note: In Sanskrit, dhyana means meditation and mudra literally means seal but
refers to the hand gesture.

Related.Images
The following images from the temples in Karnataka, India, dedicated to
Vishnu:
– Maha Vishnu seated on Adishesha – A beautiful sculpture carved in the
mukhamantapha (veranda) of Cave – 3 of Badami caves
– Maha Vishnu reclining on Adishesha – An intricately carved relief on the
outer wall of the Belur Chennakeshava Temple
– Maha Vishnu seated on Adishesha.

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 Vishnu and AVATARS Outside Indian subcontinent
Indonesia

Vishnu wayang (puppetry) figures

In Indonesia, Vishnu or Wisnu (Indonesian spelling) is a well-known figure in

the world of wayang (Indonesian Puppetry), Wisnu is often referred to as the
title Sanghyang Batara Wisnu. Wisnu is the god of justice or welfare, wisnu
was the fifth son of Batara Guru and Batari Uma. He is the most powerful son
of all the sons of Batara Guru.
Wisnu is described as a god who has bluish black or dark blue skin, has four
arms, each of which holds a weapon, namely a mace, a lotus, a trumpet and
a Cakra. He can also do tiwikrama, become an infinitely large giant.
According to Javanese mythology, Wisnu first came down to the world and
became a king with the title Srimaharaja Suman. The country is
called Medangpura, located in the present-day Central Java region. Then
changed its name to Sri Maharaja Matsyapati. In addition, according to the
Javanese wayang puppet version, Batara Wisnu also incarnates Srimaharaja
Kanwa, Resi Wisnungkara, Prabu Arjunasasrabahu, Sri Ramawijaya, Sri
Batara Kresna, Prabu Airlangga, Prabu Jayabaya, Prabu Anglingdarma.
In Javanese mythology, Wisnu also incarnated as a matswa (fish) to kill the
giant Hargragiwa who stole the Veda. Become Narasingha (human with a tiger
head) to destroy King Hiranyakashipu. He once intended to become a Wimana
(dwarf) to defeat Ditya Bali. Batara Wisnu also incarnated in Ramaparasu to
destroy gandarwa. Menitis in Arjunasasra / Arjunawijaya to defeat King
Rahwana. The last one was for King Krishna to become the great Pandavas
parampara or advisor to get rid of greed and evil committed by the Kauravas.
Sang Hyang Wisnu has a mount in the form of a
giant garuda named Bhirawan. Because of his affection for the garuda he rode,

84
Bhirawan was then adopted as son-in-law, married to one of his daughters
named Dewi Kastapi
Vishnu iconography such as statues and etchings have been found in
archaeological sites of Southeast Asia, now predominantly of the Theravada
Buddhist tradition. In Thailand, for example, statues of four-armed Vishnu have
been found in provinces near Malaysia and dated to be from the 4th to 9th-
century, and this mirror those found in ancient India.[ Similarly, Vishnu statues
have been discovered from the 6th to 8th century eastern Prachinburi
Province and central Phetchabun Province of Thailand and southern Đồng Tháp
Province and An Giang Province of Vietnam.[141] Krishna statues dated to the early
7th century to 9th century have been discovered in Takéo Province and other
provinces of Cambodia.
Archeological studies have uncovered Vishnu statues on the islands of Indonesia,
and these have been dated to the 5th century and thereafter. In addition to
statues, inscriptions and carvings of Vishnu, such as those related to the "three
steps of Vishnu" (Trivikrama) have been found in many parts of Buddhist
southeast Asia.] In some iconography, the symbolism of Surya, Vishnu and
Buddha are fused.

In Japanese Buddhist pantheon, Vishnu is known as Bichū-

ten (毘紐天), and he appears in Japanese texts such as the 13th century
compositions of Nichiren.
In science
4034 Vishnu is an asteroid discovered by Eleanor F. Helin.[147] Vishnu rocks are a
type of volcanic sediment found in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA.
Consequently, mass formations are known as Vishnu's temples.

85
 CHAPTER V

1000 Shivlingas of India and Cambodia-Faturing Khal Spean

People must be aware of the famous Sahasralinga pilgrimage in the town of Sirsi, Karnataka but
did you know that there is another Sahasralinga in Cambodia too? Yes, you read that correct!
Siem Reap, a lovely city in Cambodia is the place where you can witness Sahasralinga which
when translated means 1000 Shiva Lingas. These 1000 lingas are carved at both the places and
are dedicated to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva.

About Sahasralinga in Sirsi, Karnataka

So this place is one of the prime pilgrimage centres in the country and is situated in the centre of
the River Shalmala in the town of is Sirsi. The place is known for its 1000 Shiva Lingas that are
carved on the rocks along the banks of the Shalmala. As far as history is concerned, there 1000
lingas were installed by the ruler Sadashivaraya of the Vijayanagar Kingdom sometime between
1678 and 1718. The unique thing about these are that each linga features a carving of Nandi, the
bull right in front.

Every year, on the pious occasion of Maha Shivratri, devotees from across the country visit the
place to perform Shiva puja. The place looks truly mysterious and gorgeous too at the same time
when you get to see so many lingas together playing hide and seek with the river waters. None of
these lingas come in the same shape or size. Given the force of river water, some of these lingas
have gone bad and some are dislodged or completely disfigured. Those who wish to witness this
miracle, it is suggested to visit the place only when the water level is low. Because otherwise, the
lingas remain underwater so that the carvings are clearly visible.
PILGRIMAGE: Sahasralinga is a pilgrimage place, located around 14 km from the Sirsi Taluk
in the district of Uttara Kannada of Karnataka state in India. It is in the river Shalmala and is
famous for being the location where around a thousand lingas are carved on rocks in the river
and on its banks.
"Sahasralingeshwara temple in Uppinangady is situated on the banks of the river Netravati and
Kumaradhara, where thousand lingas are found. The story goes like: After Kurukshetra war,
Krishna suggests Pandavas to get "Pushpa Mruga" to hold Rajasooryadwara Yaga.Bheema
dashed to "Mahendragiri" to fetch it.On the way he meets Hanuman taking rest, which is
stretched on his way.Bheema finds it difficult to cross the tail of Hanuman and requests to
remove the tail. Hanuman asks Bheema to lift tail but he struggles and fails.Later both realised
that both are devine powers.Hanuman comes to know the purpose of Bheem's journey and offers
him hair from his tail for the protection.
Bheem,after reaching Mahendragiri meets pushpamruga and it agrees on a condition that it
would follow him only a "manovega"-speed at which mind moves. Bheem agrees trusting the tail
hair. While leading the animal, whenever Bheem finds he cannot keep the pace with the
animal,he drops a hair.Strangely a "Shivalinga" appears just on the spot and Pushpamruga
proceeds only after worshipping the linga.This gives Bheem sufficient time to adjust his speed.

86
When they reach the place called "Uppinangady", Bheem finds difficult and drops remaining one
thousand tail hair.
There appears 1000 lingas and by the time animal completes worship,Bheem safely reaches
Yagamantap.Thus it is believed that 1000 Lingas are found in the temple vicinity.One out of
those Lingas found in the middle of the river sand becomes visible in the month of February.
The lingas in Uppinangady are under the river and are natural appearing, not carved.
The Shiva Lingas were built under the patronage of Sadashivarayavarma, king of the Sirsi
kingdom (1678-1718). It is also possible to see many Basava (bulls) which are carved in front of
the Shivalingas.
Linga is a symbol of worship of the Hindu God, Shiva. On the auspicious day
of Mahashivaratri thousands of pilgrims visit Sahasralinga to offer their prayers to Shiva.
Sahasralinga is situated around 14 km from Sirsi. One can travel by personal vehicles as there is
ample parking space at Sahasralinga and is very well maintained.
You can also take public bus travelling from Sirsi to Yellapura and get down at barani. You can
take an auto rickshaw or walk down to Sahasralinga which is 1.5 km from the bus stop.

INDIA CAMBODIA

87
 KHAL SPIEN
The Cambodian Sahasralinga (also known as Kbal Spean, meaning ‘the Head Bridge’) was
discovered in the year 1969 by Jean Boulbet, an ethnologist. However, because of Cambodian
Civil War, the place was out of reach and it was only after almost 20 years that the place was
declared safe to visit.This magnificent site is now one of the popular tourist centre. The
Cambodian Sahasralinga is about 25 km from Angkor Watt, which is considered the largest
Hindu temple outside of India. Here also there are a thousand carved lingas amidst a river,
however, this place is not considered revered and is only a major tourist spot in Cambodia. Also,
given its ‘into the wild’ status, it’s really difficult to reach.

As far as history is concerned, there is no factual uptdate on when these lingas were carved and
what was the purpose behind. If locals are to be believed, these lingas are symbols of creative
energy. Moreover, they believe that water flowing over lingas will reach paddy fields and make
them more fertile.
Kbal Spean ("Bridge Head") is an Angkorian era archaeological site on the southwest slopes of
the Kulen Hills to the northeast of Angkor in Banteay srei, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia. It is
situated along a 150m stretch of the Stung Kbal Spean River, 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the
main Angkor group of monuments, which lie downstream.
The site consists of a series of stone rock relief carvings in sandstone formations of the river bed
and banks. It is commonly known as the "Valley of a 1000 Lingas" or "The River of a Thousand
Lingas". The motifs for stone carvings are mainly myriads of lingams (phallic symbol
of Hindu god Shiva), depicted as neatly arranged bumps that cover the surface of a sandstone
bed rock, and lingam-yoni designs. There are also various Hindu mythological motifs, including
depictions of the gods Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Rama, and Hanuman, as well as
animals (cows and frogs)
It is described as "a spectacularly carved riverbed, set deep in the jungle to the northeast of
Angkor". The river over which the bridge head exists is also known as Stung Kbal Spean, a
tributary of the Siem Reap River that rises in the Kulein mountains north of Banteay Srei. The
river bed cuts through sandstone formations, and the many architectural sculptures of Hindu
mythology have been carved within the sandstone. The archaeological site occurs in a stretch of
the river starting from 150 metres (490 ft) upstream north of the bridge head to the falls
downstream.The river, being sanctified by flowing over the religious sculptures, flows

88
downstream, bifurcating into the Siem Reap River and Puok River, which eventually flows into
the Tonlé Sap Lake after passing through the plains and the Angkor temple complex.
The archaeological site is in the western part of the Kulein mountains within the Phnom Kulen
National Park. Approach is from the Banteay Srei temple by a road which is about 5 kilometres
(3.1 mi) from an army camp. Thereafter, it is a 40-minute walk through the forest for about 2
kilometres (1.2 mi) uphill along a path before reaching the first site, a water fall, where the
carved sculptures start appearing in the river bed.

India- Sirsalinga Cambodia Kbal Spean

1. History. The Shiva Lingas were built 1. The carving of vestiges began with
under the patronage the reign of King Suryavarman I and
of Sadashivarayavarma, king of the Sirsi ended with the reign of King
kingdom (1678-1718). Udayadityavarman II; these two kings
ruled between the 11th and 12th
2. "Sahasralingeshwara temple in
centuries.
Uppinangady is situated on the banks of the
river Netravati and Kumaradhara, where 2. The 1,000 lingas, are attributed to a
thousand lingas are found. minister of Suryavarman I during the
11th century,
3. River Netravati
3. carved by hermits who lived in the
area. Inscriptions at the site testify to
the fact that most of the sculpting was
done during the reign of
Udayadityavarman II.
4. It is also mentioned that King
Udayadityavarman II consecrated a
golden ling here in 1059 AD. It is
believed that the Siem Reap River
flowing into Angkor is blessed by the
sacred lingas over which it flows.
5. Siem Reap River

The carving of vestiges began with the reign of King Suryavarman I and ended with the reign
of King Udayadityavarman II; these two kings ruled between the 11th and 12th centuries. The
1,000 lingas, but not other sculptures, are attributed to a minister of Suryavarman I during the
11th century, and these were carved by hermits who lived in the area. Inscriptions at the site
testify to the fact that most of the sculpting was done during the reign of Udayadityavarman II. It
is also mentioned that King Udayadityavarman II consecrated a golden ling here in 1059 AD. It
is believed that the Siem Reap River flowing into Angkor is blessed by the sacred lingas over
which it flows.
Suryavarman I’s reign saw great innovations in art and architecture and it is believed that the
sudden change is due to the presence of cholas. His reign lasted some 40 years and he spent
much of that time defending it. Known as the "King of the Just Laws," he consolidated his
political power by inviting some four thousand local officials to the royal palace and swear an

89
oath of allegiance to him. Suryavarman I favored Buddhism but he allowed the people to
continue practising Hinduism. His palace was situated in the vicinity of Angkor Thom, and he
was the first of the Khmers rulers to protect his palace with a wall.
In the inscription at Tuol Ta Pec, Suryavarman is said to have known of the principles of the
six Vedangas.
Suryavarman I expanded his territory to the west to Lopburi, including the Menam basin
in Thailand, and east into the Mekong basin.
Suryavarman probably started construction at Preah Khan Kompong Svay, and
expanded Banteay Srei, Wat Ek Phnom, and Phnom Chisor. The major constructions built by
this king were the Prasat Preah Vihear, on Dangrek Mountain, and completion of
the Phimeanakas and Ta Keo.[1]:135–136 Suryavarman I also started the second Angkor reservoir,
the West Baray, which is 8 km long and 2.1 km wide. It held more than 123 million liters of
water. This is the largest Khmer reservoir that survives. There is some indication that
Suryavarman I sent a gift to Rajendra Chola I the Emperor of the Chola Empire to possibly
facilitate trade.
During his reign, 47 cities (known as 47 pura) were under the control of Khmer Empire.
Suryavarman I died in 1050 and was given the posthumous title Nirvanapada ("the king who has
gone to nirvana"), a nod to his Buddhist beliefs. He was succeeded by his
sons, Udayadityavarman II, who died around 1066 and Harshavarman III (Sadasivapada). The
latter continued the struggle against internal rebellions and fought back assaults from
the Chams until his death in 1080. The first two syllables in the monarch's name are a Sanskrit
language root meaning "sun". Varman is the traditional suffix of Pallava dynasty that is generally
translated as "shield" or "protector", and was adopted by Khmer royal line

The archaeological site was discovered in 1969 by Jean Boulbet, an ethnologist, but further
exploration was cut off due to the Cambodian Civil War. The site regained prominence for safe
visits from 1989. The bridge is a natural sandstone arch 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Siem
Reap River. Just after the monsoon season, when the water level in the river starts dropping, the
carvings are visible in a 150 metres (490 ft) stretch upstream of the bridge and from the bridge
downstream up to the falls. The 11th century carvings in this stretch of the river are a galaxy of
gods, the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva or Maheswara and celestial beings; several
carvings of Vishnu with Lakshmi reclining on the serpent Ananta, Shiva with consort Uma,
known as Umamaheswar Brahma on a lotus petal over a plant stem rising from the navel of
Vishnu, Rama and Hanuman are the sculptures seen not only in the river bed but also on the river
banks.
Sequentially, while walking along a path which skirts the eroded channel of the river-formed
natural stone bridge, one can see a pair of Vishnu sculptures with Lakshmi seated at his feet in a
reclining pose. Upstream of the bridge, there is a sculpture of Shiva and Uma mounted on the
bull. Approximately 30 metres (98 ft) downstream of the bridge, there are additional Vishnu
sculptures. Further downstream up to the water fall and till the water pool are the Sahasra
lingas in Sanskrit language with English equivalent name of "Thousand Lingas".[1] The sculpted
lingams in the coarse sandstone river bed outcrops are seen from about 6 metres (20 ft)
downstream of the bridge. According to the journalist Teppo Tukki of Phnom Penh Post who

90
visited the site in 1995, the lingams, some of which date back to the 9th century, are about 25
centimetres (9.8 in) square and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) deep and lined in a perfect grid
pattern. The river runs over them, covering them with 5 centimetres (2.0 in) of pristine water.
The holy objects are designed to create a "power path for the Khmer Kings".
After the carvings, the river falls by 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to a clear water pool. As it flows over
the holy lingams, the river attains a sanctified status and passes through the temples that are
downstream. The visible lingams are in a rectangular enclosure with a channel flowing out,
which is interpreted to represent the yoni as the "female principle". Beyond these lingams, the
river stretch of about 40–50 metres (130–160 ft) includes a small rocky island and ends over a
fall into a pool. In this stretch of the river, there are bas reliefs on the rock faces. It has been
inferred that one of the bas reliefs in this stretch, the central figure, unrecognizably damaged,
could be that of Shiva as an ascetic, similar to the bas relief seen in Angkor Wat temple. The
meaning of the crocodile carving seen here has not been ascertained. Near to this location, a
boulder has been carved as a frog. The pond, in a rectangular shape, filled with water at all times,
has many "Reclining Vishnu" carvings on the walls, and here again, a pair of crocodiles are
carved but with their tail held by women. The small island formed in this stretch of the river has
carvings of Shiva and Uma mounted on a bull.

Art
Lord Vishnu in a reclining repose lying on the serpent god Ananta, with Goddess Lakshmi at his feet and Lord
Brahma on a lotus petal, in Kbal Spean River bank

The sculptures carved in the river bed and banks depict many Hindu mythological scenes and
symbols. There are also inscriptions which get exposed as the water level in the river decreases.
The common theme of these sculptures emphasizes creation as defined in Hindu mythology in
the form of Lord Vishnu lying on a serpent in a reclining repose on the ocean of milk in
meditation, the lotus flower emerging from Vishnu’s navel which bears god Brahma, the creator.
Following these sculptures seen carved on the banks of the river, the river flows through several
sculpted reliefs of Shiva the destroyer shown in the universal symbol of the Linga; 1000 such
lingas have been carved in the bed of the river which gives the name to the river valley formed
by the river as "valley of 1000 lingas".Vishnu is also carved to match the contours of the river
bed and banks. A carving of Shiva with his consort Uma is also visible.
Though the sculptures have been vandalized and damaged, the carved idols still retain their
original grandeur. Under the supervision of archaeologists, the graduates of Artisans
d'Angkor have been able to reproduce some portions of Kbal Spean's missing bas-relief carvings.
LAYOUT: The bridge is a natural sandstone arch 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Siem
Reap River. Just after the monsoon season, when the water level in the river starts

91
dropping, the carvings are visible in a 150 metres (490 ft) stretch upstream of the bridge
and from the bridge downstream up to the falls. The 11th century carvings in this stretch
of the river are a galaxy of gods, trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva or Maheswara and
celestial beings; several carvings of Vishnu with Lakshmi reclining on the serpent
Ananta, Shiva with consort Uma, known as Umamaheswar Brahma on a lotus petal over
a plant stem rising from the navel of Vishnu, Rama and Hanuman are the sculptures seen
not only in the river bed but also on the river banks.
Sequentially, while walking along a path which skirts the eroded channel of the river-
formed natural stone bridge, one can see a pair of Vishnu sculptures with Lakshmi seated
at his feet in a reclining pose. Upstream of the bridge, there is a sculpture of Shiva and
Uma mounted on the bull. Approximately 30 metres (98 ft) downstream of the bridge,
there are additional Vishnu sculptures. Further downstream up to the water fall and till
the water pool are the Sahasra lingas in Sanskrit language with English equivalent name
of "Thousand Lingas".[1] The sculpted lingams in the coarse sandstone river bed outcrops
are seen from about 6 metres (20 ft) downstream of the bridge. According to the
journalist Teppo Tukki of Phnom Penh Post who visited the site in 1995, the lingams,
some of which date back to the 9th century, are about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) square and
10 centimetres (3.9 in) deep and lined in a perfect grid pattern. The river runs over them,
covering them with 5 centimetres (2.0 in) of pristine water. The holy objects are designed
to create a "power path for the Khmer Kings".
After the carvings, the river falls by 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to a clear water pool. As it
flows over the holy lingams, the river attains a sanctified status and passes through the
temples that are downstream. The visible lingams are in a rectangular enclosure with a
channel flowing out, which is interpreted to represent the yoni as the "female principle".
Beyond these lingams, the river stretch of about 40–50 metres (130–160 ft) includes a
small rocky island and ends over a fall into a pool. In this stretch of the river, there
are bas reliefs on the rock faces. It has been inferred that one of the bas reliefs in this
stretch, the central figure, unrecognizably damaged, could be that of Shiva as an ascetic,
similar to the bas relief seen in Angkor Wat temple. The meaning of the crocodile carving
seen here has not been ascertained. Near to this location, a boulder has been carved as
a frog. The pond, in a rectangular shape, filled with water at all times, has many
"Reclining Vishnu" carvings on the walls, and here again, a pair of crocodiles are carved
but with their tail held by women. The small island formed in this stretch of the river has
carvings of Shiva and Uma mounted on a bull.

92
 CHAPTER VI
Samudra manthan सिुद्र िंथन

Angkor Wat's marvelous bas relief - The churning of the ocean of milk

Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery: Carved Bas Reliefs of Hindu

Narratives
There are 1,200 square meters of carved bas reliefs at Angkor Wat,
representing eight different Hindu stories. Perhaps the most important
narrative represented at Angkor Wat is the Churning of the Ocean of
Milk(below), which depicts a story about the beginning of time and the creation
of the universe. It is also a story about the victory of good over evil. In the
story, devas (gods) are fighting the asuras (demons) in order reclaim order and
power for the gods who have lost it. In order to reclaim peace and order, the
elixir of life (amrita) needs to be released from the earth; however, the only way
for the elixir to be released is for the gods and demons to first work together. To
this end, both sides are aware that once the amrita is released there will be a
battle to attain it.

Churning of the Ocean of Milk (detail), Angkor Wat. Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150

93
Churning of the Ocean of Milk (detail), Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150
(photo: John Brennan, CC BY-ND 2.0)
The relief depicts the moment when the two sides are churning the ocean of
milk. In the detail above you can see that the gods and demons are playing a
sort of tug-of-war with the Naga or serpent king as their divine rope. The Naga
is being spun on Mt. Mandara represented by Vishnu (in the center). Several
things happen while the churning of milk takes place. One event is that the
foam from the churning produces apsaras or celestial maidens who are carved
in relief throughout Angkor Wat (we see them here on either side of Vishnu,
above the gods and demons). Once the elixir is released, Indra (the Vedic god
who is considered the king of all the gods) is seen descending from heaven to
catch it and save the world from the destruction of the demons.

An aerial view of Angkor Wat (BELOW) demonstrates that the temple is made
up of an expansive enclosure wall, which separates the sacred temple grounds
from the protective moat that surrounds the entire complex (the moat is visible
in the photograph at the top of the page). The temple proper is comprised of
three galleries (a passageway running along the length of the temple) with a
central sanctuary, marked by five stone towers.

94
Angkor Wat as Temple Mountain

Angkor Wat. Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150

Aerial view, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1116-1150
(photo: Peter Garnhum, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Gallery, Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia,

1116-1150 (photo: fmpgoh, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The five stone towers are intended to mimic the five mountain ranges of Mt.
Meru—the mythical home of the gods, for both Hindus and Buddhists. The
temple mountain as an architectural design was invented in Southeast Asia.
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Southeast Asian architects quite literally envisioned temples dedicated to
Hindu gods on earth as a representation of Mt. Meru. The galleries and the
empty spaces that they created between one another and the moat are
envisioned as the mountain ranges and oceans that surround Mt. Meru. Mt.
Meru is not only home to the gods, it is also considered an axis-mundi. An
axis-mundi is a cosmic or world axis that connects heaven and earth. In
designing Angkor Wat in this way, King Suryavarman II and his architects
intended for the temple to serve as the supreme abode for Vishnu. Similarly,
the symbolism of Angkor Wat serving as an axis mundi was intended to
demonstrate the Angkor Kingdom’s and the king’s central place in the universe.
In addition to envisioning Angkor Wat as Mt. Meru on earth, the temple’s
architects, of whom we know nothing, also ingeniously designed the temple so
that embedded in the temple’s construction is a map of the cosmos (mandala)
as well as a historical record of the temple’s patron.

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Angkor Wat as a Mandala
According to ancient Sanskrit and Khmer texts, religious monuments and
specifically temples must be organized in such a way that they are in harmony
with the universe, meaning that the temple should be planned according to the
rising sun and moon, in addition to symbolizing the recurrent time sequences
of the days, months and years. The central axis of these temples should also be
aligned with the planets, thus connecting the structure to the cosmos so that
temples become spiritual, political, cosmological, astronomical and geo-
physical centers. They are, in other words, intended to represent microcosms of
the universe and are organized as mandalas—diagrams of the universe.

World Monuments Fund at Angkor Wat: The Churning of the Sea of Milk
Gallery
At the magnificent temple of Angkor Wat, World Monuments Fund is restoring
the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery. Rainwater and harmful salts have
leaked through the roof of the gallery, which forms the south half of Angkor
Wat’s prominent east façade, damaging the fragile surface of the frieze. Without
treatment, the deterioration will increase at an alarming rate, risking the
eventual loss of what most historians regard as the most ambitious and finely
produced stone sculptures in Khmer art.

The Churning of the Ocean of Milk

b y M i c h ae l B u c kl e y
(e x c e r p t e d f r o m t h e V i e t n am , C am b o d i a a n d L ao s H a n d b o o k b y M o o n
P u b l i c ati o n s ) .

Every culture has its legends of the origin of the species . The
Hindu creation myth Churning the Sea of Milk is shown in the bas -
relief panel at the East gallery (panel 4) of Angkor Wat. In Hindu
mythology, 13 precious things including the elixir of immortality
were lost in the churning of the cosmic sea. Finding them again
required a joint dredging operation between gods and demons.
Assisting in this endeavor was the giant serpent Vasuki, who
offered himself as a rope to enable twirling of a "churning stick."
The serpent was yanked back and forth in a giant tug -of-war that
lasted for a thousand years.

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In the bas-relief panel, the front end of the serpent is being pulled
by 91 surly-looking asuras (demons), anchored by the 21 -headed
demon king Ravana; on the right are 88 almond -eyed devas (gods)
pulling on the tail, anchored by monkey -god Hanuman. The central
pivot, or churning stic k, is a complicated piece of imagery. Vasuki
has wrapped himself around Mount Mandara, represented by a
tower. At one point Mount Mandara started to sink, and had to be
propped up by a giant tortoise, an incarnation of Vishnu. The Sea
of Milk, or the Ocean of Immortality, is represented by innumerable
fish and aquatic creatures, torn to shreds as they swim close to
powerful air currents near the churning stick.

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Directing operations at the center is the large four -armed figure of
Vishnu (above), closely as sociated with Angkor Wat's builder,
Suryavarman II. The smaller figure above Vishnu is Indra, god of
the sky. The actions of the gods and demons cause Vasuki to rotate
the tower-mountain and churn the sea into foam, like a giant
cosmic blender. This releas es a seminal fluid that creates a divine
ambrosia, amrita, the essence of life and immortality. Many other
treasures are also flung up. Born of this action are apsaras, or
celestial dancers, a purely Khmer innovation. The seductive
apsaras promise a joyful existence for those who attain the
ultimate incarnation; it is assumed that higher incarnations will be
male in form.

courtesy SnapshotAsia

A cco rding to Ang ko ro logi st Eleano r M annikka, who has been study ing
the pl ace since 1985, the bas -relief has a practi cal function in markin g
the nu mbe r o f days between the winte r and su mme r solsti ces. M annikka
maintains th at the 91 asu ras mark the 91 days between the win te r
solstice an d spring e quin ox in M arch, w hi le the 88 devas represent the
88 days to the summe r so lstice after the equi nox perio d. M anni kka says
thi s i s ju st one o f the h idden co smolo gical meanings coded at A ng kor
Wat, and th at the te mple is re markably attuned to the mo vement o f the
sun and moon .M ich ael Buckley

The Churning of the Ocean of Milk (also called Samudra manthan in Hindi
or Ko Samut Teuk Dos in Khmer) is one of the most well-known legends of the
Hindu mythology and of the Cambodian culture. That story is depicted on a 49
meter-wide bas-relief carved on the walls of the east gallery of Angkor Wat
temple, a religious site built in the 12th century by Khmer King Suryavarman II.
Indeed, that World Heritage temple was in the first place a Hindu shrine

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dedicated to God Vishnu that was later converted to a Buddhist one. That’s the
reason why nowadays, both Hindu and Buddhist rites are practiced inside.

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The churning of the Ocean of Milk, in a bazaar art print, c.1910's; the Suras or gods are on the right, the
Asuras or demons on the left

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In Hinduism, Samudra manthan or The churning of the ocean of milk is one
of the most famous episodes in the Puranas and is celebrated in a major way
every twelve years in the festival known as Kumbha Mela. The story appears in
the Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana.

Samudra Manthan is also known as - Samudra manthanam - Manthanam is

the Sanskrit equivalent of Manthan meaning 'to churn'. Sagar manthan - Sagar
is another word for Samudra, both meaning an ocean or large water body.
Kshirsagar manthan - Kshirsagar means the ocean of milk. Kshirsagar = Kshir
(milk) + Sagar (ocean).

The story of Samudra Manthan

Indra, the King of Devatas, while riding on an elephant, came across a sage
named Durvasa who offered him a special garland. Indra accepted the garland,
placing it on the trunk of the elephant. The elephant, irritated by the smell of
the garland, threw it to the ground. This enraged the sage as the garland was a
dwelling of Sri (fortune) and was to be treated as prasada. Durvasa Muni
cursed Indra and all devas to be bereft of all strength, energy, and fortune.

In battles that followed this incident, Devas were defeated and Asuras (demons)
led by king Bali gained control of the universe. Devas sought help from Lord
Vishnu who advised them to treat asuras in a diplomatic manner. Devas
formed an alliance with asuras to jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of
immortality and to share it among them. However, Lord Vishnu told Devas that
he would arrange that they alone obtain the nectar.

Churning the Milky Ocean

The churning of the Ocean of Milk was an elaborate process. Mount

Mandaranchal was used as the dasher (churning tool), and Vasuki, the king of
serpents, became the churning rope. The gods held the tail of the snake, while
the demons (Asuras) held its head, and they pulled on it alternately causing
the mountain to rotate, which in turn churned the ocean. However, once the
mountain was placed on the ocean, it began to sink. Vishnu in his second
incarnation, in the form of a turtle Kurma, came to their rescue and supported
the mountain on his back.

Note that the Mahabharata version of the story differs in many respects from
the one in the various Puranas such as Bhagawat, Brahma-vaivarta, and Agni.
For example, in Mahabharata, it was not Vishnu who took the Kurma avatara,
but the Akupara, the king of tortoises, who did it on request from Devas and
Asuras.

Halahal (Also called 'kalakuta')

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During the Samudra Mathan by the gods and demons, a pot of poison,
Halahala, also came out of the ocean. This terrified the gods and demons
because the poison was so toxic that it might have destroyed all of creation. On
the advice of Vishnu, gods approached Shiva for help and protection. Out of
compassion for living beings, Shiva drank the poison. It was so potent that it
changed the color of Shiva's neck to blue. For this reason, he is also called
Neelakantha (the blue-necked one, nīla = "blue", kantha = "throat").

Ratnas

All kinds of herbs were cast into the ocean and fourteen Ratnas (gems or
treasures) were produced from the ocean and were divided between asuras and
gods. These were

1. Lakshmi: the Goddess of Fortune and Wealth – Vishnu's consort

2. Kaustubha: the most valuable jewel in the world
3. Parijat: the divine flowering tree with blossoms that never fade or wilt
4. Varuni: goddess and creator of alcohol
5. Dhanvantari: the doctor
6. Chandra: the moon
7. Kamadhenu: the wish-granting divine cow
8. Kalpavriksha: the wish-granting tree
9. Airavata: the elephant of Indra
10. Apsaras: various divine nymphs like Rambha, Menaka,
Punjikasthala, etc.
11. Uchhaishravas: the divine 7-headed horse
12. Sharanga: the bow of Vishnu
13. Shankha: Vishnu's conch
14. Amrita: the nectar of immortality.

This list varies from Purana to Purana and is also slightly different in the epics,
the Ramayana and Mahabharata.Finally, Dhanvantari, the heavenly physician,
emerged with a pot containing amrita, the heavenly nectar of immortality.
Fierce fighting ensued between devas and asuras for the nectar. To protect the
nectar from asuras, devas hid the pot of nectar at four places on the earth -
Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. At each of these places, a drop
of the nectar spilled from the pot and it is believed that these places acquired
mystical power. A Kumbh Mela is celebrated at the four places every twelve
years for this reason.

However, the Asuras eventually got hold of the nectar and started celebrating.
Frightened, devas (demigods) appealed to Vishnu, who then took the form of
Mohini. As a beautiful and enchanting damsel, Mohini distracted the asuras,
took the amrita, and distributed it among the Adityas, who drank it. One
asura, Rahu, disguised himself as a deva and drank some nectar. Due to their
luminous nature, the sun god Surya and the moon god Chandra noticed the
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switching of sides. They informed Mohini. But before the nectar could pass his
throat, Mohini cut off his head with her divine discus, the Sudarshana Chakra.
The head, due to its contact with the amrita, remained immortal. To gain
revenge on the sun and moon for exposing this, the immortal head occasionally
swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes
through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.

The story ends with the rejuvenated Adityas defeating the asuras.

Symbolism of Samudra manthan

The story represents the spiritual endeavor of a person to achieve self-

realisation through concentration of mind, withdrawal of senses, control of
desires and practice of austerities and asceticism.

The Devas and Asuras represent the positives and negatives respectively of
one's personality. The participation of both the Devas and the Asuras signifies
that when one is seeking bliss through spiritual practice, one has to integrate
and harmonise both the positive and negative aspects and put both the
energies to work for the common goal.

The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness. The mind is like an
ocean while the thoughts and emotions are the waves in the ocean.

1. Mandhara, the mountain symbolises concentration. The word Mandhara

is made up of two words Mana (mind) and Dhara (a single line) which
means holding the mind in one line. This is possible only by
concentration.
2. Mount Mandhara was upheld by Lord Vishnu as a Kurma (tortoise). The
tortoise here symbolises the withdrawal of the senses into oneself (just as
a tortoise withdraws its head into its shell) as one practices mental
concentration and meditation or contemplation.
3. Vasuki symbolises desire. Vasuki used in the churning of the ocean
denotes that the Devas and the demons held desire (to seek immortality)
as a rope and churned the mind with the help of concentration and
withdrawal of the senses. Desire, if not controlled will overpower and
destroy an individual.
4. The Halahala poison symbolises suffering and pain (counter-reaction of
the mind and body) that one undergoes at the beginning of spiritual
sadhana (practice). When the mind is subjected to intense concentration,
the first thing that comes out of the process is intense suffering and
great inner turmoil. These must be resolved otherwise further progress is
not possible.
5. Lord Shiva symbolises the ascetic principle. His role in this story as the
consumer of poison suggests that one can deal with the early problems of
spiritual life by cultivating the qualities of Lord Shiva, namely, courage,
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 initiative, willingness, discipline, simplicity, austerity, detachment,
compassion, pure love and asceticism.
6. The various precious objects that come out of the ocean during the
churning stand for the psychic or spiritual powers (Siddhis) which one
gains as s/he progresses spiritually from stage to stage. The seeker
should be careful about these powers as they can hamper her/his
progress unless s/he uses them judiciously, not for selfish gains but for
others' welfare. This is the reason why the Gods and demons distributed
these objects as they did not want to lose sight of their original aim
which was to gain immortality.
7. Dhanvantari symbolises health and signifies that immortality (longevity,
to be correct) or spiritual success can be achieved only when the body
and the mind are in a perfect state of health.
8. Mohini symbolises delusion of the mind in the form of (or originating
from) pride. It is the pride of achievement to which the asuras or the
demons succumbed and thus lost sight of their goal. Pride and egoism
are the last hurdles one has to overcome in spiritual life before
experiencing self-realisation.
9. The Amrit symbolises the ultimate achievement of the goal of self-
realization.
10. Lakshmi represents universal enrichment which comes as an
automatic by-product of the internal self-realization or Amrita

105
Churning of the Milk Ocean (2010) THAILAND

Another momentous work is Churning of the Milk Ocean (2010), a 200 x 500
cm oil on canvas, based on the famous 49-metre bas-relief depicting the
Churning of the Sea of Milk (ca. 1200 CE) carved into the southwest corner
pavilion of Angkor Wat. Prateep reinterprets the Hindu cosmogenic scene, with
the deva antigods presented in a rainbow of radiant colours and the asura gods
pictured as animal-headed composites—but both of which are all male—in a
tug-of-war over Vāsuki the multi-headed naga as though struggling over the
roiling whirlpool of females churning above.

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107
108
109
110
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 Vishnu as Kurma the turtle

The story is represented throughout Angkor in both three-dimensional and

two-dimensional forms. Outside the South Gate to Angkor Thom, visitors are
greeted with large statues of the two teams on either side of the road. You can
find similar statues at the Angkor Thom North Gate, outside Preah
Khan temple and also at Banteay Chhmar, all creations of Jayavarman VII.
Suryavarman II, the creator of Angkor Wat, was also very fond of the story, as
an entire bas-relief section is dedicated to it.

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 REFERENCE

1. WILLIAMS, J. (1992). The Churning of the Ocean of Milk— Myth, Image and
Ecology. India International Centre Quarterly, 19(1/2), 145-155. Retrieved
August 19, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23002226

2. https://sailingstonetravel.com/decoding-the-symbolism-of-angkor/

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 Chapter VI
Banthey Srei- Citadel of Women and Gender Roles in Cambodia

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How many Apsara are there in Angkor Wat?
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Angkor Wat, the largest Angkor temple (built-in 1113-1150 AD), features both
Apsaras and Devata, however, the devata type are the most numerous
with more than 1,796 in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects
employed small apsara images (30–40 cm as seen below) as decorative motifs
on pillars and walls.

Archaeologists at Cambodia's celebrated Angkor Wat temple complex have

unearthed a large statue believed to date back to the late 12th century. The 2m
(6.5ft) sandstone human figure probably functioned as a guardian who stood at
the entrance to an ancient hospital, researchers say. Apsara, in Indian religion
and mythology, one of the celestial singers and dancers who, together with the
gandharvas, or celestial musicians, inhabit the heaven of the god Indra, the
lord of the heavens. Originally water nymphs, the apsaras provide sensual
pleasure for both gods and men.

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Located just outside of Angkor Archaeological Park, 37 kilometers (about 23 miles) northeast of
Siem Reap town, Banteay Srei is one of the renowned temples of Angkor era. It is considered a
“Jewel of Khmer Art” for an intricacy of its carvings. It was built from pinkish hue sandstones,
some of them are the finest stone on earth easily carved as wood. It is small in size, compared to
other Angkorian temples. However, lacking in size is quite compensated with its stature, beauty,
and its well-preserved carvings, some of them are 3-dimensional. Banteay means fortress and is
usually surrounded by a moat for a strategic defense. At Banteay Srei, there are moat at the north
and south sides and partly on the east.

History
Banteay Srei was completed in 967 A.D during a time when the Khmer Empire was gaining
significant power and territory. Unlike other Angkorian temples that usually built, consecrated
and commissioned by a king, it was built by a Brahmin named Vishnukumara who served as a
counselor to powerful King Rajendravarman and a nobleman named Yajnavaraha who was a
grandson of king Harsavarman I. He was a scholar and philanthropist who helped people with
illness and fought injustice and against poverty. One of his pupils later became king (Jayavarman
V, 968-1001). The temple was further expanded and rebuilt in 11th century. It was dedicated to
Hindu god Shiva at the time it was built. Later, it became under control of the king and the
dedication had changed (may have changed to Hindu god Vishnu as evidences suggested). A
12th century inscription indicates that the temple was given to a Hindu priest named
Divarakapandita, and that the temple was rededicated to Shiva and was remained in use until
14th century. Banteay Srei (a citadel of women) is the modern name as it is believed by many
that is was built by women. The original name is Tribhuvanamaheśvara (Great Lord of the
Threefold World), an appellation of god Shiva.

Throughout Cambodia's long history, religion has been a major source of cultural inspiration.
Over nearly three millennia, Cambodians have developed a unique Cambodian culture and belief
system from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions
of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its languages and arts
reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century AD.

It is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports
along the Gulf of Thailand and the Pacific en route to trade with China. The Kingdom of
Funan was most probably the first Cambodian state to benefit from this influx of Indian ideas.
There is also French influence as wel

Courtship, marriage, and divorce

Pre-wedding photographs of Cambodian couple at Angkor Wat///Khmer Wedding Dress
In Cambodia, premarital sex is deplored. The choice of a spouse is a complex one for the young
male, and it may involve not only his parents and his friends, as well as those of the young
woman, but also a matchmaker and a haora (a Khmer "fortuneteller" versed in Indian astrology).
In theory, a girl may veto the spouse her parents have chosen for her. Courtship patterns differ
between rural and urban Khmer; marriage as a culmination of romantic love is a notion that
exists to a much greater extent in larger cities.

119
A man usually marries between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five, a girl between the ages of
sixteen and twenty-two. After a spouse has been selected, each family investigates the other to
make sure its child is marrying into a good family. In rural areas, there is a form of bride-service;
that is, the young man may take a vow to serve his prospective father-in-law for a period of time.
By tradition, the youngest daughter and her spouse are expected to live with and care for her
ageing parents and their land.

The traditional wedding is a long and colorful affair. Formerly it lasted three days, but in the
1980s it more commonly lasted a day and a half. Buddhist priests offer a short sermon and recite
prayers of blessing. Parts of the ceremony involve ritual hair cutting, tying cotton threads soaked
in holy water around the bride's and groom's wrists, and passing a candle around a circle of
happily married and respected couples to bless the union. After the wedding, a banquet is held.
Newlyweds traditionally move in with the wife's parents and may live with them up to a year,
until they can build a new house nearby.[4]
The majority of married Cambodian couples do not obtain legal marriage documents. Marriage is
seen more as a social institution, regulated by societal pressures, expectations and norms, than a
legal matter. This practice continues today. All that is necessary for a couple to be considered
married by the community is to have a ceremony, after which a party is often held for family,
friends and well-wishers to celebrate. This is how the overwhelming majority of Cambodian
couples marry. Whether these traditional marriages are considered legal contracts by the
government and courts is unclear. Therefore, when a couple separate, they likewise need not
obtain divorce documents.

Divorce is legal and relatively easy to obtain, but not common. Divorced persons are viewed
with some disapproval. Each spouse retains whatever property he or she brought into the
marriage, and jointly-acquired property is divided equally. Divorced persons may remarry, but
the woman must wait 300 days according to article 9 of Marriage and Family Law. Custody of
minor children is usually given to the mother, and both parents continue to have an obligation to
contribute financially toward the rearing and education of the child.[4] The divorced male doesn't
have a waiting period before he can remarry.[5]

120
The consequences of the social upheaval caused by the Cambodian Civil War is still being felt.
At present there is variation in tradition from province to province. In Siem Reap, it is widely
understood, for example, that the man takes the first-born child upon separation. Men who leave
their families typically do not support their other children, especially when they leave one
woman for another woman. The new woman and her family will not accept children from a
previous relationship. This is also an important source of the 70% or so of non orphans living in
fake orp

According to Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the lingam signifies three perfections of Shiva.

The upper oval part of the Shivalingam represent Parashiva and lower part of the
Shivalingam called the pitha represents Parashakti. In Parashiva perfection, Shiva is the
absolute reality, the timeless, formless and spaceless.Unmarried girls are not allowed to
worship Shivling. ... Lord Shiva gives a boon to a loved one if he is worshiped with a true
heart and with honest desire, unmarried girls to worship Bholenath. But worshiping Lord
Shiva's Shivling form is forbidden to worship them for them. Can unmarried girl put water on
shivling?

121
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Thus, this combination would lead to a perfect mix of body and soul which leads to the perpetuation
of life over generations. Since the shivling represents the male reproductive organ, it was considered
a bad omen for unmarried women to touch it, worship it and offer jal (water) to the shivling.

123
 the South Asian region inequalities arising from caste, class, religion, ethnicity, location is further
complicated by severe gender-based discriminations that hold back progress and development for both
girls and boys. Existing evidence points to the fact that despite considerable progress (especially with
regard to education and health) critical gender gaps persist. Across all South Asian countries, patriarchal
values and social norms tend to privilege men and boys’ access to opportunities and control over
resources. These inequalities are manifested across the life cycle – from conception, to birth, to
childhood, adolescence through to adult life.
Over the years there has been progress in closing the gender inequality gap, gender discrimination, gender
stereotypes and pervasive gender norms However, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the limited
gains made so far are at risk of being rolled back. The pandemic revealed pre-existing inequalities
exposing vulnerabilities in social, political, economic systems also increasing risk factors for other issues
such as GBV and child marriage with significant impact on women and girls. In addition, the pandemic
has overwhelmed the health and social protection systems, restricted the movement and accessibility of
frontline and essential workers and left the vulnerable populations isolated from support and protection.
https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/gender-equality

Khmer women were considered more trustworthy than men and were the preferred gender of
bodyguards for the king. This may have been because the women were easier to manipulate rather then
men or because men were known to cheat and lie more then women (though this is all just speculation).

Cambodian society remains largely patriarchal and hierarchical, with strong traditional norms that
assign higher status to men and marginalize women who are not married.The Constitution of the
Kingdom of Cambodia states that “all forms of discrimination against women shall be abolished. The
exploitation of women in employment shall be prohibited. Men and women are equal in all fields
especially with respect to marriage and family matters…” (Article 45). Demographic trends. In the
2008 census, women comprised 51.4% of Cambodia’s total population of 13.4 million (Government of
Cambodia 2008). The 2008 census also showed that women head more than one-quarter of Cambodian
households. One legacy of decades of conflict is the large population of young people born in the 1980s;

124
two out of every three people are under the age of 25. The vast majority of the population
(80.5%) still lives in rural areas, earning a living from agriculture. 6. Traditional gender
relations. Gender relations in Cambodia are complex. In 2011, Khmer women exercise
considerable autonomy and independence. They can own assets, manage financial transactions,
and contribute to household decision making. Both men and women can inherit property, and the
gender division of labor can be complementary and flexible, traditional norms and low levels of
education and literacy still limit girls’ and women’s choices and with men and women
performing a range of productive and household tasks. In practice, however, iIn all South Asian
countries, patriarchal values and social norms keep gender inequalities alive. Discriminatory
practices begin even before birth and affect every aspect of a child’s future. Throughout
options. Cambodia remains a hierarchical society with strong ideas about power and status.
Women are considered to be of lower status than men, although status is also determined by age
and other socioeconomic characteristics, especially wealth. For women, marriage and children
additionally determine status. In general, attitudes toward gender roles still emphasize the
woman as household manager and the man as provider. Women are also severely
underrepresented in decision-making processes outside the household. Asian Development Bank,
Country Gender Analysis Chttps://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-
document/33752/files/cambodia-country-gender-analysis.pdf

A Woman of Angkor Paperback – Illustrated, January 21,

2013, John Burgess , Amazon Books

Praise for A Woman of Angkor:

The time is the 12th Century, the place Cambodia, birthplace of the lost Angkor civilisation. In a village
behind a towering stone temple lives a young woman named Sray, whom neighbors liken to the heroine
of a Hindu epic. Hiding a dangerous secret, she is content with quiet obscurity, but one rainy season
afternoon is called to a life of prominence in the royal court. There her faith and loyalties are tested by

125
attentions from the great king Suryavarman II. Struggling to keep her devotion is her husband Nol, palace
confidante and master of the silk parasols that were symbols of the monarch's rank.

This lovingly crafted novel revives the rites and rhythms of the ancient culture that built the temples of
Angkor, then abandoned them to the jungle. In telling her tale, Sray takes the reader to a hilltop
monastery, a concubine pavilion and across the seas to the throne room of imperial China. She witnesses
the construction of the largest of the temples, Angkor Wat, and offers an explanation for its greatest
mystery-why it broke with centuries of tradition to face west instead of east.

« Angkor Wat Apsara and Devata : Khmer women in divine context» by Jana Igunma, 05/07/2017,
Southeast Asia Library Group (SEALG) 2017 HÉLÈNE ET SOPHIE
Angkor Wat Apsara and Devata : Khmer women in divine context is a rich and well
researched online resource dedicated to the women of the Khmer Empire (9th-15th century). Being great
builders, the Khmer filled the landscape with monumental temples, huge reservoirs and canals, and laid
an extensive network of roads with bridges. The walls of Angkor Wat house a royal portrait gallery with
1,795 women realistically rendered in stone. Although the temple complex has been researched
extensively in terms of architecture, art and archaeology, not much is known about these women.

 Who were the women of Angkor Wat?

 Why are images of women immortalized with the most prominent placement in the largest temples
the Khmer civilization ever built?
 What did these women mean to the Khmer rulers, priests and people?
 How does the Cambodian dance tradition relate to the women of Angkor Wat?
 Do the women of Angkor Wat embody information important to us in modern times?

Banteay Srei Temple (Citadel of the Women).

Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey is a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
Located in the area of Angkor, it lies near the hill of Phnom Dei, 25 km (16 mi) north-east of the main
group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom. The
temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi—citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty—is probably related to
the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings
themselves. Some have speculated that it relates to the many devatas carved into the walls of the
buildings.
Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall
carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so
when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple
extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the
"jewel of Khmer art."

Foundation and dedication

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"Bantãy Srĕi" (Citadel of Women) is the modern name of a 10th-century Khmer temple originally called
"Tribhuvanamaheśvara" (Great Lord of the Threefold World),[3] an appellation of the god Siva.
Consecrated on 22 April 967 A.D., Bantãy Srĕi was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a
monarch; its construction is credited to the courtiers named Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha. Yajñavarāha
who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman II The foundational stela says that Yajnavaraha,
grandson of king Harsavarman I, was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from
illness, injustice, or poverty. His pupil was the future king Jayavarman V (r. 968- ca. 1001). Originally,
the temple was surrounded by a town called Īśvarapura.

Banteay Srei is known for the intricacy of its carvings. This carving is of a kala, a mythical creature representative of time
and of the god Siva.

Yajñavarāha's temple was primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Śiva. Originally, it carried the
name Tribhuvanamaheśvara—great lord of the threefold world—in reference to the Shaivite linga that
served as its central religious image. However, the temple buildings appear to be divided along the central
east–west axis between those buildings located south of the axis, which are devoted to Śiva, and those
north of the axis, which are devoted to Viṣṇu.

It has been speculated that the temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi, is due to the many devatas carved into
the red sandstone walls.

The temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi—citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty—is probably related
to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings
themselves. Some have speculated that it relates to the many devatas carved into the walls of the
buildings.
Expansion and rededication
Bantãy Srĕi was subject to further expansion and rebuilding work in the eleventh century. At some point
it came under the control of the king and had its original dedication changed; the inscription K 194 from
Phnoṃ Sandak, dated Monday, the 14th or 28 July 1119 A.D. records (line B 13) the temple being given
to the priest Divākarapaṇḍita and being rededicated to Śiva.[11] It remained in use at least until the
fourteenth century according to the last known inscription K 569, dated Thursday, 8 August 1303 A.D.[12]

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Material: Banteay Srei is built largely of a hard red sandstone that can be carved like wood.
Brick and laterite were used only for the enclosure walls and some structural elements. The temple is
known for the beauty of its sandstone lintels and pediments.
A pediment is the roughly triangular space above a rectangular doorway or openings. At Banteay Srei,
pediments are relatively large in comparison to the openings below, and take a sweeping gabled shape.
For the first time in the history of Khmer architecture, whole scenes of mythological subject-matter are
depicted on the pediments.

A lintel is a horizontal beam spanning the gap between two posts. Some lintels serve a structural purpose,
serving to support the weight of the superstructure, while others are purely decorative in purpose. The
lintels at Banteay Srei are beautifully carved, rivalling those of the 9th century Preah Ko style in quality.

Many niches in the temple walls contain carvings of devatas or dvarapalas.

Noteworthy decorative motifs include the kala (a toothy monster symbolic of time), the
guardian dvarapala (an armed protector of the temple) and devata (demi-goddess), the false door, and
the colonette. Indeed, decorative carvings seem to cover almost every available surface. According to
pioneering Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize, "Given the very particular charm of Banteay Srei – its
remarkable state of preservation and the excellence of a near perfect ornamental technique – one should
not hesitate, of all the monuments of the Angkor group, to give it the highest priority." At Banteay Srei,
wrote Glaize, "the work relates more closely to the art of the goldsmith or to carving in wood than
to sculpture in stone"

The Plinth: The site consists of three concentric rectangular enclosures constructed on an east–west axis.
A causeway situated on the axis leads from an outer gopura, or gate, to the third or outermost of the three
enclosures. The inner enclosure contains the sanctuary, consisting of an entrance chamber and three
towers, as well as two buildings conventionally referred to as libraries.

The outer gopura

The gopura is all that remains of the outer wall surrounding the town of Isvapura. The wall is believed to
have measured approximately 500 m square, and may have been constructed of wood. The gopura's
eastern pediment shows Indra, who was associated with that direction, mounted on his three-headed
elephant Airavata. The 67 m causeway with the remains of corridors on either side connects the gopura
with the third enclosure. North and south of this causeway are galleries with a north–south orientation.

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The third (outer) enclosure

The pediment representing the fight between the asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda over
the apsaras Tilottamā is located in the Musée Guimet. e third enclosure is 95 by 110 m; it is
surrounded by a laterite wall breached by gopuras at the eastern and western ends. Neither
pediment of the eastern gopura is in situ. The west-facing pediment is now located in the Musée
Guimet in Paris. It depicts a scene from the Mahabhārata in which
the Asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda fight over the Apsara Tilottama. The east-facing
pediment is lying on the ground. It depicts a scene from the Rāmāyaṇa in which a demon
seizes Rama's wife Sita. Most of the area within the third enclosure is occupied by
a moat divided into two parts by causeways to the east and west.

The second enclosure

The combat between Vāli and Sugrīva is depicted on the western gopura. RIGHT Śiva Nāṭarāja is depicted
on the eastern gopura of the inner enclosure wall.

The second enclosure sits between an outer laterite wall measuring 38 by 42 m, with gopuras at the
eastern and western ends, and a brick inner enclosure wall, measuring 24 by 24 m. The western gopura
features an interesting bas relief depicting the duel of the monkey princes Vāli and Sugriva, as well
as Rāma's intervention on Sugrīva's behalf. The inner enclosure wall has collapsed, leaving a gopura at
the eastern end and a brick shrine at the western. The eastern pediment of the gopura shows
Śiva Nataraja; the west-facing pediment has an image of Karaikal Ammaiyar, one of the three women
saints amongst the sixty three Nayanmars (hounds of Śiva). Likewise, the laterite galleries which once
filled the second enclosure (one each to north and south, two each to east and west) have partially
collapsed. A pediment on one of the galleries shows the lion-man Narasiṃha clawing the
demon Hiranyakashipu.

The first (inner) enclosure

Between the gopuras on the collapsed inner wall are the buildings of the inner enclosure: a library in the
south-east corner and another in the north-east corner, and in the centre the sanctuary set on a T-shaped
platform 0.9 m high. Besides being the most extravagantly decorated parts of the temple, these have also

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been the most successfully restored (helped by the durability of their sandstone and their small scale). In
2010, the first enclosure is open to visitors again, but the inner temples are roped off and inaccessible.

The libraries

The intricate reliefs carving of red colored stone.

The two libraries are of brick, laterite and sandstone. Each library has two pediments, one on the eastern
side and one on the western. According to Maurice Glaize, the four library pediments, "representing the
first appearance of tympanums with scenes, are works of the highest order. Superior in composition to
any which followed, they show true craftsmanship in their modelling in a skilful blend of stylisation and
realism.

Another pediment shows the burning of Khāṇḍava Forest.

The east-facing pediment on the southern library shows Śiva seated on the summit of Mount Kailāsa, his
mythological abode. His consort Umā sits on his lap and clings anxiously to his torso. Other beings are
also present on the slopes of the mountain, arranged in a strict hierarchy of three tiers from top to bottom.
In the top tier sit bearded wise men and ascetics, in the middle tier mythological figures with the heads of
animals and the bodies of humans, and in the bottom tier large animals, including a number of lions. In
the middle of the scene stands the ten-headed demon king Rāvaṇa. He is shaking the mountain in its very
foundations as the animals flee from his presence and as the wise men and mythological beings discuss
the situation or pray. According to the legend, Śiva stopped Rāvaṇa from shaking the mountain by using
his toe to press down on the mountain and to trap Rāvana underneath for 1000 years

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The mandapa and central tower, seen from the northeast.

The west-facing pediment on southern library shows Śiva again seated on the summit of Mount Kailāsa.
He is looking to his left at the god of love Kāma, who is aiming an arrow at him. Umā sits to Śiva's right;
he is handing her a chain of beads. The slopes of the mountain are crowded with other beings, again
arranged in a strict hierarchy from top to bottom. Just under Śiva sits a group of bearded wise men and
ascetics, under whom the second tier is occupied by the mythological beings with the heads of animals
and the bodies of humans; the lowest tier belongs the common people, who mingle sociably with tame
deer and a large gentle bull. According to the legend, Kāma fired an arrow at Śiva in order to cause Śiva
to take an interest in Umā. Śiva, however, was greatly angered by this provocation, and punished Kāma
by gazing upon him with his third eye, frying Kāma to cinders

The east-facing pediment on the northern library shows the god of the sky Indra creating rain to put out a
forest fire started by the god of fire Agni for purposes of killing the nāga king Takshaka who lived
in Khandava Forest. The Mahābhāratan heroes Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are shown helping Agni by firing a
dense hail of arrows to block Indra's rain. Takṣaka's son Aśvasena is depicted attempting to escape from
the conflagration, while other animals stampede about in panic.
The west-facing pediment on the northern library depicts Kṛṣṇa slaying his wicked uncle Kamsa.

The sanctuary
The sanctuary is entered from the east by a doorway only 1.08 m in height: inside is an entrance chamber
(or maṇḍapa) with a corbelled brick roof, then a short corridor leading to three towers to the west: the
central tower is the tallest, at 9.8 m. Glaize notes the impression of delicacy given the towers by
the antefixes on each of their tiers. The six stairways leading up to the platform were each guarded by two
kneeling statues of human figures with animal heads; most of those now in place are replicas, the
originals having been stolen or removed to museums.

Khmer culture is very hierarchical. The greater a person's age, the greater the level of respect that must be
granted to them. Cambodians are addressed with a hierarchical title corresponding to their seniority
before the name. When a married couple becomes too old to support themselves, they may invite the
youngest child's family to move in and to take over running the household. At this stage in their lives,
they enjoy a position of high status

The individual Khmer is surrounded by a small inner circle of family and friends who constitute his or her
closest associates, those he would approach first for help. The nuclear family, consisting of a husband and

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a wife and their unmarried children, is the most important kin group. Within this unit are the strongest
emotional ties, the assurance of aid in the event of trouble, economic cooperation in labor, sharing of
produce and income, and contribution as a unit to ceremonial obligations. In rural communities,
neighbors—who are often also kin—may be important, too.[6]
Fictive child-parent, sibling, and close friend relationships Cambodia transcend kinship boundaries and
serve to strengthen interpersonal and interfamily ties. Beyond this close circle are more distant relatives
and casual friends. In rural Cambodia, the strongest ties a Khmer may develop—besides those to the
nuclear family and to close friends—are those to other members of the local community. A strong feeling
of pride—for the village, for the district, and province—usually characterizes Cambodian community
life.[6]
Legally, the husband is the head of the Khmer family, but the wife has considerable authority, especially
in family economics. The husband is responsible for providing shelter and food for his family; the wife is
generally in charge of the family budget, and she serves as the major ethical and religious model for the
children, especially the daughters. Both husbands and wives are responsible for domestic economic
tasks.[6]
Customs[edit]

Sampeah (Cambodian greeting)

In Khmer culture a person's head is believed to contain the person's soul—therefore making it taboo to
touch or point one's feet at it. It is also considered to be extremely disrespectful to use the feet to point out
a person, or to sit or sleep with the soles of the feet pointing at a person, as the feet are the lowest part of
the body and are considered to be impure.
When greeting people or to show respect in Cambodia people do the "sampeah" gesture, identical to the
Indian namaste and Thai wai.
Customary Cambodian teachings are laid out in verse form in long works from the 14th to 18th centuries
collectively called Chhbap ("rules" or "codes").[7] These were traditionally learned by rote. Works such as
the Chhbap Pros ("Boy's Code"), Chhbap Srey ("Girl's Code") and Chhbap Peak Chas ("Code of Ancient
Words") gave such advice as: a person that does not wake up before sunrise is lazy; a child must tell
parents or elders where they go and what time they will return home; always close doors gently, otherwise
a bad temper will be assumed; sit in a chair with the legs straight down and not crossed (crossing the legs
is a mark of an impolite person); and always let the other person do more talking.
In Cambodia it is not polite to make eye contact with someone who is older or someone who is
considered a superior.

Cambodian clothing

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Traditional male clothing/// Cambodian Pidan

Clothing in Cambodia is one of the most important aspects of the culture. Cambodian fashion differs
according to ethnic group and social class. Khmer people traditionally wear a checkered scarf called
a Krama. The "krama" is what distinctly separates the Khmer (Cambodians) from their neighbors the
Thai, the Vietnamese, and the Laotians. The scarf is used for many purposes including for style,
protection from the sun, an aid (for the feet) when climbing trees, a hammock for infants, a towel, or as a
"sarong". A "krama" can also be easily shaped into a small child's doll for play. Under the Khmer Rouge,
krama of various patterns were part of standard clothing.

The long-popular traditional garment known as the Sampot, is an Indian-influenced costume which
Cambodians have worn since the Funan era. Historically, Khmer clothing has changed depending on the
time period and religion. From the Funan era to the Angkor Era, there was a strong Hindu influence in
Cambodian fashion which favored wearing Sampots over the lower body and oftentimes nothing from the
waist up except jewelry including bracelets and collars such as the Sarong Kor, a symbol of Hinduism.
As Buddhism began to replace Hinduism, Khmer people started wearing the blouse, shirt and trousers of
Khmer style. Khmer people, both common and royal, stopped wearing the Hindu-style collars and began
to adopt beautiful decorated shawls such as Sbai instead. This new clothing style was popular in
the Udong period. In fact, a Khmer lady habitually chooses the right colour for her Sampot or blouse,
both to please herself and to follow the costume of good luck.

Some Cambodians still wear a religious style of clothing. Some Khmer men and women wear a Buddha
pendant on a necklace. There are different pendants for different uses; some are meant for protection from
evil spirits, some are meant to bring good luck.

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Some styles of sbai clothing///Collection of Khmer silk cloths (sompot phamuong)

Otherwise, in the notable class people in Cambodia, especially the royal caste, have adapted a well known
dress as well as expensive fashion style. Sampot is still well recognized among the royalty. Since the
Udong period, most royalty have retained their dressing habits. Female royalty created the most attractive
fashion. The lady always wears a traditional cape called sbai or rabai kanorng, which is draped over the
left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder bare. Rarely was the cape worn over the right shoulder. The sbai
or rabai kanorng would have been sumptuously fashioned in the old days in threads of genuine gold or
silver. The cape in the old days would have hung down to the hem of the Sampot.

Dancers wear a collar known as Sarong Kor around their necks. Importantly, they wear a unique skirt
called Sampot sara-bhap (lamé), made from silk inter-woven with gold or silver threads, forming
elaborate and intricate designs that shimmer as the dancers move. This is held in place with a bejewelled
belt. A multitude of jewellery is also worn by the female dancers. These include earrings, several pairs of
bangles, a garland of flowers in the form of a bracelet, bracelets, anklets and an armlet that is worn on the
right. Several body chains cross over the body like a sash. A circular or diamond-shaped pendant is worn
around the neck.

There are several different types of mokot worn by female royalty. The typical mokots that are worn are
much similar to those of male royalty. Some crowns are just like tiaras where at the back of
the mokot hair is let loose, cascading down the back. Other mokots have a few accessories such as
earpieces that would sit above the ear and help hold the mokot in place while a comb at the back is just an
added accessory. Flowers are also worn on the mokot in the same style, but the hanging garlands of
flowers are worn on the left and the bouquet is worn on the right. The best example of these royal clothes
is illustrated by Khmer classical dance costumes, which are an adaptation of the beautiful royalty
costume.

Khmer women in divine context

Angkor Wat Apsara and Devata : Khmer women in divine context is a rich and well researched online
resource dedicated to the women of the Khmer Empire (9th-15th century). Being great builders, the
Khmer filled the landscape with monumental temples, huge reservoirs and canals, and laid an extensive
network of roads with bridges. Angkor Wat is the best known and most stunning temple. It is, in fact, a
microcosm of the Hindu universe. Covering 200 hectares it is the world’s largest religious complex. Its
construction was started by the Khmer king Suryavarman II around 1122 CE and took some 30 years to
complete. The walls of Angkor Wat house a royal portrait gallery with 1,795 women realistically

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rendered in stone. Although the temple complex has been researched extensively in terms of architecture,
art and archaeology, not much is known about these women.Mny questions arise:

1. Who were the women of Angkor Wat?

2. Why are images of women immortalized with the most prominent placement in the largest
temples the Khmer civilization ever built?
3. What did these women mean to the Khmer rulers, priests and people?
4. How does the Cambodian dance tradition relate to the women of Angkor Wat?
5. Do the women of Angkor Wat embody information important to us in modern times?

Banteay Srei is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Siva

Banteay Srei is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Siva that was built during the tenth century A.D. It
was constructed by Yajnyavaraha during the reign of two Khmer kings whom he served as councillor:
Rajendravarman and Jayavarman V. The name Banteay Srei means "Citadel of Women."
Classical Khmer kings promoted the idea (known as devaraja) that there was an intersection of the ruling
king and a validating god, usually the Hindu god Siva. Their temples thus often portray the ruling king as
the god, whose shrines are within a monument on earth that models the design of the cosmos and
heavens.

Guardian deity above monster on low relief carving at Banteay Srei Temple

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A half-kneeling Hindu guardian deity is depicted above a protective monster (known as a kala) in bas relief carving at
Banteay Srei Temple. The male guardian figure is posed like an auspicious and nature spirit (known as a yaksa) who
often is seen as a guardian of wealth. Swirling floral scroll designs surround both figures.
Banteay Srei is an early classical Khmer temple that is noted for the small scale of its buildings and their
exquisitely fine carvings. Because the sandstone used here was of a more durable variety than the stone
used at the main Angkor sites, it allowed for a precise, wood-like style of bas-relief carving, which also
has retained greater preservation over the centuries. The Banteay Srei site also contained many free-
standing statues of deities and guardian spirits. Most of the original statues are now removed, either by
thieves or for museum preservation.
The style of the buildings, abstract motifs, and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu epic scenes is described by
Southeast Asian art historians as partly archaic, but also sometimes progressive in terms of where
classical Khmer temple art would lead. Overall, Banteay Srei is considered a small but precious jewel
among the Angkor kingdom temples.
he factors to shape Banteay Srei Temple are pink and yellow sandstone because at that time, they were
the high quality materials, better than the gray and green sandstone that they used to build Angkor
Wat and Bayon.
Pink and yellow sandstone are so strong, this is the reason why the carvings on the wall of Banteay Srei
are still in good condition and very superb. Measured by the regulations of Angkorian construction,
Banteay Srei is an elegant small-scale, a fairy palace in the center of an endless and magical forest.
These elements have made Banteay Srei being generally known as a “precious gem” or “the jewel of
Khmer art” and have led it to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in Siem Reap province.

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137
Sappho Marchal’s “Costumes of the Devata of Angkor Wat” offers inspiration in
design and feminine style, and a pleasant meditation on one of the most
beautiful art mysteries in the world.

The Khmer temple of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia protects one of the
world’s most unique treasures: nearly 2000 detailed portrait carvings of 12th
century women.
Who were they? Why were they enshrined in this temple at such great
expense? What information do their complex accouterments, poses and
symbolism convey?
No one knows..

Indian Apsaras Reveal the Untold Story of Angkor Wat

In a tale that traces royal love, divine wisdom, treachery and betrayal, “Angkor
– The Untold Story” depicts the passion of a woman so pure that the temple
she helped build nearly a millennium ago still stands as a testament to her
passion. In this production by the Apsaras Arts dance troupe of Singapore,
Indian apsaras reveal the untold story of Angkor Wat in a spectacular
performance that is a breathtaking homage to the art and heritage of Cambodia
and India. The November 2013 Indian Festival of Esplanade showcases their
presentation as its opening performance.
A mystery. How is it that in 1927, a 23-year-old woman understood more about
the diversity of the 1,800 devata goddesses at the Khmer temple of Angkor Wat
than mainstream scholars would see for the 80 years? Equipped with nothing
but a pad of paper and a pencil, Sappho Marchal was the first person to begin
a quantitative analysis of the symbolism encoded in the royal female portraits

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immortalized in Angkor Wat. Who are these women? What hierarchy do they
represent? Chances are the answers to these questions are portrayed in
Sappho’s clear drawings.

Angkor Wat Devata Inventory – Ver. 05-30-2013

The Hindu temple of Angkor Wat enshrines nearly 2000 portraits of ancient
Khmer women documented here in the Angkor Wat Devata Inventory.

Devata Goddess Temples

The Khmer civilization that grew to unify most of Southeast Asia between the
8th-14th centuries respected women. Today, we still see their temples filled
with images of sacred women –termed devata, apsara or Khmer goddesses –
who embody the feminine forces of the universe. While women and goddesses
appear as icons in many ancient and modern societies, the Khmers gave
sanctified women dominance over their state temples more consistently and
more visibly than any other group.

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 Apsaras and Devatas in the Temples of Angkor

Apsaras are the ethereal, elegant and youthful beings dancing in celestial
palaces while Devatas are beautiful standing young goddesses in elegant
outfits. Images of Devatas and Apsaras are delicately carved in the sandstone
of many Angkorian temples. If some of them did not stand the test of time and
others were defaced (some of them can be seen in Preah Khan) many are still
today beautifully preserved in Angkor Wat where about 1800 have been
counted.

Apsaras and Devatas are fantastic photography subjects as they always look
different in the direct sunlight of midday or the warmer light of sunrise and
sunset. They can be seen in groups or alone so photographers can play with
the depth of field to isolate one.
Pictures taken with wide or ultra wide angle also can give interesting
perspectives as they come together in the frame even if far apart. In the first
two photos below you can count 17 and 8 devatas respectively.

Close up shots reveal the intricate details and the true beauty of the carvings:
apsaras holding hands, touching their hairs, smiling showing their teeth or
holding a bird.

It is claimed that these sculptures are not abstract decorations but reflect the
features of real women who lived in Angkor. He goes even further postulating a
theory that Angkor wasn’t built to honor kings or gods, but to glorify women.
One can believe it or not, but the beauty and life force of these figures are
apparent.

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Group of devatas in Angkor Wat temple

Group of devatas in Angkor Wat temple

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Devatas in Angkor Wat corridor

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Devata close up in Ta Prohm temple

https://www.angkorphotographytours.com/blog/apsara-angkor-wat-
2/#:~:text=Apsaras%20are%20the%20ethereal%2C%20elegant,sandstone%20o
f%20many%20Angkorian%20temples.

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NEELKANTHMAHADEV TEMPLE The NeelkanthMahadev Temple is a very famous Shiva
Temple which is located in the Kumbhalgarh Fort. The temple was built in 1458 AD and has a six
feet high Shivling, made of stone. One of the unique featuresof this temple is the fact that you can
enter it from all four directions, which is commonly referred to as a Sarvatobhadra
temple. (welcomerajasthan, Feb 2020)

Sarvatobhadra Jain - Circa 6-7th Century CE - ACCN 00-B-65 - Government Museum - Mathura

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 CHAPTER VIII
Rama, warrior king & devaraja ?
The divine incarnation as an Inspiration to SE Asian Monarchs

SYNOPSIS
The Ramayana portrays RAM as the archetype of the ideal ruler. Spiritual and
martial Gurus trained him to enable him to save the world from oppression. As
part of the great warrior tradition, he transcends religion.

His myth is of the same genre as King Arthur and today’s Luke Skywalker.
Rather than detaching from the world or dominating it, they are all social
activists, fighting the evil powers of the world. In the East, there is a blend of
the human and divine world, as represented in the Ramayana. Rama was the
divine incarnated in human form. Further Vishnu and the other gods regularly
incarnated in human affairs.This mixture of human and divine, which is
exhibited in both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, doesn't exist in the West.
While the Pope speaks for God, he is not God. The Biblical God is of a
fundamentally different nature; he only incarnated in human form once.
Typically the gods and humans are distinctly different in Western mythology.
This certainly holds true for the God of the Bible. To sum Rama, as warrior
king, represents the classic devaraja/Bodhisattva, the Southeast Asian god-
king. If the South East Asian Kings wanted to be like Rama and idolized him,
emulate him,govern and fihght lie him, become a father figure to the subjects-
WHO ARE WE TO QUESTION THAT DESIRE?

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Rama is shown about to offer his eyes to make up the full number - 108 - of lotus blossoms needed in
the puja that he must offer to the goddess Durga to gain her blessing from 1895

Quick guide to the Ramayana

Background

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest
to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an
army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the authorship of the sage
Valmiki and dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of
the very ancient Hindu sages. One of the most important literary works of
ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in the Indian
subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in
the Buddhist canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly
been retold in poetic and dramatic versions by some of India's greatest writers
and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of the staples of later
dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-
puppet theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).

Origins

The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance dealing with
a hero and his exile, the abduction of his wife by a rival king and her rescue
became conflated into seven books in which the hero Rama became an avatar
of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to encompass the whole of India, and the
struggle to recover his wife became a metaphor for the final triumph of the
righteous.

A brief summary of the Ramayana

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful

princess Sita (seen here), but was exiled with her and his
brother Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his
stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and
Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for
her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued
Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was
vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's
triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a
golden age for all mankind.

153
Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu.
The eldest and favourite son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous
prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from Ayodhya due to the
plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome
of womanly purity and virtue.

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother.

Completely loyal to Rama, he chooses to go with Rama and
Sita when they are exiled from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received a
boon from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons or by
spirits, after performing a severe penance for 10,000 years. After receiving his
reward from Brahma, Ravana began to lay waste to the earth and disturbed the
deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to
defeat him, assisted by an army of monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the
boon given by Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that Rama
be banished to the forest and that her son Bharata be awarded the kingdom
instead.

Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother
Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken hearted,
he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama. When Rama refuses to
return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals
and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and

Satrughna.

Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his quest to
defeat Ravana and rescue Sita.

154
Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by his
brother Bali, but Rama helps him to defeat the usurper in return for his
assistance in finding Sita.

The importance of the Ramayana in Indian culture

The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of Rama
has been constantly retold by some of India's greatest writers both in Sanskrit
and regional languages. It is one of the staples of various dramatic traditions,
in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet theatres. In northern
India, the annual Ram-lila or 'Rama-play' is performed at the autumn festival of
Dassehra to celebrate with Rama and Sita the eventual triumph of light over
darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-1988,

drawing over 100 million viewers to become 'the world's most viewed
mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India Today magazine, it was
reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so many people who could
gain access to a television stopped whatever they were doing to watch the small
screen adventures of Rama. From January 2008, a new big-budget primetime
se
https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/exhibitions/ramayana/guide.htmlri
es of the Ramayana has been appearing on television screens across India.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Ramayana to

Southeast Asian culture-a cosmic war between good and evil. Rama, the
epitome of a good warrior king, ultimately conquers the demons led by their
king Ravana, The plot of Ramayana unfolds as follows:

1. The evil demon king, Ravana, has enslaved the gods because in a
moment of weakness they granted him immortality. Later he has become
a nuisance.
2. Since no God or animal can kill him according to a blessing given to him
by Indra Himself, Vishnu incarnates as human Rama to exterminate him
and save the gods; because his blessing is that he will not be killed by
Gods, demons and animals but does not mention humans. Ravana while
asking for that blessing, did not think that humans were capable of such
a thing.

3. Unlike Krishna, another avatar of Vishnu, who was born a God, Rama as
a human, had to endure the hardships endured by humanity and reach
adulthood. Hence his banishment from his kingdom,his wandering in the
forest. The abdication of his wife by Ravana. All part of a divine plot to
make the two fight each other - the only way for the Gods to Kill Ravana.

155
 4. Hence, Ravana traps Sita and brings her to his demon kingdom.
Distraught, Rama employs the monkey Hanuman to first find Sita and
then assist him in his battle to retrieve her. Eventually, Rama employs
his martial powers to defeat Ravana, the demon king, and restore the
divine order. To accomplish this task, he teams up with his brothers and
a monkey army, including Hanuman. All of Rama’s allies are divine
incarnations.

significance of the plotline?

All the incarnated gods and demons of the Ramayana belong to the warrior
class – the kshatriya caste. None of these incarnated gods and demons are
artists, craftspeople, musicians or writers. Even the mystic Sage, who trains
Rama on both spiritual and martial levels, was formerly a powerful warrior-
king.
The incarnated gods are good warriors, while the demons are warriors gone
bad. As a virtuous warrior, Rama's mission is to destroy the warriors who have
turned to the dark side.

Album painting on paper, from c1820

The demons, led by Ravana, practice austerities, achieve spectacular powers

and misuse them to enslave their teachers, the gods. These austere practices

156
are rooted in ancient yoga-like disciplines, which include meditation and
martial arts. However, the plot suggests that these practices don’t necessarily
lead to moral behavior. In fact, the considerable powers that results from these
disciplines can be badly abused.
If the martial artist primarily cultivates the body (jing) and mind (chi) at the
expense of the spirit (shen), the temptation to become a bully becomes almost
irresistable. It is necessary to integrate body, mind and spirit to become a sage.
A central theme of the Ramayana addresses this need to balance body and
mind with spirit.
Although the gods trained the demons, the moral development of the
demons somehow didn't keep up with their martial training. They became
bullies rather than protectors.

Religious Novels, Ramayana and the Mahabharata, of Prime Importance

With the introduction of books into Southeast Asian Aristocracy, the

Kings,Royals, chiefs and ruling classes were infected with Hindu literature.
One effect of this trend was the rise of kingdoms and the other was the interest
in Hinduism. While the philosophical books like the Vedas and Upanishads
had limited influence, the Indian religious novels, especially
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, had a tremendous influence. The
philosophical literature was accessible only to those who could read - the
spiritual elite or the highly motivated. The stories had a much broader appeal.
Both novels dealt with universal themes that anyone could relate to. Both
novels presented plausible heroes and villains that could be held up as models
of virtue and vice. Because stories have an emotional component, they are
more easily assimilated into the individual’s psyche than are dry ideas. As
evidence, human memory tends to retain stories better than philosophy. The
Ramayana in Thailand, for instance, is known as Ramakien, prepared in 1797
under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. King Rama II
adapted parts of his father's version for Khon dance drama. Archaeological
evidence showing the Ramayana influence, he said, can be found in Southeast
Asian countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. The art forms of
Thailand and Bali, he added, also reference the Ramayana.

The kecak dance from Bali is about the battle between Shri Ram and Ravan. Similarly,
khon, a genre of dance-drama from Thailand, is based on the Ramakien, the Thai
Ramayana.The Ramayana-based folklore, bas-reliefs and art forms in Southeast Asian
countries certainly prove the close cultural connection between India and Southeast
Asia.

157
The second World Ramayana Conference was held late January 2020 in Jabalpur, a city in central India.
Photo: Narendra Kaushik

Reamker Cambodia, like many countries in mainland Southeast Asia, has a

population that predominantly follows Theravada Buddhism; therefore the Reamker
has many Buddhist influences. In it, Rama is known as Phreah Ream, and Sita is
known as Neang Seda. The Khmer text also contains unique episodes not included in
the original Hindu texts. For example, the encounter between Hanuman, the monkey
general, and Sovann Maccha, the mermaid, is a favorite in Cambodia. But perhaps a
key divergence to the original Hindu text is that after Neang Seda’s trial by fire, in
which she passes the test, she becomes deeply offended by her husband’s lack of
trust. Instead of reuniting with him to rule the kingdom of Ayodhya, she decides to
leave him and find refuge with Valmiki the wiseman (who is also attributed for writing
the oldest version of the Ramayana).

Practically speaking, these stories were told and retold in myriad variations and settings with
varying intent and emphasis. They were portrayed in drama, dance and the tangible arts. This was
not possible with Indian philosophy. These well written stories dealing with universal themes were
very inspirational to the Southeast Asian population. They were instrumental in unifying and
motivating the Khmer to create the wonderful temples at Angkor. The sculptures that adorned the
temples illustrate the characters and themes of the above novels. In short, during the initial centuries
of the modern era, the Indianization of Southeast Asia was well under way. Kingdoms with
centralized power began to pop up in areas that had previously been primarily based in smaller
tribal units. Kingdoms with a larger cultural gravity absorbed tribes into their sphere.
Brahmin Priests: With the influx of Hindu businessmen and traders came the Brahmin prie sts as well
as minstrels to sing the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. These stories were quickly assimilated and

158
rewritten in the local vernacular.Temples as State Symbols were to be built left and right- sometimes
at a exalting pace. Feverish with ambition, these chiefs formed kingdoms of which they were the
head. The larger and more prestigious the kingdom, the greater the demands on the local
population. The agricultural peasantry were eventually persuaded or coerced to grow three crops of
rice a year to support the needs of the growing kingdoms. Previously, one crop a year would suffice
for their individual needs. The story of Indian Brahmanas in Southeast Asia is significant
in the repertoire of culture, faith, trade, and perhaps most important, the language of
Sanskrit, and its creation of so many exquisite bridges between India and Southeast
Asia. Their great influence lay as much in the narratives they carried as the language
that etched literature, philosophy, and faith into elite and then popular belief.9

Southeast Asia devoted themselves to the greater good of society, which included feeding the
artisans that were building our magnificent temples the Holy books Ramayana and Mahabharatha a
glue and an influence. Waves of Indians migrated this part of the world in the first
centuries of the modern era. Many were traders in search of fortune. They came,
stayed and intermarried with the indigenous population. On the mainland, this racial
blending gave birth to the modern race of the Khmer. The Indian immigrants also
brought their kingdom-based politics, their religions, their script and their literature.
The sophistication of these innovations blended with local traditions to create Khmer
culture. However, in the beginning at least, the Indian water technology was more
important to the Khmer than their culture.

Accompanying his traders were Indian craftsman and Brahmins, who brought India’s
traditions with them. This included the amazing script and literature of Sanskrit with
the accompanying Hindu mythology. Metaphysical ideologies integrated and
authenticated the lush mythology. Plus, India’s religion claimed to be a universal
cosmic frame of reference. As such, it also included the local religions rather than
excluding it Further, India’s mythology was so rich that one could easily identify
Indian deities with our local spirits. Also the Hindu philosophy of statecraft contained
the conceptual system of kingship, which was used to unify our diverse tribes and
centralize our cities into countries and kingdoms.

The more immediate and pressing need was for control of our devastating annual
floods. India’s people supplied a new technology of hydraulic engineering, which was
used for both flood control and irrigation. In many ways, this was more important
than all of the rest. In fact, this technological ability to control water lent so much
prestige to the Indian traders that we became more interested in the rest of their
culture. Impressed by the complexity of his technology. The Khemers accepted the
immigrant Tamilians.

The Importance of the Tamil culture to Southeast Asia

Tamils have played an important role in the transmission of Indian culture and
customs to that part of the world, as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. Thay have
been a spreading center for Buddhism and Jainism. Having a long history of cultural
achievement, including literature, art and architecture and knowledge of reservoirs,
water towers, and elaborate drainage systems- the Chola Empire, which spread all
over the islands of Southeast Asia, was also a Tamil dynasty. The Aryan culture of the
north has had much less influence on your people of Southeast Asia than have we

159
Tamils from the south. Tamil brought his political kingdoms, religions, and literature-
their marvelous attributes were essential ingredients of my magnificent Empire at
Angkor.

There has been a close religious and cultural link between Indian Tamils and
Southeast Asia over centuries and the economic globalisation is giving it new
relevance. Culturally, India's influence on Southeast Asia goes back to the earliest
days. Much of that influence emanated from South India, the Tamil components being
the most important. Ethnic business networks become the specialty of Indian groups
like the Parsees, Jains, Sindhis and Marwaris, as also Chettiars themselves a caste
group within the Tamil community. Ancient Tamil epic Manimekalai steeped in Hindu-
Buddhist- Jain tradition, alluded to the close religious and cultural links between the
Tamils of South India and the people of Southeast Asia over centuries and early
Sangam literature described the trade links between South India and Kadaaram on
the Malay Peninsula, now called Kedah. I-Tsing, a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk who
spent much time studying Buddhism in Sumatra before going to India, reported
regular sailings of ships between Kedah and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.The date of
the record, AD 1088, corresponded with the reign of the Chola Emperor Kulottunga 1,
whose long and prosperous rule lasted nearly half a century. Under his reign, the
Chola Empire extended its influence into large parts of Southeast Asia and conducted
trade with Indo-China and China.

The people of Southern India were not a small isolated subset of Indians. There are
57 million of them India alone. At the bottom of the Indian peninsula, surrounded by
the Indian Ocean on three sides, they had long been prominent sea traders who
traversed the seas from Sri Lanka, to the Malay Peninsula, to East Africa, South
Africa, Fiji and the West Indies.

Quick guide to the Ramayana

Background

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife
Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the
authorship of the sage Valmiki and dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of the very ancient Hindu
sages. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture
in the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in the Buddhist
canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly been retold in poetic and dramatic
versions by some of India's greatest writers and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of
the staples of later dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-puppet
theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).

Origins

160
The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance dealing with a hero and his exile, the
abduction of his wife by a rival king and her rescue became conflated into seven books in which the hero
Rama became an avatar of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to encompass the whole of India, and the
struggle to recover his wife became a metaphor for the final triumph of the righteous.

A brief summary of the Ramayana

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita (seen
here), but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through the
plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and Rama
gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked
Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered
fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's
triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a
golden age for all mankind.

Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu. The eldest and favourite son
of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from
Ayodhya due to the plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome of womanly purity and
virtue.

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother. Completely loyal to Rama,

he chooses to go with Rama and Sita when they are exiled from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received a boon
from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons or by spirits, after performing a severe
penance for 10,000 years. After receiving his reward from Brahma, Ravana began to lay waste to the
earth and disturbed the deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to defeat
him, assisted by an army of monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that Rama be banished to the forest
and that her son Bharata be awarded the kingdom instead.

Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi had forced Rama into
exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken hearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama.
When Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals and
places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and Satrughna.

161
Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his quest to defeat Ravana and rescue
Sita.

Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by his brother Bali, but Rama helps
him to defeat the usurper in return for his assistance in finding Sita.

The importance of the Ramayana in Indian culture

The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of Rama has been constantly retold
by some of India's greatest writers both in Sanskrit and regional languages. It is one of the staples of
various dramatic traditions, in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet theatres. In northern
India, the annual Ram-lila or 'Rama-play' is performed at the autumn festival of Dassehra to celebrate
with Rama and Sita the eventual triumph of light over darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-1988, drawing over 100 million
viewers to become 'the world's most viewed mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India
Today magazine, it was reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so many people who could gain
access to a television stopped whatever they were doing to watch the small screen adventures of Rama.
From January 2008, a new big-budget primetime series of the Ramayana has been appearing on
television screens across India.

Rama: a wise warrior king, not a pacifist

Rama, the demon destroyer, is the classic warrior prince. He has been
trained to follow in his father's footsteps and is destined to become king.
However, his education has been special. The Sage trains Rama on both
spiritual and martial levels. In other words, Rama’s moral development has
been cultivated in equal measure with his military training. Vishnu’s
incarnation, Rama, was born a human, hence imperfect. His innate godly
tendencies had to be encouraged and refined. As a result of this training, Rama
becomes a moral leader as well as a great warrior. A major feature of Rama is
that he is socially active, fighting against evil with the powers at his command.
He is the good warrior who uses his training for the benefit of his people, while
resisting the temptation to use his power for personal gain. He has not received
this intense martial training in order to attain power, wealth or fame. He
receives his martial training so that he can take constructive action in this
world. He is the archetype of the positive warrior king.
Nor does he receive his yogic training in order to detach from and escape
this world of illusion. He does not renounce the world like Buddha or Lao Tzu,
but engages the world to fight the demons in order to restore justice. He has
gained great powers that he will use to fight evil and restore the good.
Rama is no pacifist, no Buddha, no Jesus, no Gandhi. He does not ‘kill with
kindness’, or achieve his ends through negotiation or non-violent protests.
Instead, conflicts are resolved in armed combat on a battlefield, where he
employs his trusted bow and arrow. Rama is a wise warrior king, using
aggressive military techniques to achieve his ends. His Dharma led him into
this world of action, rather than toward personal salvation from suffering.
In like manner, the Ramayana’s Brahmin ascetics, the yogis, did not escape
this world of action to attain personal enlightenment. Sensitive to the universal

162
order, these Brahmin sages listened to and followed their internal, presumably
divine, directives. Due to self-cultivation, they understood their personal role,
their dharma, as teachers.

The Ramayana presents the image of a warrior king, who has reached a high
level of attainment. He did not achieve this elevated state by removing himself
from the ‘world of illusion', but by engaging in it. As such,
the Ramayana conveys the dharma of the ideal warrior.

Good and Evil Rulers in the context of the Ramayana and the individual,
as divine incarnation

Another powerful underlying theme of the Ramayana is that each human has
the potential to be a divine incarnation. The novel identifies innumerable Hindu
gods who incarnate as living beings in this world. When Hindu gods are born
as a human or animal, they frequently don't remember their divine origins.

This theme is incredibly empowering. The ruler, as devaraja/god-king or

Bodhisattva 1

1. I am not getting into the discussion of the true translation of DEVARAJA

here. For that see my Papers: Who was Jayavarman Part I, Jayavarman
part II Srivijaya connect, For a complete list of my papers and books on
Cambodia, see end of this paper.

Through his physical and spiritual practices, Rama realizes and manifests his
purified god nature or bodhi/Buddha nature. In Hindu kingdoms, he becomes
a god-king, a devaraja.* Buddhist kingdoms view him as a Bodhisattva.
While Buddhists and Hindus perceive the devaraja/Bodhisattva through
different cultural contexts, the role of the king is essentially identical.
The citizens expected their rulers to fulfill the ideal role by employing
spiritual practices to purify themselves and their kingdom. Many of the kings of
India and Southeast Asia certainly identified with the notion of devaraja or
Bodhisattva. In this regard, they attempted to set up the ideal social conditions
that would lead their kingdoms to enlightenment.
The Hindu kings of Java were the first to call themselves devarajas and act
accordingly. Inspired by the Javanese, the Khmer kings, also Hindu,
deliberately identified themselves with Vishnu and his incarnation Rama. To
this end, Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu and the story of Ramayana is
etched into its sandstone walls.
While there is a distinct identification with Rama going on in the Khmer
kingdom, the Thai kings take this act of identification a step further. The Thai
kings call themselves Rama and the Thai people respect them as so. However

163
as a Buddhist nation, the Thai consider their king to be Bodhisattva, rather
than devaraja.
Ramayana Outside India

The following are among the versions of the Ramayana that have emerged outside
India:
East Asia
1.China, Tibet – found in several manuscripts from Dunhuang
o Yunnan – Langka Sip Hor (Tai Lü language)
2.Japan – Ramaenna or Ramaensho
Southeast Asia
3.Cambodia – Reamker
4.Indonesia:
o Bali – Ramakavaca
o Java – Kakawin Ramayana, Yogesvara Ramayana
o Sumatera – Ramayana Swarnadwipa
5.Laos – Phra Lak Phra Lam, Gvay Dvorahbi
6.Malaysia – Hikayat Seri Rama, Hikayat Maharaja Wana
7.Myanmar (Burma) – Yama Zatdaw (Yamayana)
8.Philippines
o Mindanao – Maharadia Lawana, Darangen (Moro)
9.Thailand – Ramakien
o Kingdom of Lan Na – Phommachak
10.singapore-Sri Mariamman
South Asia
11.Nepal – Siddhi Ramayan (Nepal Bhasa), Bhanubhaktako Ramayan (Nepali
language)
12.Sri Lanka – Janakiharan

In the East, there is a blend of the human and divine world, as represented in
the Ramayana. Rama was the divine incarnated in human form. Further
Vishnu and the other gods regularly incarnated in human affairs.This mixture
of human and divine, which is exhibited in both Hindu and Buddhist
tradition, doesn't exist in the West. While the Pope speaks for God, he is not
God. The Biblical God is of a fundamentally different nature; he only
incarnated in human form once. Typically the gods and humans are distinctly
different in Western mythology. This certainly holds true for the God of the
Bible. To sum Rama, as warrior king, represents the
classic devaraja/Bodhisattva, the Southeast Asian god-king. If the South East
Asian Kings wanted to be like Rama and idolized him, emulate him,govern and
fihght lie him, become a father figure to the subjects- WHO ARE WE TO
QUESTION THAT DESIRE?

The Ramayana portrays RAM as the archetype of the ideal ruler. Spiritual and
martial Gurus trained him to enable him to save the world from oppression. As
part of the great warrior tradition, he transcends religion.

164
His myth is of the same genre as King Arthur and today’s Luke Skywalker.
Rather than detaching from the world or dominating it, they are all social
activists, fighting the evil powers of the world.

Jayavarman II and later Jayaraman VII both the famous Khmer rulers who,
consolidated the Khmer Kingdom by a series of battles and political
arrangements have a parallel reputation.That of helping crystallize the Khmer
rule.

Jayavarman II, in the first and second half of the 9th century ca. ca 802-835
and after a hundred years when Khmer overlordship had been in abeyance,
was consecrated on Mount Mahendra “to ensure that the country of the
Kambujas would no longer be dependent on Java and that there would be no
more than one sovereign who was cakravartin ”.

His inscriptions have never been recovered, but Khmers in later times
remembered his reign as the time when their ancestors, his supporters, were
rewarded with estates. The king's cult, inaugurated on Mount Mahendra, was
innovative in projecting the King in a better frame than before for the subjects
as well as enemies. Three centuries later, Jayavarman VII (ca. 1120–1218) is
another Cambodian “Angkor” leaders, of the stature of self styled RAMA in
part because he was able to unite the numerous small, fragmented Khmer
Cambodian and Cham kingdoms of the day. He ruled his consolidated Khmer
kingdom from 1181–1218, bringing the decentralized Khmer and Cham states
together through political and military alliances. No one ever reads the
Ramayana and the Mahabharatha for the first time in SE Asia. The stories are
there, “always already”. Only that, the story changes a little, with every step
one takes.

Ram, DEVARAJA in Thailand

This concept of "" (Thai: เทวราชา) (or "divine king") was adopted by the Thai
kings from the ancient Khmer tradition of devaraja followed in the region, and the
Hindu concept of kingship was applied to the status of the Thai king. The concept
centered on the idea that the king was an incarnation (avatar) of the
god Vishnu and that he was a Bodhisattva (enlightened one), therefore basing his
power on his religious power, his moral power, and his purity of blood.
Brahmins took charge in the royal coronation. The king was treated as
a reincarnation of Hindu gods. Ayutthaya historical documents show the official
titles of the kings in great variation: Indra, Shiva and Vishnu, or Rama. Seemingly,
Rama was the most popular, as in "Ramathibodhi". However, Buddhist influence
was also evident, as many times the king's title and "unofficial" name
"Dhammaraja", an abbreviation of the Buddhist Dharmaraja. The two former
concepts were re-established, with a third, older concept taking hold.

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The king, portrayed by state interests as a semi-divine figure, then became—
through a rigid cultural implementation—an object of worship and veneration to
his people. From then on the monarchy was largely removed from the people and
continued under a system of absolute rule. Living in palaces designed after Mount
Meru ("home of the gods" in Hinduism), the kings turned themselves into a
"Chakravartin", where the king became an absolute and universal lord of his
realm. Kings demanded that the universe be envisioned as revolving around them,
and expressed their powers through elaborate rituals and ceremonies. For four
centuries these kings ruled Ayutthaya, presiding over some of the greatest period
of cultural, economic, and military growth in Thai History.
In Thailand: All kings in the current Chakri dynasty of Thailand are often referred
to as Rama. The name Rama was adopted from the name of the Hindu God Rama,
an avatar of Vishnu. While "Rama" was used as a title for all the kings, it was not
always taken on as the name. In the present dynasty, the first king to call himself
Rama was Phra Mongkutklao or King Vajiravudh, who was the sixth to reign. His
reigning title was Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua; later in his reign, he preferred to
style himself as Phra Ram thi Hok (พระรามทีห่ ก lit. Rama VI). It was presumed that
he was influenced by the European practice of numbering the rulers with similar
names while he studied in England.
Quite conveniently, it coincided with another practice of the Thai people.
Traditionally, the name of the king is sacred and would not normally be said.
Instead, people would refer to the king by other words; currently, Nai
Luang or Phra Chao Yu Hua. When King Phutthayotfa Chulalok founded the
dynasty, he was commonly referred to as Phan Din Ton (แผ่นดินต ้น literally 'the First
Reign'); and when his son inherited the throne, he was referred to as Phan Din
Klang (แผ่นดินกลาง lit. 'the Middle Reign'). That then became awkward when Prince
Jessadabodindra (King Nangklao) became the third king, as the obvious referral
would then be Phan Din Plai (แผ่นดินปลาย literally 'the Last Reign'), which did not
sound very auspicious.

The use of the name "Rama 'n'th" is in line with Thai practice of giving numbers to
the king in the current dynasty. However, the translation was not exact and can
give rise to some confusion as to whether this was actually the name adopted by
the king on his coronation.
| Photo Credit: SR Praveen
The deep and enduring cultural impact of the Ramayana reverberates in
Thailand, from its national epic to the names of kings. Amid the ruins of
Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya, the Thai city that was the capital of the
Siamese kingdom for over four centuries from 1351, until it was overrun
by the Burmese army is RAM himself. Unlike Ayodhya, situated 3,500 km
away in India, which inspired its name,
Thailand attracts the attention of many Indians, be it the name ‘Rama’ that
all of the Thai kings of the Chakri dynasty to the present day are referred by, or
the centrality of the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai Ramayana, in the society here.

166
A Buddha head trapped amid roots of a Bodhi tree |

But moving beyond the names and into the heart of the Ramakien, the current
version of which was composed in the 18th century by King Rama I, it diverges
from the popular Indian versions of the Ramayana. Demon king Thotsakan
(Ravana) is much more prominent in the epic than Phra Ram (Rama).
As AK Ramanujan notes in his classic essay ‘300 Ramayanas’, the Ramakien
admires “Ravana’s resourcefulness and learning, while his abduction of Sita is
seen as an act of love and is viewed with sympathy. The Thais are moved by
Ravana’s sacrifice of family, kingdom and life itself for the sake of a woman.
Unlike Valmiki’s characters, the Thai ones are a fallible, human mixture of good
and evil. The fall of Ravana here makes one sad. It is not an occasion for
unambiguous rejoicing, as it is in Valmiki.”

Thais enjoy the details of war, the techniques and the fabulous weapons more
than the partings and reunions. This interest in war is not an accident, but has
everything to do with Thailand’s own history.The Ramayana is believed to have
reached these regions as early as the seventh century, through the trade routes
from South India.

Though Buddhism was the main religion of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, Hindu
scriptures had a major influence on its culture and society. This easy blending of
the two religions might not be visible to a visitor at present, as mostly Buddhist
symbols stand out, except when you travel back to Bangkok along the Chao
Phraya River. At the centre of the city, near the Grand Palace stands Wat Phra
Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

167
A big undamaged statue of Buddha at Wat Phra Mahathat | Wat Phra Mahathat |
Photo Credit: SR Praveen

Inside, one would come across an imposing statue of Thotsakan, the Thai
Ravana. There’s more. One of the compound walls is filled with giant murals,
which tell the complete story of the Ramakien sequentially through 178 images.
Painted in the eighteenth century, just a few years after the sacking of Ayutthaya
by the Burmese, it might take some time for those from India to recognise the epic
being represented here, for the attires and presentation are starkly different from
the images we are used to watching in the television version of the Ramayana.

The ruins of Ayutthaya, now a UNESCO World Heritage site spread over a vast
area, still retain some of the majesty of the once thriving empire. At Wat Phra Si
Sanphet, three bell-shaped stupas stand at the centre of the site, with each
containing the ashes of former kings. Steps lead half-way up these stupas, from
where the pillars at a distance give one the outline of a large hall that existed
here. Red brick structures of myriad shapes and sizes dot the area, which once
served as the temple of the royal family and venue of royal ceremonies.

Situated by a vast lake is Wat Phra Ram, initially built as a cremation site for one
of the first Ayutthayan king, Ramathibodi I, but later turned into a temple.
Buddha’s head in the roots is just one of the many marvels at Wat Maha That,
built in 1374 and set to fire in 1767 by the Burmese. Walking past the many
limb-less Buddha statues that line the periphery of the large open hall, one would
be caught by surprise by a giant undamaged statue of a seated Buddha, with an
elevated mountain-like platform and a hexagonal pagoda forming a perfect
backdrop.

It was in one of these sites that the Thai dance drama form of ‘Khon’ originated,
again with the Ramakien, and by extension the Ramayana, playing a role as
source material. Back in those days, it was performed only by members of the
royal family, with the audience too from the upper classes. Performed with
elaborate costumes and sets, it is still performed under royal patronage, but with
the doors open to the larger public, both as performers and the audience. The
Ramakien continues to be the major source material.

168
The ruins of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya | Photo Credit: SR Praveen

REFERENCES

1 Jayavarman II's Military Power: The Territorial Foundation of the Angkor Empire,
O. W. Wolters1973
2. Jayavarman VII and the Crisis of the Thirteenth Century,Chapter,A History of
Cambodia, David Chandler, 2018
3. Sectarian Rivalry in Ninth-Century Cambodia: A Posthumous Inscription Narrating
the Religious Tergiversations of Jayavarman III (K. 1457),Dominic
Goodall,Chhunteng Hun,Kunthea CHHOM,Nina Mirnig
4. Sectarian Rivalry in Ninth-Century Cambodia: A Posthumous Inscription Narrating
the Religious Tergiversations of Jayavarman III (K. 1457),Dominic
Goodall,Chhunteng Hun,2018
5. Source
6. www.The Problem of the Ancient Name Java and the Role of Satyavarman in Southeast
Asian International Relations Around the Turn of the Ninth Century CE , Arlo Griffiths -
https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_2013_num_85_1_4384 ALSO
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289730725_The_Problem_of_the_Ancient_Name_Java
_and_the_Role_of_Satyavarman_in_Southeast_Asian_International_Relations_Around_the_Turn_of
_the_Ninth_Cent
7. An example is the Wat Phra Ram - Ayutthaya: The other Ayodhya
8. By /S.R. Praveen,2019

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 CHAPTER XI

Sadashiva सदामशव
should know all things of the phenomenal world as of a fivefold character, for the reason
that the eternal verity of Śiva is of the character of the fivefold Brahman. (Pañcabrahma
Upanishad 31)

Sadashiva (Sanskrit: सदामशव, Sadāśiva, Tamil: சதாசிவம் ), is the Supreme

Being Lord Paramashiva in the Mantra marga Siddhanta sect of Shaivism. Sadasiva is the
omnipotent, subtle, luminous absolute. The highest manifestation of almighty who is blessing
with Anugraha or grace, the fifth of Panchakritya - "Holy five acts" of Shiva. Sadasiva is usually
depicted having five faces and ten hands, is also considered one of the 25 Maheshwara
murtams of Lord Shiva. Sivagamas conclude, Shiva Lingam, especially Mukhalingam, is another
form of Sadasiva.

The concept and form of Sadasiva

The concept and form of Sadasiva initially emerged from South India, although many ancient
sculptures of Sadasiva were obtained from various parts of India and South East Asia. It is
believed that the cult of Sadasiva was widespread in the region of Bengal during the period
of Sena dynasty who traced their origin in South India.[3] Sadasiva is usually represented in the
form of a Mukhalinga with the number of faces varying from one to five. The first ever sculpture
of Sadasiva as a lingam with five faces was found in Bhita, near Allahabad, and dates to the 2nd
century CE.[2] His five faces, Ishana, Tatpurusha, Vamadeva, Aghora and Satyojata are known
as Panchabrahmas (five creators), the emanations towards the four directions and upwards from
the nishkala (formless) Parashiva. Kamiga Agama, the first Agama of 28 Sivagamas depicts
Sadasiva as having five faces and ten arms. His five right hands
hold Trishula, Axe, Katvanga, Vajra and Abhaya while his five left hands
hold Snake, Matulunga fruit, Nilotpala, Damaru, Rudraksha rosary and Varadam The consort of
Sadasiva is goddess Mahagayatri, a form of Parvati often known as Manonmani in Agamic
texts. She is sometimes depicted having two arms and residing in the lap of Sadasiva.

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Sadashiva murti, National Museum Bangkok

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 Sadasiva standing midst Brahma and Vishnu. 10th c. CE sculpture at Vat Phou, Laos

Pañcānana
The Pancabrahma Upanishad (Sanskrit: पञ्च ब्रह्म उपमनषत् , IAST: Pañca-brahma Upaniṣad) is
a medieval era Sanskrit text and is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. The text is
classified as one of 13 Shaiva Upanishads, and one of the 32 Upanishads of the Krishna
Yajurveda.
The Upanishad glorifies Shiva, with Vedanta nondualism terminology. The text is notable for its
focus on Sadashiva, as Brahman, with his five faces corresponding to five Ishwaras, and for its
recommendation of meditation on "So'ham" or "I am he, He am I" to achieve moksha, the union
with Brahman.
History: The date or author of Pancabrahma Upanishad is unknown. Kramrisch states that this
is a late text, but possibly one which was composed before the Vishnudharmottara Purana. She
dates the latter to about 7th-century CE, contemporary with Ajanta Caves paintings
Manuscripts of this text are also found titled as Panchabrahma
Upanishad and Pancabrahmopanishad. In the Telugu language anthology of 108 Upanishads of
the Muktika canon, narrated by Rama to Hanuman, it is listed as Pancabrahma Upanishad at
number 93. This text is not a part of the 17th century compilation of 50 important Hindu
Upanishads published by Mughal Era Dara Shikoh and of the 18th-century anthology of 52
Upanishads published by Colebrooke, nor is it found in the Bibliotheca Indica anthology by
Narayana.[11]
As an Upanishad, it is a part of the corpus of Vedanta literature collection that present the
philosophical concepts of Hinduism.
CONTENTS The text opens with sage Paippalāda asking Shiva, "what is that which came to
exist first?" Shiva's reply is structured as the verses of Pancabrahma Upanishad.
The Pancabrahma Upanishad describes five forms of reality (Brahman) or Shiva that arose
from highest reality – Sadyojata, Aghora, Vamadeva, Tatpurusha and Ishana. He is panchatmak,
who conceals all five Brahmas, and to realize him is moksha. The Ishana, asserts the text, is the
highest form of Brahman, unmanifested impeller, adorned with Om, and that all five Brahmas
resolve into the supreme Nirguna (formless) Brahman.[15][17] The supreme shines by its own
light, beyond the five Brahmas, states this Pancabrahma text.
Shiva is within all beings

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In the Brahmapura (the city of Brahma, the body), wherein is the abode of the form of a white
lotus (the heart), known as the Dahara, in the middle of it is the ether known as Daharakasha.
That ether is Shiva, the infinite existence, nondual consciousness and unsurpassed bliss...

This Shiva is the witness established in the heart of all beings...

—Panchabrahma Upanishad 40–41
The Sadyojata represents earth and is associated with Kriya Sakti (power of action), asserts the
text. The Aghora represents fire and drives the Iccha Sakti (power of will, desire) and Vamadeva
represents water and impels the Jnana Sakti (power of knowledge). Tatpurusha represents air and
is the power of life (breath, prana), while Ishana represents ether-space and the transcendental.
The Pancabrahma Upanishad, states Teun Goudriaan, focuses on these symbolism behind the
five faces of Shiva and mystical equations about all except Ishana face. The Ishana face of Shiva
is glorified with general epithets such as "superior to the pacified", as "Brahman", as "Supreme",
as "lustre behind everything", and as "I myself am that Brahman", thus emphasizing his
fundamental position in this text The verse 23 of the manuscript asserts that one must meditate
on Shiva within, with "So'ham" or "I am He, He am I" to achieve moksha, the union with
Brahman.[6][18][19] This outlook of this text corresponds to Advaita Vedanta position of Hindu
philosophy, states Goudriaan.

Five-faced Shiva from 10th century Cambodia. The Ishana face is at the top.
This Upanishad, states Kramrisch, gives precedence to the "power of knowledge", in contrast
with some Shaiva text such as Vatulasuddh-agama which emphasize "power of will". According
to Kramrisch, this may be either doctrinal differences or possible errors in transmission of the
manuscripts over the centuries, but the components of Shavism ontology are consistent across
the texts, since the latter part of the 1st-millennium CE.[7] The text, adds Kramrisch, asserts that
"all this phenomenal world is the Parabrahman, Shiva, of the character of the fivefold
Brahmans", and that everything in a being's inner and outer senses, that falls within or lies
beyond, is Shiva of fivefold Brahman character.
The seeker realizes that aspect of five Brahman Shiva, in accord with the strength of his vision,
his spiritual development, and it is Shiva who is in the heart of all beings, Shiva is Sat-Cit-
Ananda, meaning existence, consciousness, and Bliss. Shiva is the liberator, asserts the text.
The pancabrahma concept found in this Upanishad is also found in the Śaivā Agamas, described
in a similar way
According to Shaivite texts the supreme being Parashivam manifests as pentads apart from the
well-known trinity of other Hindu sects - Brahma, Visnu and Shiva. His five deeds which are
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known "Panchakrityas" (holy five acts) are assigned to Panchamurti, his five aspects,
viz., Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheshwara and Sadashiva. Creation, preservation, destruction,
delusion and liberation are done by these five manifestations respectively. The five faces of
Parashiva emanating these five aspects at whom we could not find any distinctions from himself,
are praised as "Panchabrahmas", the five creators or the five realities. The Panchamurtis of
Shaivism are absorbed within Shaktism and named as "Panchapreta" (Five bodies).
Five faces
The five faces of Sadasiva are sometimes identified with
Mahadeva, Parvati, Nandi, Bhairava and Sadasiva himself. The ten arms of Sadasiva represent
the ten directions. Another variation of Sadasiva later evolved into another form of Shiva known
as Mahasadasiva, in which Shiva is depicted with twenty-five heads with seventy-seven eyes and
fifty arms. Given accounts relating to Sadasiva are collected from Kamika Agamam and
Vishnudharmottara Purana.
The pañcānana (Sanskrit: पंचानन), also called the pañcabrahma, are the five faces
of Shiva corresponding to his five activities (pañcakṛtya): creation (sṛṣṭi), preservation (sthithi),
destruction (saṃhāra), concealing grace (tirobhāva), and revealing grace (anugraha). The
names, qualities, and attributes of these five aspects of Shiva are described in
the Śaiva agamas and puranas.
Aspects: Though bearing each a different name, form, and set of qualities, these are all aspects
of Śiva and are not to be looked upon as different deities.
Sadyojāta
Represents Icchā Śaktī. This face of Śiva will give both happiness and sadness to all creatures.
Direction is West. This face of Śiva can potentially evoke curse and anger from Śiva. Represents
Jalandhara Pīṭha. One billion mantras are trying to describe this face of Śiva. White in color.
Ahaṃkāra element representing perfected ego. The fearsome aspect. This aspect is attained by
solitude and practices that transcend conventional structures.
Vāmadeva
Represents Citta rūpa and Citta rūpiṇi of Śiva. This is Turīya, attained by getting acquainted with
primordial energy of the sun. This face of Śiva has special powers to heal both mentally and
physically of any creature. Represents Parāliṅga. Two billion mantras are trying to describe this
face of Śiva. Blood red in color it represents unmatched force that is capable of transforming all
elements of the cosmos. Uplifts the element of Tejasa. Direction is North. Predominates the
energy of vital life force. It represents indescribable amount of brightness of light. Only those
established in yoga can contain it within their physical forms, otherwise the mortal frame sheds
itself immediately resulting in union with Vamadeva. The adepts contain energy of creation of
elements within themselves.
Aghora
Represents Jñāna Śaktī (Infinite Knowledge). It is function of Prakṛti (nature, consort of Shiva)
and Parā Śaktī. This face of Śiva is Buddhi rūpa (Intellect). Represents Pūrṇagiri Pīṭha.
Banaliṅgam. One billion mantras are trying to describe this face of Śiva. Direction is South.
Smoke (Dhumra varṇa) in color. It represents our balanced aspect of Ahaṃkāra Tattva (our ego
nature). Mixture of Prāmaṇa and Prameya. It represents the forces of Rudra.

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Tatpuruṣa
Represents Ānānda Śaktī. East direction. Kāmagiri Pīṭham. Manorūpa. It represents structure of
soul. The individual merges with infinite. Two billion mantras are trying to describe this face of
Śiva. Yellow in color. Svambhuva liṅga. If you have severe difficulty in focusing on any subject,
you should meditate this face of Śiva. Śiva in this face meditates. Direction is East.
Īśāna
Represents the Citta Śaktī of Śiva. Sāmbā Pīṭham. Represents Space. Starts from your Mūlādhāra
to Anahata to Ajna to Sahasrara leading to Brahma Randra in your body. One billion mantras are
trying to describe this face of Śiva. Ākāśa (Ether) Tattva. The individual is from very less to not
at all receptive to social structures. Possesses excellent qualities of controlling mortal and divine
beings with ease. The individual has reduced his ego to ashes signifying absolute love for the
universe and has been freed from cosmic law. Direction is Upward or Skyward.
Summary

Ishana Tatpurusha Aghora Vamadeva Satyojata

Five activities Revelation Concealment Destruction Preservation Creation

Direction looking Upwards East South North West

Colour Crystal Gold Blue Red White

Panchabhutas Ether Air Fire Water Earth

Shiva's form Sadasiva Maheshvara Rudra Vishnu Brahma

Meditation focal Genital

Head Mouth Heart Feet
point organs

Philosophy Siddhanta Gāruda Bhairava Vāma Bhuta

Teachings Mantramarga Atimarga Adhyatmika Vaidika Temporal

Meditation: Depending on your Rāśi, Lagna, Daśā, Antardaśā, Janma Nakṣatra, whichever is
strong you should meditate that face of Śiva.

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For example, Aghora represents South. If your resultant is south (i.e., rāśi, lagna occupies south
direction of Sun in your horoscope), you can mediate Southern face of Śiva i.e., Aghora.
Depending on the problematic area of life, Kendra, Koṇa, Duṣṭhāna, Trikoṇa, Āpoklima - you
should meditate that face of Śiva to get some relief in that problematic area.
For example, with somebody having Taurus (Vṛṣabha) rāśi as lagna, having Venus is in 11th
bhāva i.e., Pisces (Mīna). Running Daśā is Guru Daśā and let’s say his Antardaśā is Saturn.
Now, let’s say in this example, Venus is strong in Pisces, but he is running Guru Daśā, If Guru is
present in Dhanus, then we consider him as weak because he is occupying 8th House. Since
Guru is present in north east corner of the horoscope he should start with Northern face of Śiva
mantra. After that Eastern face of Śiva, so on
Five mantras

Sadasiva from West Bengal. 11th c. CE// The 10th century five headed Shiva, Sadashiva,
Cambodia. -Cambodia Metmuseum

Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namaḥ
śivāya).
Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans.[313] As forms of God,
each of these have their own names and distinct iconography:[314]
 Sadyojāta
 Vāmadeva

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 Aghora
 Tatpuruṣa
 Īsāna
These are represented as the five faces of Shiva and are associated in various texts with the five
elements, the five senses, the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action. Doctrinal
differences and, possibly, errors in transmission, have resulted in some differences between texts
in details of how these five forms are linked with various attributes. The overall meaning of these
associations is summarized by Stella Kramrisch:
Through these transcendent categories, Śiva, the ultimate reality, becomes the efficient and
material cause of all that exists.
According to the Pañcabrahma Upanishad:
One should know all things of the phenomenal world as of a fivefold character, for the
reason that the eternal verity of Śiva is of the character of the fivefold Brahman.
(Pañcabrahma Upanishad 31)
I am only one as the Veda says “Ekameva advitiiyam Brahma”. I appeared as three by
associating Myself with the imaginable energetic forms for the sake of creation, ruling and final
destruction. I am unimaginable to anybody as the Veda says “Yasyaamatam tasyamatam”. None
could see Me becoming three energetic forms since it happened before the creation and no soul
existed then. Even the sage Atri got confusion about this since the three different forms can’t be
one. To remove his confusion, I have taken this energetic form, which is one, but, with three
heads indicating that the three forms are externally different but internally one and the same
unimaginable God doing all the three works associated with three qualities. This form also is not
the unimaginable God, but explains the fundamental concept that one is three externally but
remains internally as one only. This form gives the concept of internal oneness because this is
one form only and simultaneously shows three external forms by three heads to do three different
works. When all these forms are thrown away, I am called as Avadhuta or the unimaginable
God. Avadhuta represents the naked state, which is without dress. This means that the external
energetic form is My external dress and I can be seen only when I am in some external form.
Anybody dressed can be seen by anybody. Nobody sees a naked person since the eyes are closed
at once. This means that none can see the unimaginable God, who is beyond even imagination.
This is the concept and the simile of naked person and dressed person is given to clarify the
concept. Ignorant people leave the concept and catch the simile! Without understanding the
concept, the ignorant person removes the dress and becomes naked calling himself as
Avadhuta! Can you imagine the difficulty in changing this ignorant world?

The unimaginable God is represented by the holy sounding one letter called as ‘Aum’. The
alphabets in this single sounding letter Aum represent the three external forms and the single
letter sounding represents the one unimaginable God existing in three forms. This letter Aum is
associated in the beginning with the name of every divine incarnation as mantra. This indicates
that the unimaginable God existing in the three forms called as Dattatreya enters every divine
incarnation, whether it is energetic form or human form. It is said that remembering Aum alone
gives unhappiness. It only means that trying to meditate or serve the unimaginable God is
impossible leading to unhappiness (Avyaktaahi gatirduhkham— Gita).

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The sage Atri started uttering Aum only and was subjected to serious heat in his body
representing unhappiness. Hence, I appeared in three different forms together. Atri was not
convinced because the Veda says that I am one only. Hence, I appeared in one form only by
uniting all the three forms. The new form is one only indicating the one unimaginable God. With
the help of external forms only, I had to preach the internal concept clearly to him since I can’t
be even imagined by him, not to speak of seeing Me! Each face with two hands resulting in three
faces with six hands indicates that I am in each of the three forms. This new energetic form with
three faces is called as ‘Atrivarada’ (blessed the sage Atri) or ‘Yogi Raja’ (the best form of the
union of three forms) and is referred as Eshwara (Lord). Sages like the unimaginable God and
worship this new energetic form called as Eshwara. Different people also worship these three
forms separately. A devoted soul reaching the climax of Nivrutti devotion (Nivrutti means
liberation from the aspiration of fruit in return) becomes My master, which is worshipped by a
sub-sect called as Shakteyaas. Yadu prayed Me to be born in his dynasty called Yadavas. I was
born as Krishna in that dynasty and showed this energetic form of Eshwara with several faces of
various incarnations called as Vishwarupa (Vishwa means several or various). The middle three
faces were those of the fundamental three divine forms (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) representing
the new energetic form called as Datta or Eshwara. This form (Datta) is the source of all
miraculous powers, which are just present in My hand. I give these powers to the preachers
propagating My spiritual knowledge in this world. These are useful when the preachers face
atheists. If any preacher misuses these powers with ego and craze for fame, his fall is certain.

Though My new energetic form is born in presence of sage Atri, I told that I am to be adopted as
his son since I have no birth. Here I represent the unimaginable God, who has no birth being
unimaginable. I am called as Datta since I am adopted by sage Atri. Datta means ‘given’. By this
new energetic form I (the unimaginable God) am given to the upper world as imaginable God or
energetic incarnation. When I am incarnated in human form, I (the unimaginable God) am given
to the humanity of this earth. Hence, every energetic incarnation (for the upper world) and every
human incarnation (for this world of humanity) is Datta only. Since Anasuya, the wife of sage
Atri, was fond of Me to have Me as her son, I was born to her from her womb in 9 days treating
the days as months. This human sage form of Datta is called as ‘Anasuya-Atri-Nandana’. This
form gives the boons to devoted souls and all the miraculous Vedic hymns (mantras) are just in
My hand of this form. Anybody in the upper world shall worship this energetic form of Datta
(called as Father of heaven) only representing the unimaginable God, who can never be
worshipped or served for the satisfaction of devoted souls in the upper world. Similarly, the
human form of Datta alone can be worshipped by the devotees in this world since the
unimaginable God is beyond imagination and the energetic incarnation also is almost invisible to
any human being, being irrelevant to this world.

True, they refer to the same Person, but there are subtle differences. To start with, I don't think
Sakshat Shiva would mean anything other than the the phrase "verily Shiva" or "Shiva Himself".
Now coming to the actual names... Shiva means auspicious, while Sadashiva means ever
auspicious. The form of Shiva is usually depicted with one face and two or four arms, white
complexioned. As his wife, Devi is in the form of Parvati. He lives on Kailasa.
The Sadashiva murti has five faces, representing the five senses and five sense organs, and
having ten arms and having a white complexion. He is considered to be the supreme lord, ruler
and source and destination of the entire creation. He is the primordial make principle.As his wife,
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Devi is the primordial female principle, Adishakti. She is Paramba, the supreme mother.
Sadashiva, as the supreme being, or Atman, oversees creation, preservation and dissolution. He
is beyond the the Gunas and at the same time, possessor of all three gunas. Similarly the case
with Devi Adishakti. However, in most cases, Shiva and Sadashiva are used interchangeably,
just as Parvati is considered to be the full embodiment of the primordial Mother Goddess,
Adishakti.
Rudra of the puranas, on the other hand, is depicted as having a red complexion, fierce, anger
personified, and the destructive swaroopa of Sadashiva. It is as Rudra that Sadashiva performs
the act of dissolution of the universe. While Sadashiva is Adideva, without a beginning or
source, and considered Unborn, Rudra manifests himself from the forehead of Brahma.

There are many names associated with Lord Shiva as per attributes,functions and major
mythology for the particular figure which is praised.However the essence of divinity and
personality do not change.

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Sadashiva: Eternal Source of Joy: The Sanskrit prefix,Sada translates as "always" and "forever."
As such, Sadashiva is perceived as eternally pure and auspicious,Although challenges may arise
on the external level, Sadashiva exists within one's core and even at the suffering one can find
happiness from deep within.

Rudra: One who is fierce, he is the personification of terror among demons, as per Rig Veda
Rudra is the eliminator of evil and usherer of peace.

Shiva: The Auspicious one, the state of pure existence that is not possible to describe through
words.he is embodiment of grace.

Sakshat Shiva: As per Shiva Sahasra nama there is one particular sloka:

Iswarya yadrusam thasya jagadyoner mahatmana,

Thadayam drushtavaan sakshath puthrartho Harir achyutha.

This Krishna who is Hari, who did penance for getting a son,*
Has seen the greatness of Maheswara who is the origin of the world.
Lord Krishna did penance to get a son out of Jhambhavati, the daughter of Jhambhavan.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-shiv-rudra-sadashiv-and-sakshat-shiva

The main sanctuary

Wat Phou

10th Century Khmer temple in the South of Laos

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On the West bank of the Mekong river South of Pakse are the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple
named Wat Phou. The temple and associated settlements are inscribed on the UNESCO World
Heritage List. It is located on the West bank of the Mekong river, some 45 kilometers South
of Pakse

Wat Phou or Vat Phu, which translates to “mountain temple” was built during the late 10th to
early 11th century, which makes it older than Angkor’s best known monument, the Angkor Wat,
which was built during the first half of the 12th century. Over the following centuries structures
were added to the temple until the 14th century when the Angkor empire went into decline.

The Wat Phou was a temple dedicated to Shiva, one of the Gods of the Hindu Trimurti. In the
13th century it was converted into a Buddhist monastery. Even today the temple is still a place of
worship for local Buddhists.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The well preserved temple complex is oriented towards the East. South of the main sanctuary is
the ancient road to Angkor, the capital of the Khmer empire. Apart from the Wat Phou itself, the
UNESCO site consists of the Phu Kao mountain and the remains of two ancient cities named
Lingapura and Shrestrapura, of which very little remains. The oldest is the ancient 5 th century
(pre Khmer) city of Shrestrapura, which was built on the banks of the Mekong river, about 6
kilometers from the temple. In the 12th century the Khmer built Lingapura, meaning “The city of
lingas”, an ancient city South of the temple.

Lingaparvata, “Linga Mountain”

The Wat Phou is located at the base of Phu Kao mountain, overlooking the plains towards the
Mekong river. In ancient Khmer times the mountain was named Lingaparvata, which translates
to “Linga Mountain”, because of the pillar like stone formation on top that resembles a linga, the
representation of the Hindu God Shiva. Because of the natural linga on top of Phu Kao mountain
the Khmer considered the mountain as well as the water from the spring originating on it as
sacred.

Structures of the temple complex

The various structures of the Wat Phou are built on seven terraces, aligned on an axis from the
Mekong river bank towards the mountain. Starting at the river bank the visitor finds two
large barays, a long processional walkway, two palaces and finally the main sanctuary.

The Khmer built several large barays, some of which are now dry. The barays are huge water
reservoirs that symbolize the oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the center of Hindu mythology.

A long processional walkway with boundary markers on either side leads from the barays
towards the main sanctuary. Halfway the walkway are the remains of two palaces, the Ho Thao
South of the processional walkway and the Ho Nang to the North. Although called palaces, their
function is not known with certainty. It is believed that the 11th century buildings were used
during Hindu ceremonies. The lintels and pediments on the two large buildings are adorned with
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intricate carvings of Gods like Shiva and his consort Uma on Nandi, the sacred bull. Near the
South palace is a shrine dedicated to the sacred bull Nandi, the mount of Shiva.

Between the palaces and the main sanctuary are the remains of several structures, including six
small brick towers that used to contain a linga on the 4th terrace and a Dvarapala guardian on the
second terrace.

Buddha image in the main sanctuary RIGHT Hindu depections carved in a rock

The main sanctuary

The highest terrace measuring 60 by 60 meters contains the main sanctuary dedicated to Shiva.
The terrace lies about 70 meters higher than the barays, offering great views over the plains, the
walkway and the large barays.

The main sanctuary enshrined the linga, the representation of Shiva. The water stream from the
mountain spring was channeled towards the linga in the main sanctuary, its holy water constantly
bathing the linga. Today the sanctuary contains a much more recent large seated Buddha with
three smaller Buddha images in front of it, all dressed in saffron robes.

Much like the Angkor temples of the same period, the building is adorned with sculptings
of Devatas, Apsaras, Dvarapala guardians and Kalas, a monster usually depicted without lower

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jaw. Its lintels and pediments are adorned with various sculptings including Vishnu on Garuda,
Krishna killing Kansa, Indra riding the three headed elephant Airavata, Krishna defeating the
Naga Kaliya and stories from the Ramayana, like the abduction of Sita.

Near the main sanctuary are a small library, two large boulders carved to resemble an elephant
and a crocodile and a rock with a carving of the Hindu Trimurti of the three Gods Brahma,
Vishnu and Shiva.

Wat Phou festival

Every year the temple is the scene of the Wat Phou festival, locally called Boun Wat Phou
Champasak. The festival is held at Makha Bucha day, during the full moon of the 3rd lunar
month. During the 3 day festival thousands of Laos people flock to the grounds of the Wat Phou
temple to pay respect to the Buddha and bring offerings. The grounds are filled with food and
drink stalls, there are traditional Laos dance and musical performances, games and other
entertainment.

The mountain has a natural linga on its peak.

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The site

Lay out of Wat Phou

Like most Khmer temples, Wat Phou orientates towards the east. The axis
actually faces eight degrees south of due east, determined by adjusting to the
the positions of the mountain and the river. Including the barays, it stretches
1.4 kilometers (0.87 mi) east from the source of the spring at the base of a cliff
100 meters (330 ft) up the hill. The city lays 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) east of the
temple, on the west bank of the Mekong, with other temples and the city of
Angkor to the south.[7]

Approached from the city (of which little remains), the first part of the temple
consists of a number of barays. Only one contains water, the 600 by 200
meters (1,968.5 ft × 656.2 ft) middle baray laying directly along the axis of the
temples. Reservoirs similar in construction and layout sit north and south of
that one, along with another pair on each side of the causeway between the
middle baray and the palaces.

The two palaces stand on a terrace on either side of the axis, known as the
"north and south" palaces or the "men's and women's" palaces. The reason they
have been designated men's and women's or palaces remains unknown as they
had been neither palaces nor used designated by gender. Each palace
consisted of a rectangular courtyard with a corridor and entrance on the sides
and false doors at the east and west ends. The courtyards of both buildings
have laterite walls; the walls of the northern palace's corridor are also laterite,
while those of the southern palace are sandstone. The northern building is in
better condition than the southern building. The palaces have been noted
primarily for their pediments and lintels, crafted in the early Angkor
Wat style.[8]

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 CHAPTER iX
A Shivling Established by Lord Kartikeya Himself tht
emerges and submerges each day

Introduction: According to the mythology, this Shiva Ling was installed by Lord
Kartikeya himself. One story says that, Lord Kartikeya (Shiva's Son) feels guilty after
killing the demon Tarakasura. So, Lord Vishnu consoled him saying that it was not
wrong to kill a demon who lived by troubling the common people. However, Lord
Kartikeya wanted to absolve his sin of killing a great devotee of Shiva. Hence, Lord
Vishnu adviced him to install Shiva Lingas and pray for the forgiveness.

Mention in Skanda Purana

You who has form and who is formless,
you who are both being and non-being,
who are the fragrance and the blossom,
who are the jewel and its lustre,
who are the seed of life and life itself,
who are the means and the existence itself,
who are the supreme guru, come
and bestow your grace, O Guha [Murugan]
—Kantaranuputi 51, Arunagirinathar
(Translator: Kamil Zvelebil)

What's the difference between emerge and submerge?

Emerge

Definition:
 (v. i.) To rise out of a fluid; to come forth from that in which anything has been
plunged, enveloped, or concealed; to issue and appear; as, to emerge from the
water or the ocean; the sun emerges from behind the moon in an eclipse; to
emerge from poverty or obscurity.

Submerge

Definition:
 (v. t.) To put under water; to plunge.
 (v. t.) To cover or overflow with water; to inundate; to flood; to drown.
 (v. i.) To plunge into water or other fluid; to be buried or covered, as by a fluid;
to be merged; hence, to be completely included.

New Delhi: There are many ancient and miraculous temples in India, which are
known worldwide for their specialties. You must have heard of many miracles

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associated with Shiva. There is also a temple associated with Shiva's miracle in
Gujarat. Let us tell you about it.
This unique temple of Shiva is on the Cambay coast of Gujarat. This miraculous
temple sinks into the sea twice a day (morning and evening) and then reappears. This
temple is known as the Pillarshwar Mahadev Temple. Learn here about this unique
temple of Lord Shiva
Disappears in the sea twice a day The temple disappears automatically in
the waves of the sea and comes out again after some time. This happens only twice a
day.
The sea does the consecration of the Shivalinga
This temple is on the edge of the sea, twice the tide comes. For this reason, the sea
water comes to the temple and anointed the Shivling twice and returns. During this
time no one is allowed to go there.
The temple is 150 years old and the pillar of the temple is about 150 years old and the
Shivling installed in the temple is 4 feet high.This unique temple is said to have been
built by Kartikeya, son of Shiva himself. Kartikeya built this temple to apologize for his
mistake when a great devotee of Shiva is killed by him.

Skanda Purana, one of 18 Hindu puranas, has references to this temple. After
slaying Tarkasur, Tarakasur asked the Gods that how will be absolve himself of
the sin of killing a devotee of Lord Shiv. Lord Vishnu consoled him-‘Killing a
wicked person, who nourishes himself on the blood of innocent people, is not a
sinful deed. But, still, if you feel guilty, the best way to atone for your sin is
establish Shiva lingas and worship them with deep devotion.’
Kartikeya installed these Shivalingas at three different places with proper rituals
in the presence of Maa Parvati and all other Gods. Stambeshwar is one of the three
shrines where these Shiv lings were established.

Temples of Sri Murugan are however as below. They contain Idols to worship
Murugan Swami.

Kartikeya-Subrahmaniya temples are popular in hilly regions such as the Western Ghats.
Above: the 12th-century Maruthamalai Temple in Coimbatore./Marudhamalai
temple Reflections

Murugan Temple of North America/

Within India-South India
Tamil Nadu
 Palani Murugan Temple
 Swamimalai Murugan Temple
 Thiruchendur Murugan Temple

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 Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple
 Thiruthani Murugan Temple
 Pazhamudircholai Murugan Temple
The above six temples are dedicated to Kartikeya as their primary deity. These six
temples in Tamil Nadu, together are referred to as Aru Padaiveedu (Tamil: Āṟupaṭai
vīṭu), that are mentioned in Thirumurugatrupadai, written by Nakkeerar and in
Thirupugal, written by Arunagirinathar.
Kerala
There are many temples dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala such as:
 Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod[
 Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur
 Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana
 Haripad Sree Subrahmanya Swamy temple
 Kilimarathukavu Subrahmanya Temple

Andhra Pradesh
Anantapur District Pampanuru Subramanyam Swamy temple Kothur, Kurnool
District
 Skandagiri, Secunderabad
 Biccavolu
 Mopidevi[
 Mallam
Karnataka
 Kukke Subramanya Temple Kartikeya is worshipped as Subrahmanya where he is
regarded as Lord of the serpents.
 Ghati Subramanya
North India
Delhi
 Malai Mandir, a prominent temple complex[99]
Haryana
 Pehowa temple in Haryana
Punjab
 Achaleshwar Temple in Gurdaspur.
Chandigarh
 Sri Karthikeya Swami Temple
Himachal Pradesh
 Kartik Swami Temple in Manali
 Kartik Swami Temple in Chamba
Uttrakhand
 Karthik Swami temple above Rudraprayag
Madhya pradesh
 Kartikeya Mandir, Gwalior. It opens for a single day once in a year.
Gujarat
 Sri Balamurugan Devasthanam in Ahmedabad

187
Maharashtra
 Kartik Swami Thirumal Murugan Temple
 Thiruchembur Murugan Temple, Chembur, Mumbai
West Bengal
 Sri Ganesh & Murugan Temples in Kolkatta
Outside India
Sri Lanka
 Kataragama (Kadirgamam) in the south
 Temple in Tirukovil in the east
 Shrine in Embekke in Kandy
 Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna.
Malaysia

 Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur which has a 42.7-m-high statue of Murugan at the
entrance, the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world.
 Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang
 Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Penang
 Sri Marathandavar Bala Dhandayuthapani Alayam
 Sri Kandaswamy Kovil, Brickfields
 Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca.
 Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh
Indonesia
 Langkat, Indonesia which has 16 meter high and standing outside of its temple
named as Shri Raja Rajeshwari Amman Kovil Temple. It has second largest
Murugan statue in the world.
Singapore
 Sri Thendayuthapani Temple in Singapore is a major Hindu temple.
 Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnana Muneeswaran Temple, 50 Rivervale Cres Sengkang,
Singapore
 Sri Holy Tree Balasubramaniam Temple
 Sri Murugan Hill Temple, 931 Upper Bukit Timah Rd,
USA
 Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, Northern California
 Murugan Temple of North America in Maryland, Washington DC.
 Carolina Murugan Temple (planned) in Chatham County, North Carolina. To
include “the tallest statue of Lord Murugan in the world.”
Canada
 Kanthasamy Temple in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 Murugan temple in Val-Morin, a suburb of the city of Montreal.
United Kingdom
 Highgate Hill Murugan temple in London
 Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park, London
 Shri Siva Murugan Temple in Leicester is a popular temple
 Skanda Vale in Carmarthenshire, Wales is an ashram and place of pilgrimage [121]

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Australia
 Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill)
 Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup
 Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne
New Zealand
 Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland
 Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington[
Switzerland
 Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil is the
largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.
South Africa
 Clairwood Shree Siva Soobramoniar Temple
Fiji
 Sri Siva Subramaniya temple

The Vanishing Spectacle: Stambheshwar Mahadev Temple in Gujarat By

Akshatha Vinayak

Sometimes it is not just devotion which takes us to a temple. Not that we are not
religious but some unique events pull us towards it. Similarly, here is one temple of
Shiva which goes through an interesting spectacle on a daily basis. Stambeshwara
Mahadev Temple in Gujarat is one of the incredible places to visit in the state. It is
unique because it submerges everyday and again reappears. Yes, Stambheshwar
Mahadev Temple is famously known as the Disappearing Shiva Temple in India.
Stambheshwar Mahadev Photo Courtesy: Nizil Shah One should visit this place to see
this extravaganza of nature. Stambheshwar Mahavdev is an ancient temple situated in
the town of Kavi Kamboi. The shrine is located between the shores of the Arabian Sea
and the Bay of Cambay in Gujarat. Everyday, this Shiva Temple gets submerged in
water during high tide hours and again reappears when the tide level comes down.
Again it will be open for the public. People from across the country come here to watch
this amazing sight. Legend of Stambheshwar Mahadev Submerged in Water How To
Reach Kavi Kamboi Kavi Kamboi is around 75km from Vadodara in Gujarat. Kavi
Kamboi is well-connected by road from places like Vadodara, Bharuch and Bhavnagar.
It is better to take private cabs or vehicles to travel from Vadodara to Stambeshwar
Mahadev. By Train: Vadodara Railway Station is the nearest railway station to Kavi
Kamboi

Shiva's miraculous temple, disappears into the sea after seeing it twice a day,
know what is the secret

Stambheshwar mahadev temple: This unique temple of Lord Shiva is in Gujarat which
is on the central Cambay coast of Sagar. The special thing about this temple is that it
comes back by drowning in the sea twice a day.

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stambheshwar mahadev temple
Kartikeya (Sanskrit: कामतणकेय, IAST: Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Kumara,
Murugan and Subrahmanya, is the Hindu god of war. He is the son
of Parvati and Shiva, brother of Ganesha, and a god whose life story has many
versions in Hinduism.[8] An important deity around South Asia since ancient times,
Kartikeya is particularly popular and predominantly worshipped in South India, Sri
Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia as Murugan.
Kartikeya is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic era. Archaeological evidence from
1st-century CE and earlier,where he is found with Hindu god Agni (fire), suggest that
he was a significant deity in early Hinduism. He is found in many medieval temples all
over India, such as at the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves.
The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly; he is typically represented as an
ever-youthful man, riding or near a peacock, dressed with weapons sometimes near a
rooster. Most icons show him with one head, but some show him with six heads
reflecting the legend surrounding his birth. He grows up quickly into a philosopher-
warrior, destroys evil in the form of demon Taraka, teaches the pursuit of ethical life
and the theology of Shaiva SiddhantaHe has inspired many poet-saints, such
as Arunagirinathar.
Kartikeya is found as a primary deity in temples wherever communities of the Tamil
people live worldwide, particularly in Tamil Nadu state of India, Sri
Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Réunion. Three of
the six richest and busiest temples in Tamil Nadu are dedicated to
him.[7] The Kataragama temple dedicated to him in Sri Lanka attracts

190
Tamils, Sinhalese people and the Vedda people. He is also found in other parts of
India, sometimes as Skanda, but in a secondary role along with Ganesha, Parvati and
Shiva.

Kartikeya is known by numerous names in ancient and medieval texts of the Indian
culture. Most common among these are Murugan, Kumara, Skanda, and
Subrahmanya. Others include Aaiyyan, Cheyyon, Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Swaminatha ("ruler
of the gods", from -natha king), śaravaṇabhava ("born amongst the reeds"), Arumugam
or ṣaṇmukha ("six-faced"), guha (cave-teacher), Kadhirvelan, Kandhan, Vishakha and
Mahasena. In ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images,
his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya or Brahmanyadeva. On some ancient Indo-
Scythian coins, his names appear in Greek script as Skanda, Kumara and
Vishaka.[15] In ancient statues, he appears as Mahasena, Skanda and Vishakha.
Skanda is derived from skanḍr-, which means "leaper or attacker".[17] In Kalidasa’s epic
poem Kumarasambhava (“The Birth of the War God”; 5th century CE), as in most
versions of the story, the gods wished for Skanda to be born in order to destroy the
demon Taraka, who had been granted a boon that he could be killed only by a son of
Shiva. They sent Parvati to induce Shiva to marry her. Shiva, however, was lost in
meditation and was not attracted to Parvati until he was struck by an arrow from the
bow of Kama, the god of love, whom he immediately burned to ashes. After many years
of abstinence, Shiva’s seed was so strong that the gods, fearing the result, sent Agni,
the god of fire, to interrupt Shiva’s amorous play with Parvati. Agni received the seed
and dropped it into the Ganges, where Skanda was born. Kartikeya means "of the
Krittikas. This epithet is also linked to his birth. After he appears on the banks of the
River Ganges, he is seen by the six of the seven brightest stars cluster in the night sky
called Krittikas in Hindu texts (called Pleiades in Greek texts). These six mothers all
want to take care of him and nurse baby Kartikeya. Kartikeya ends the argument by
growing five more heads to have a total of six heads so he can look at all six mothers,
and let them each nurse oneThe six Krittikas are Śiva, Sambhūti, Prīti, Sannati,
Anasūya and Kṣamā.

The Epic era literature of ancient India recite numerous legends of Kartikeya, often
with his other names such as Skanda. For example, the Vana Parva of
the Mahabharata dedicates chapters 223 to 232 to the legends of Skanda, but depicts
him as the son of Agni and Svaha.[25] Similarly, Valmiki's Ramayana dedicates
chapters 36 and 37 to Skanda, but describes him as the child of god Agni and goddess
Ganges.

The legends of Kartikeya vary significantly, sometimes within the same text. For
example, while the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata describes Skanda as the son of
Agni, the Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the same text presents Skanda's
legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.

In Vana Parva, the circumstances behind Kartikeya's birth legend do not involve Shiva
and Parvati.[65] Rather it is deity Agni who goes to a hermitage of seven
married Rishis (sages) and meets their seven wives. He is sexually attracted to all
seven, but none reciprocate. Svaha is present there and she is attracted to Agni, but
Agni is not. According to the legend, Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by
one, and sleeps with Agni.[65] She does not take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife,
because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of

191
Agni into the reeds of River Ganges, where it develops and then is born as six headed
Skanda.

A totally different legend in the later books of the Mahabharata make Shiva and
Parvati as the parents. They were making love, but they are disturbed, and Shiva
inadvertently spills his semen on the ground.[6] Shiva's semen incubates in River
Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on
the banks of Ganges.

Granite Karttikeya seated on a peacock from 12th-century Andhra Pradesh.

Some legend state that he was the elder son of Shiva, others make him the younger
brother of Ganesha. This is implied by another legend connected to his birth. Devas
have been beaten up by Asuras led by Taraka, because Taraka had a boon from
ascetic celibate yogi Shiva that only Shiva's son can kill him. Devas learn about this
boon, and plan how to get Shiva into a relationship. So they bring Parvati into the
picture, have her seduce yogi Shiva, and wed Parvati so that Skanda can be born to
kill Taraka.

According to Raman Varadara, Murugan or Kartikeya was originally a Tamil deity, who
was adopted by north Indians. He was the god of war in the Dravidian legends, and
became so elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent too. In contrast, G. S. Ghurye states
that according to the archeological and epigraphical evidence, the contemporary
Murugan, Subrahmanya and Kartikeya is a composite of two influences, one from
south and one from north in the form of Skanda and Mahasena. He as the warrior-
philosopher god was the patron deity for many ancient northern and western Hindu
kingdoms, and of the Gupta Empire, according to Ghurye. After the 7th-century,
Skanda's importance diminished while his brother Ganesha's importance rose in the
west and north, while in the south the legends of Murugan continued to grow.
According to Norman Cutler, Kartikeya-Murugan-Skanda of South and North India
coalesced over time, but some aspects of the South Indian iconography and mythology
for Murugan have remained unique to Tamil Nadu.

Kartikeya's legends vary by region. For example, in the northern and western Indian
traditions Kartikeya or Skanda is the perpetual celibate bachelor who never marries,
but in the Tamil legends he has two consorts, Valli and Devasena. Many of the major
events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his

192
birth are popular in Tamil Nadu. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a
child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. Kartikeya's
youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like
the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic,
the Kumārasambhava.

Guha (Kartikeya)
There is extensive Hindu symbolism and theology associated with Kartikeya.
Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances,
he is born through a surrogate after being left near a river. He is raised not by his
natural mother but a host of mothers, but later he is a part of his biological family.
Kartikeya symbolizes a union of polarities. He is handsome warrior and described as a
celibate yogi. He uses his creative martial abilities to lead an army against Taraka and
other demons, and described as a philosopher-warrior. He is a uniter, championing
the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism. His theology is most developed in
the Tamil texts,[11] and in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition. He is described
as dheivam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman), as kadavul (divinity in nature,
in everything), as Devan (masculine deity), and as iraivativam (concrete manifestation
of the sacred, saguna Brahman).
According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan (also referred to as Murugan, Cheyyon), he
embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism". He
is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron
deity of the Tamil language.

Ancient
There are ancient references which can be interpreted to be Kartikeya in the Vedic
texts, in the works of Pāṇini (~500 BCE), in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali and in
Kautilya's Arthashastra. For example, the term Kumara appears in hymn 5,2 of the Rig
Veda. The Kumara of verse 5.2.1 can be interpreted as Skanda, or just any "boy".
However, the rest of the verses depict the "boy" as bright-colored, hurling weapons and
other motifs that later have been associated with Skanda. The difficulty with
interpreting these to be Skanda is that Indra, Agni and Rudra are also depicted in
similar terms and as warriors.[23]

193
Coins of the Yaudheyas feature Kartikeya, and these are dated to 1st century
CE Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. RIGHT Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee,
2nd century CE.

The Skanda-like motifs found in Rig Veda are found in other Vedic texts, such as
section 6.1-3 of the Shatapatha Brahmana. In these, the mythology is very different
for Kumara, as Agni is described to be the Kumara whose mother is Ushas (goddess
Dawn) and whose father is Purusha. The section 10.1 of the Taittiriya
Aranyaka mentions Sanmukha (six faced one), while the Baudhayana
Dharmasutra mentions a householder's rite of passage that involves prayers to Skanda
with his brother Ganapati (Ganesha) together. The chapter 7 of the Chandogya
Upanishad (~800–600 BCE) equates Sanat-Kumara (eternal son) and Skanda, as he
teaches sage Narada to discover his own Atman (soul, self) as a means to the ultimate
knowledge, true peace and liberation.

According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that Kartikeya mythology had
become widespread sometime around 200 BCE or after in north India.[29] The first clear
evidence of Kartikeya's importance emerges in the Hindu Epics such as
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where his story is recited. In addition to textual
evidence, his importance is affirmed by the archeological, the epigraphical and the
numismatic evidence of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence
linked to the Yaudheyas, a confederation of warriors in north India who are mentioned
by ancient Pāṇini. They ruled an area consisting of modern era Haryana, Punjab,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (extending into Garhwal region, Uttarakhand). They
struck coins bearing the image of Skanda, and these coins are dated to be from
before Kushan Empire era started. During the Kushan dynasty era, that included
much of northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted.
He is also found on ancient Indo-Scythian coins, where his various names are minted
in Greek script.

Kartikeya was revered in major cultural centers of ancient India. For example, he was
a major god for the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, as well as for the Gupta
Empire.[33] In south India, eight of the early Pallava dynasty rulers (300-550 CE) were
named after Skanda or Kumara, suggesting the significance of Kartikeya by
then. Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumārasambhava features Kartikeya.

In Tamil literature
The Tolkāppiyam, one of the most ancient texts of the Tamil literature,
mentions cēyōṉ "the red one", who is identified with Murugan, whose name is
literally Murukaṉ "the youth"; the other gods referred to in
the Tolkāppiyam are Māyōṉ "the dark one" (identified with Vishnu), Vēntaṉ "the
sovereign" (identified with Indra) and Korravai "the victorious" (identified with Kali)
and Varunan "the sea god" Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third
century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the
blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the
Tamils."[36] Korravai is often identified as the mother of Murugan.
In the Tirumurukāṟtruuppaṭai, he is called Muruku and described as a god of beauty
and youth, with phrases such as "his body glows like the sun rising from the emerald
sea". It describes him with six faces each with a function, twelve arms, his victory over
evil, and the temples dedicated to him in the hilly regions.

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Puranas
Kartikeya is mentioned in Shaiva Puranas. Of these, the Skanda Purana is the
largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over
81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son
of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan. While the text is
named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text
than in other Shiva-related Puranas. The text has been an important historical record
and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda. The earliest text
titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE, but the Skanda
Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions

Buddhism
Early texts
The earliest mention of this deity in Buddhist texts may be found in the Janavasabha
Sutta of the Pali Canon, where he is referred to as Sanankumāra. Here he is
introduced as a deva of the rank of Mahābrahmā and a disciple of the Buddha.
The Chinese translation of the Dīrgha Āgama features the same deity with the title
Brahmā[sanan]kumāra (梵童子). He is described as a manifestation of
Mahābrahmārāja. He has five hair coils (頭五角髻), a handsome face (顏貌端正) and
emanates purple-golden light (紫金色) that surpasses the light of the other devas.

Skanda Bodhisattva is the Dharma protector in Mahayana Buddhism.[46] Above: Skanda's

statue in Anhui province, China.
Theravada
According to Richard Gombrich, Skanda has been an important deity in Theravada
Buddhism pantheon, in countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand. The Nikaya
Samgraha describes Skanda Kumara as a guardian deity of the land, along with
Upulvan (Vishnu), Saman and Vibhisana. Similarly, the 16th-century Siamese
text Jinakalamali mentions him as a guardian god. There are Buddhist Sinhala
shrines such as at Kataragama dedicated to Skanda which have historically been
officiated by Hindu priests, which attracted Buddhist devotees and enjoyed royal
support.[47] Since the 1950s, states Brian Morris, the Kataragama shrine of Skanda
has attracted over half a million devotional pilgrims every year, most being Buddhists.

195
Mahayana
The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra mentions Kumāra as one of the eighty gods worshiped by
the common people.
The Ārya Kaṇikrodhavajrakumārabodhisattava Sādhanāvidhi Sūtra (T 1796) features
a section for the recitation of a mantra dedicated to the deity, where he is also paired
with Iśvara. Yi Xing's Commentary of the Mahāvairocana Tantra clarifies that Kumāra
is the son of Iśvara.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the god Kataragama deviyo is a popular object of devotion among both
Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists. While many regard him as a bodhisattva, he
is also associated with sensuality and retribution. Anthropologist Gananath
Obeyesekere has suggested that the deity's popularity among Buddhists is due to his
power to grant emotional gratification, which is in stark contrast to sensual restraint
that characterizes Buddhist practice in Sri Lanka.
China
In Chinese Buddhism, Skanda (also sometimes known as Kumāra has been portrayed
as Weituo, a young heavenly general, the guardian deity of local monasteries and the
protector of Buddhist dhamma. According to Henrik Sørensen, this representation
became common after the Tang period, and became well established in the late Song
period. Skanda was also adopted by Korean Buddhism, and he appears in its
woodblock prints and paintings.
Jainism
According to Asko Parpola, the Jain deity Naigamesa, who is also referred to as Hari-
Naigamesin, is depicted in early Jain texts as riding the peacock and as the leader of
the divine army, both symbols of Kartikeya.

The six-headed Kartikeya riding a peacock, by Raja Ravi Varma.RIGHT Kartikeya(Kâtkâ Dyao)
is worshiped with a bow and an arrow by the Hajongs of Northeastern India.

196
Ancient coins of the Yaudheyas, dated to 1st and 2nd century CE, show Kartikeya as a
warrior with either one or six heads. Kushan coins show him with one head. In
general, single head is far more common regardless of which dynasty minted
them.[55] The earliest statues discovered in Punjab and Kashmir show him with either
one or six heads. The oldest sculptures such as those found in Mathura show him
with one head, while six head iconography is dated to post-Gupta Empire era. All
Kushan Empire era artwork show him with one head, even though there are Kushan
deities such as a goddess who is shown with multiple heads.[19]
The Kushan Empire era statues of Kartikeya, dated to 1st and 2nd-century CE, have
been found at various sites in the Indian subcontinent, particularly
at Mathura and Gandhara. They show him as a warrior dressed in dhoti (sheet
wrapped at waist, covering the legs), armour like a warrior, spear in his right hand
and a bird (rooster) in his left. There is some difference between his ancient
iconography in Mathura and Gandhara artwork. The Gandhara arts show him in more
a Scythian dress, likely reflecting the local dress culture prevalent in those times.
Further, it is in the oldest Gandharan statues where he is shown with a bird that
looks like a chicken or cock. According to Richard Mann, the bird may symbolize
Kartikeya's agility and maneuverability as a warrior god, and may be
a Parthian influence. His iconography symbolizes his attributes as a hunter, warrior
and philosopher.
Kartikeya iconography shows him as a youthful god, dressed as a warrior, carrying the
weapon called Vel. It is a divine spear, often called sakti. He is sometimes depicted
with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow
although more usually he is depicted wielding the sakti or spear. His vahana (vehicle,
mount) is a peacock. He has either one head or six, depending on the region or artist.
Legends abroad:

Skanda statue are found in Southeast Asia. Above: 6th–8th century Skanda from Prey Veng
Province, Cambodia. RIGHT
Shiva, Uma, and Their Son Skanda (Somaskandamurti) | India (Tamil Nadu) | Chola period
(880–1279) | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Epic era literature of ancient India recite numerous legends of Kartikeya, often
with his other names such as Skanda. For example, the Vana Parva of
the Mahabharata dedicates chapters 223 to 232 to the legends of Skanda, but depicts
him as the son of Agni and Svaha.[25] Similarly, Valmiki's Ramayana dedicates

197
chapters 36 and 37 to Skanda, but describes him as the child of god Agni and goddess
Ganges.[64]
The legends of Kartikeya vary significantly, sometimes within the same text. For
example, while the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata describes Skanda as the son of
Agni, the Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the same text presents Skanda's
legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.
In Vana Parva, the circumstances behind Kartikeya's birth legend do not involve Shiva
and Parvati. Rather it is deity Agni who goes to a hermitage of seven
married Rishis (sages) and meets their seven wives. He is sexually attracted to all
seven, but none reciprocate. Svaha is present there and she is attracted to Agni, but
Agni is not. According to the legend, Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by
one, and sleeps with Agni. She does not take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife,
because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of
Agni into the reeds of River Ganges, where it develops and then is born as six headed
Skanda
A totally different legend in the later books of the Mahabharata make Shiva and
Parvati as the parents. They were making love, but they are disturbed, and Shiva
inadvertently spills his semen on the ground.[6] Shiva's semen incubates in River
Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on
the banks of Ganges.

Granite Karttikeya seated on a peacock from 12th-century Andhra Pradesh.

Some legend state that he was the elder son of Shiva, others make him the younger
brother of Ganesha. This is implied by another legend connected to his birth. Devas
have been beaten up by Asuras led by Taraka, because Taraka had a boon from
ascetic celibate yogi Shiva that only Shiva's son can kill him. Devas learn about this
boon, and plan how to get Shiva into a relationship. So they bring Parvati into the
picture, have her seduce yogi Shiva, and wed Parvati so that Skanda can be born to
kill Taraka
According to Raman Varadara, Murugan or Kartikeya was originally a Tamil deity, who
was adopted by north Indians.[67] He was the god of war in the Dravidian legends, and
became so elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent too. In contrast, G. S. Ghurye states
that according to the archeological and epigraphical evidence, the contemporary
Murugan, Subrahmanya and Kartikeya is a composite of two influences, one from
south and one from north in the form of Skanda and Mahasena. He as the warrior-
philosopher god was the patron deity for many ancient northern and western Hindu

198
kingdoms, and of the Gupta Empire, according to Ghurye. After the 7th-century,
Skanda's importance diminished while his brother Ganesha's importance rose in the
west and north, while in the south the legends of Murugan continued to grow.
According to Norman Cutler, Kartikeya-Murugan-Skanda of South and North India
coalesced over time, but some aspects of the South Indian iconography and mythology
for Murugan have remained unique to Tamil Nadu.
Kartikeya's legends vary by region. For example, in the northern and western Indian
traditions Kartikeya or Skanda is the perpetual celibate bachelor who never marries,
but in the Tamil legends he has two consorts, Valli and Devasena. Many of the major
events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his
birth are popular in Tamil Nadu. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a
child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. Kartikeya's
youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like
the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic,
the Kumārasambhava.
Theology: Guha (Kartikeya)
You who has form and who is formless,
you who are both being and non-being,
who are the fragrance and the blossom,
who are the jewel and its lustre,
who are the seed of life and life itself,
who are the means and the existence itself,
who are the supreme guru, come
and bestow your grace, O Guha [Murugan]
—Kantaranuputi 51, Arunagirinathar

There is extensive Hindu symbolism and theology associated with Kartikeya.

Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances,
he is born through a surrogate after being left near a river. He is raised not by his
natural mother but a host of mothers, but later he is a part of his biological family.
Kartikeya symbolizes a union of polarities.He is handsome warrior and described as a
celibate yogi. He uses his creative martial abilities to lead an army against Taraka and
other demons, and described as a philosopher-warrior. He is a uniter, championing
the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism
His theology is most developed in the Tamil texts and in the Shaiva Siddhanta
tradition. He is described as dheivam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman),
as kadavul (divinity in nature, in everything), as Devan (masculine deity), and
as iraivativam (concrete manifestation of the sacred, saguna Brahman).
According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan (also referred to as Murugan, Cheyyon), he
embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism". He
is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron
deity of the Tamil language.

199
Worship Within India
Southern India

Murugan with Deivaanai (on right of image) and Valli (on left of image).
Kartikeya is a major deity among the Hindus of Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Tamil Nadu
He is considered the God of Tamil language and he is mentioned a lot in Sangam
literature. The six abodes of Murugan are all in Tamil Nadu. Each of these temples has
a unique history and different reason to worship Lord Murugan.Thirupparamkunram
Murugan Temple he is worshiped as he (Lord Kartikeya) worshiped Lord Shiva. As per
tradition, devotes who go to the six abodes of Murugan tonsure their head in imitation
of Palani deity.
 Thai Poosam during January – February month is celebrated as a 6-day festival.
On Thai Poosam day, Kavadis and Palkudams are taken by devotees in procession
around Chhedanagar. Special Abhishekams are performed to the Moolavar and
Utsavar. Annadhanam is provided to all devotees participating in the functions. In
the night, Lord Muruga is taken in procession accompanied by Nadaswaram, Veda
Parayanam around Chhedanagar.
 Vaikasi Visakam day, (during May –June month), Kavadis and Palkudams are
taken by devotees in procession around Chhedanagar.
 Skanda Sashti during October-November month is celebrated as a 6-day festival.
Spiritual discourses by learned scholars and/or music concerts by popular artists
from South or from Mumbai are organized.

200
Beyond India
Nepal
Kartikeya is worshipped as Kumar in Nepal both by Hindu and Buddhist
Communities. The Newah community celebrates Sithi Nakha: Festival dedicated to
Sithi Kumar. Sithi Nakha(Kumar Shashthi) is celebrated on this sixth day of the
waxing moon, according to the lunar calendar, in the Lunar month of Jestha. The
festival is celebrated by cleaning water sources like wells, ponds and stone spouts and
ending it with a grand Newah feast of six different varieties of Newarhi food including
Wo or Waa (fried lintel bread) and Chatamari (Newah pizza). The Festival is traditional
Environment day as houses, courtyards, streets and allies are cleaned during this day.
It is believed that cleaning such water sources will bring in rain for good cultivation of
crops. It is also celebrated to welcome monsoon as this was the ideal time to set up
rice seedbeds. The most of Newah communities also mark the festival as the end of
Dewaali, to worship their family deities.
Malaysia
Kartikeya is revered by the Hindus in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries
such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thaipusam is one of the important festivals
celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is
dedicated to Kartikeya. There are some other temples in Malaysia such as:
 Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh
 Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang
 Sannayasi Andavar Temple in Cheng, Malacca
Sri Lanka
Karthikeya is worshipped by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo also by Sri Lankan
Tamils as Muruhan, a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist
throughout the island. He is a favourite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is
said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply
Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, he is worshipped at the Kataragama temple, where he is
known as Kathiravel or Kataragama deviyo. Local legend holds that Murugan alighted
in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local girls. After a courtship, they
were married. This event is taken to signify that Murugan is accessible to all who
worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy
temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near
Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha
temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also
noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era
temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a
Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the
Sinhalese tradition. Almost all Buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama
deviyo reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism.

201
The Sri Lankan Nallur Kandaswamy temple (Jaffna) is dedicated to Murugan (Kartikeya).
By the 16th century, the Kataragama temple had become synonymous with Skanda-
Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism. The town was popular as a
place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15th century. The
popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali
chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of
legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very
locality. Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals
practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of
propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over
by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.

Hindus in Réunion

Sawan Hariyali Amavasya: Sawan Amavasya is very special this time, know
importance, date and method of worship

Sawan Hariyali Amavasya: According to Hindu calendar, Amavasya Tithi is being

celebrated this month, which is considered very special. The Amavasya of Sawan is
considered very auspicious for taking bath, donation etc.

202
Sawan Hariyali Amavasya | Picture Sincerely: Instagram

month of August brings a lot of important fasts and festivals. This month alone is also
called the month of festivals. According to Hindu calendar, Amavasya Tithi is also
being celebrated this month, which is considered very special. The Amavasya of Sawan
is considered very auspicious for taking bath, donation etc.
Pitru and related rituals should be performed on this date of occurrence as it will
never yield auspicious occasion. For the peace of soul of our fathers, Sawan Amavasya
Tithi is considered auspicious. This Amavasya is also known as Hariyali Amavasya,
because greenery comes to Teej just after 3 days.

203
When is Sawan Amavasya
this month, Sawan Amavasya is falling on 11 August 2018, Saturday. It will start on
August 10, 19:08 and will end on August 11 at 15:27.
Sawan Amavasya Puja method:
This Amavasya tree plants gain new life, so the Peepal tree is worshiped and planted
in Savan Amavasya. After this, the peepal tree is offered to Malpua.

204
 CHAPTER XI

Our Architectural knowledge of the Pataliputra capital

The Pataliputra.capital is.monumental rectangular capital with volutes and Classical

Greek designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient Mauryan
Empire capital city of Pataliputra (modern Patna, northeastern India). It is dated to the
3rd century BCE.

Discovery

Front [1] and the back [2] views of the Pataliputra capital (drawing). The back has a few
broken portions (top right corner), and a slightly less detailed and slightly coarser
design.

The monumental capital was discovered in 1895 at the royal palace in Pataliputra, India,
in the area of Bulandi Bagh in Patna, by archaeologist L.A. Waddell in 1895. It was
found at a depth of around 12 feet (4 meters), and dated to the reign of Ashoka or soon
after, to the 3rd century BCE.[3] The discovery was first reported in Waddell's book
"Report on the excavations at Pataliputra (Patna)". "The capital is currently on display
in the Patna Museum.

205
Construction

The capital is made of unpolished buff sandstone. It is quite massive, with a length of 49
inches (1.23 meters), and a height of 33.5 inches (0.85 meters). It weighs approximately
1,800 lbs (900 kg). During the excavations it was found next to a thick ancient wall and
a brick pavement.

The Pataliputra capital is generally dated to the early Maurya Empire period, 3rd
century BCE. This would correspond to the reign of Chandragupta, his son Bindusara or
his grandson Ashoka, who are all known to have welcomed Greek ambassadors at their
court (respectively Megasthenes, Deimachus and Dionysius), who may well have come
to Pataliputra with presents and craftsmen as suggested by classical
sources.[7][8] The Indo-Greeks again possibly had a very direct presence in Pataliputra
about a century later, circa 185 BCE, when they may have captured the city, although
briefly, from the Sungas after the fall of the Maurya Empire.

206
Design content

Pataliputra capital front and side view. Bihar Museum.

The top is made of a band of rosettes, eleven in total for the fronts and four for the sides.
Below that is a band of bead and reel pattern, then under it a band of waves, generally
right-to-left, except for the back where they are left-to-right. Further below is a band
of egg-and-dart pattern, with eleven "tongues" or "eggs" on the front, and only seven on
the back. Below appears the main motif, a flame palmette, growing among pebbles.

The front and the back of the Pataliputra capital are both highly decorated, although the
back has a few differences and is slightly coarser in design. The waves on the back are
left-to-right, that is reverse of the waves on the front. Also, the back only has seven
"eggs" in the egg-and-dart band (4th decorative band from the top), compared to eleven
for the front. Lastly, the bottom pebble design is simpler on the back, with less pebbles
being shown, and a small plinth or band visually supports them.

Influences-Hellenistic style

207
The Classical designs on the Pataliputra capital include rosettes, bead and
reels, waves, beaded moldings, volutes with inserted rosette, and stylicized flame
palmette.

The capital is decorated with Classical Greek designs, such as the row of
repeating rosettes, the ovolo, the bead and reel moulding, the wave-like scrolls as well as
the central flame palmette and the volutes with central rosettes. It has been described as
quasi-Ionic, displaying definite Near Eastern influence, or simply Greek in design and
origin.

The Archaeological Survey of India, an Indian government agency attached to

the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the
conservation and preservation of cultural monument in India, straightforwardly
describes it as "a colossal capital in the Hellenistic style".

The Pataliputra capital may reflect the influence of the Seleucid Empire or the
neighboring Greco-Bactrian kingdom on early India sculptural art. In particular the city
of Ai-Khanoum being located at the doorstep of India, interacting with the Indian
subcontinent, and having a rich Hellenistic culture, was in a unique position to influence
Indian culture as well. It is considered that Ai-Khanoum may have been one of the
primary actors in transmitting Western artistic influence to India, for example in the
creation of the manufacture of the quasi-Ionic Pataliputra capital or the floral friezes of
the Pillars of Ashoka, all of which were posterior to the establishment of Ai-
Khanoum. The scope of adoption goes from designs such as the bead and reel pattern,
the central flame palmette design and a variety of other moldings, to the lifelike
rendering of animal sculpture and the design and function of the Ionic anta capital in
the palace of Pataliputra.

208
Achaemenid influence

Achaemenid influence has also been noted, especially in relation to the general shape,
and the capital has been called a "Persianizing capital, complete with stepped impost,
side volutes and central palmettes", which may be the result of the formative influence
of craftsmen from Persia following the disintegration of the Achaemenid Empire after
the conquests of Alexander the Great. Some authors have remarked that the architecture
of the city of Pataliputra seems to have had many similarities with Persian cities of the
period.

These authors stress that they are no known precedents in India (baring the
hypothetical possibility of now-lost wooden structures), and that therefore the formative
influence must have come from the neighbouring Achaemenid Empire.

Hellenistic anta capital

However, according to art historian John Boardman, everything in the capital goes back
to Greek influence: the "pilaster capitals with Greek florals and a form which is of Greek
origin go back to Late Archaic."

The Pataliputra capital ( Top left) compared with three Greek Ionic anta capitals: Top right: Erechtheion ( Athens,
circa 410 BCE). See also in Chios: Chios capital. Bottom left: Temple of Apollo in Didyma, ( Ionia, 4th century
BCE. [21] Bottom right: Priene (4th century BCE).

For him, the Pataliputra capital is an anta capital (a capital at the top of the front edge of
a wall), with Greek shape and Greek decorations. The general shape of flat, slaying

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capital is well known among Classical anta capitals, and the rolls or volutes on the side
are also a common feature, although more generally located at the top end of the
capital.[23] He gives several examples of Greek anta capitals of similar designs from the
Late Archaic period.

This type of anta capital with side volutes are considered as belonging to the Ionic order,
starting from the archaic period. They are generally characterized by various moldings
on the front, arranged in a rather flat manner in order not to protrude from the wall,
with superposed volutes on curved sides broadening upwards.

The central motif of the Pataliputra capital is the flame palmette, the first appearance of
which goes back to the floral akroteria of the Parthenon (447–432 BCE), and slightly
later at the Temple of Athena Nike, and which spread to Asia Minor in the 3rd century
BCE, and can be seen at the doorstep of India in Ai-Khanoum from around 280 BCE,
in antefix and mosaic designs.

Central "flame palmette" designs in Greek art

Anta capital at the Temple of Apollo in Didyma, front and profile. 4th century BCE.Pile capital from
Megara Hyblaea with palmettes between volutes. 0.55 meters tall. 5th century BCE./Greek
Corinthian anta capital./A pillar, or pile, capital, positioned on a square column, Priene.

Ionic pillar capital from Priene.

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Construction-Structure as a pillar capital

Illustration with Bharhut pillar arrangement. Left: Bharhut relief. Right: illustration with
Pataliputra capital. An actual Bharhut capital, using a similar, if more complex, arrangement, with a
central crowning capital with rosette, beads-and-reels and central palmette designs very similar to
the Pataliputra capital.

Since both sides of the Pataliputra capital are decorative (there is no blank side
corresponding to a wall abutment), it is normally not structurally an anta capital, but
rather a pile or pillar capital: the capital of an independent supporting column of square,
rectangular or possibly round section. Such capitals, if set on a square column, typically
retain the design of an anta capital, but are decorated in all directions, whereas an anta
capital is only decorated on the three sides that do not connect to the wall. If set on a
round column such as one similar to a pillar of Ashoka, an intermediary piece of round
section would be placed between the pillar and the capital, such as a lotus-shaped
bulbus capital as those seen on the Ashoka pillars. Rather similar arrangements can be
seen, for example, at the Ajanta cave. The Pataliputra capital has two holes on the top,
which would imply a mode of fixation with a structural element overhead.

According to architectural historian Dr. Christopher Tadgell, the Pataliputra capital is

similar to the capitals which are visible in the reliefs of Sanchi and Bharhut, dated to the
2nd century BCE. The Bharhut pillars are formed of a cylindrical or octagonal shaft, a
bell capital and a crowning capital of trapezoid shape crisscrossed with incisions to
achieve a decorative illusion (or a floral composition in more detailed examples), and
often ended with a volute in each top corner. To him, the main characteristic of the
Pataliputra capital would be that it has vertically arranged volutes, and clear motifs of
west-Asiatic origin.

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Parallel with Bharhut pillar capitals

Another similar pillar arrangement from a relief in Bharhut (detail).

An actual Bharhut capital, used to support the main Bharhut gateway, and presently in
the Kolkota Indian Museum, uses a similar, if more complex arrangement, with four
joined pillars instead of one, and incumbent lions on the top, sitting around a central
crowning capital which has much similarity in design to the Pataliputra capital,
complete with central palmette design, rosettes, and bead and reel motifs.

Location in Pataliputra

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Location of the Pataliputra capital (in red, site of Bulandi Bagh) in the ancient city of Pataliputra
and modern Patna, northwest of the main excavation site.

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The site where the Pataliputra capital was excavated is marked by Waddell as the top-right
corner of the area known today as Bulandi Bagh, northwest of the main excavation site.[31]

According to the reconstitution of the city of Pataliputra by Prof. Dr. Dieter Schlingloff, the
pillared hall discovered at the other excavation site of Kumhrar was located outside of the city
wall, on the banks of the former Sona river (called Erannoboas by Megasthenes). It is located
about 400 meters to the South of the portions of the wooden palissade that have been excavated,
and just north of the former banks of the Sona river. Therefore, the pillared hall could not have
been the Mauryan palace, but rather "a pleasure hall outside the city walls".

By the same reconstitution, the site of Bulandi Bagh where the Pataliputra capital was found,
straddles the old wooden city palissades, so that the Pataliputra capital was probably located in a
stone structure just inside the old city palissade, or possibly on a stone portion or a stone gate of
the palissade itself.

Later variations-Hellenistic designs in the Pillars of Ashoka

Rampurva bull capital, detail of the abacus, with two "flame palmettes" framing a lotus
surrounded by small rosette flowers.

The designs used in the Pataliputra capital are echoed by other known examples of Maurya
architecture, especially the Pillars of Ashoka. Many of these design elements can also be found
in the decoration of the animal capitals of the Pillars of Ashoka, such as the palmettes or rosette
designs. Various foreign influences have been described in the design of these capitals. The
animal on top of a lotiform capital reminds of Achaemenid column shapes. The abacus also often
seems to display a strong influence of Greek art: in the case of the Rampurva bull or
the Sankassa elephant, it is composed of honeysuckles alternated with stylized palmettes and
small rosettes, as well as rows of beads and reels.[35] A similar kind of design can be seen in the
frieze of the lost capital of the Allahabad pillar, as well as the Diamond throne built
by Ashoka in Bodh Gaya.

Evolution of the Indian load-bearing pillar capital

Evolution of the load-bearing pillar capital, down to 1st century Sanchi

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 1. Mauryan Pataliputra capital (anta capital with flame palmette and motifs)
4th-3rd c. BCE/Sarnath capital/Sarnath, 3rd-1st c. BCE
2. Bharhut capital (lions with flame palmette and motifs)
2nd c. BCE
3. Bodh Gaya capital (lions with anta capital and central flame palmette)
1st c. BCE

Sanchi capital (elephants with riders and central flame palmette).

1st c. BCE/CE/Sanchi capital (lions with central flame palmette)/1st c. BCE/CE

Similarities have been found in the designs of the capitals of various areas of northern India from
the time of Ashoka to the time of the Satavahanas at Sanchi: particularly between the Pataliputra
capital at the Mauryan Empire capital of Pataliputra (3rd century BCE), the pillar capitals at
the Sunga Empire Buddhist complex of Bharhut (2nd century BCE), and the pillar capitals of the
Satavahanas at Sanchi (1st centuries BCE/CE).

The earliest known example in India, the Pataliputra capital (3rd century BCE) is decorated with
rows of repeating rosettes, ovolos and bead and reel mouldings, wave-like scrolls and
side volutes with central rosettes, around a prominent central flame palmette, which is the main
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motif. These are quite similar to Classical Greek designs, and the capital has been described as
quasi-Ionic. Greek influence, as well as Persian Achaemenid influence have been suggested.

The Sarnath capital is a pillar capital discovered in the archaeological excavations at the
ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath. The pillar displays Ionic volutes and palmettes. It has been
variously dated from the 3rd century BCE during the Mauryan Empire period, to the 1st century
BCE, during the Sunga Empire period. One of the faces shows a galopping horse carrying a
rider, while the other face shows an elephant and its mahaut.

The pillar capital in Bharhut, dated to the 2nd century BCE during the Sunga Empire period, also
incorporates many of these characteristics, with a central anta capital with many rosettes, beads-
and-reels, as well as a central palmette design. Importantly, recumbent animals (lions, symbols
of Buddhism) were added, in the style of the Pillars of Ashoka.

The Sanchi pillar capital is keeping the general design, seen at Bharhut a century earlier, of
recumbent lions grouped around a central square-section post, with the central design of a flame
palmette, which started with the Pataliputra capital. However the design of the central post is
now simpler, with the flame palmette taking all the available room. Elephants were later used to
adorn the pillar capitals (still with the central palmette design), and lastly, Yakshas (here the
palmette design disappears).

Ionic capitals

Sarnath capital.

Another capitals in India has been identified as having the same compositional structure as the
Pataliputra capital, the Sarnath capital. It is from Sarnath, at a distance of 250 km from
Pataliputra. This other capital is also said to be from the Mauryan period. It is, together with the
Pataliputra capital, considered as "stone brackets or capitals suggestive of the Ionic order".

This capital is smaller in size however, at 33 cm high, and 63 cm wide when complete. A similar
capital with an elephant as the central motif has also been found in Sarnath.

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 pillar capital in Bharhut, dated to the 2nd century BCE during the Sunga Empire period, is an
amalgam of the lions of the Pillars of Ashoka and a central anta capital with many Hellenistic
elements (rosettes, beads-and-reels), as well as a central palmette design similar to that of the
Pataliputra capital. Monumental capitals with a central palmette design can still be found several
centuries later in examples such as the Mathura lion capital (1st century CE).

A later capital found in Mathura dating to the 2nd or 3rd century (Kushan period) displays a
central palmettes with side volutes in a style described as "Ionic", in the same kind of
composition as the Pataliputra capital but with a coarser rendering. (photograph).

Indo-Corinthian capitals

Left image: Classical Greek Corinthian anta capital.

Right image: An Indo-Corinthian capital with a palmette and the Buddha at its centre, 3-4th
century, Gandhara.

The Corinthian order later became overwhelmingly popular in the Greco-Buddhist

art of Gandhara, during the first centuries of our era. Various designs involving central palmettes
with volutes are closer to the later Greek Corinthian anta or pilaster capital. Many such examples
of Indo-Corinthian capitals can be found in the art of Gandhara.

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Later Indian pillars-Implications

Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription ( Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka,

from Kandahar. Kabul Museum.Fa-Hien at the ruins of Ashoka's palace in Pataliputra (artist
impression).

The existence of such an Hellenistic capital so far east in the capital of the Maurya
Empire suggests at the very least the presence of a Greek or Greek-inspired stone structure in the
city. Although Pataliputra was originally built of wood, various accounts describe Ashoka as a
remarkable builder of stone buildings, and he is known for certain to have built many stone
pillars.[51][52] Ashoka is often credited with the beginning of stone architecture in India, possibly
following the introduction of stone-building techniques by the Greeks after Alexander the
Great[53] (a Greek ambassador named Dionysius is reported to have been at the court of Ashoka,
sent by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Before Ashoka's time, buildings were probably built in non-
permanent material, such as wood, bamboo or thatch. Ashoka may have rebuilt his palace
in Pataliputra by replacing wooden material by stone, and may also have used the help of foreign
craftmen.

The 4th century Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien also commented admiringly on the remains of the
palace of Ashoka in Pataliputra:

It was the work not of men but of spirits which piled up the stones, reared the walls and gates,
and executed elegant carvings and in-laid sculptured works in a way which no human hand of
this world could accomplish.

The influence of Greek art is also well attested in some of the Pillars of Ashoka, such as
the Rampurva capital with its Hellenistic floral scrolls. It is also known that Ashoka redacted

218
some of his stone edicts in excellent Greek in Kandahar, on the doorstep to the
neighboring Seleucid Empire and Greco-Bactrian kingdom: the Kandahar Bilingual Rock
Inscription and the Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka.

The presence in Pataliputra of Greek diplomats such as Megasthenes is well known, but the
capital raises the possibility of simultaneous artistic influence and even the possibility that
foreign artists were present in the capital. According to Boardman, such foreign influence on
India was important, just as many other Old World empires have been influenced by foreign
cultures as well:

The visual experience of many Ashokan and later city dwellers in India was considerably
conditioned by foreign arts, translated to an Indian environment, just as the archaic Greek had
been by the Syrian, the Roman by the Greek, and the Persian by the arts of their whole empire.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR- S RISHTIDOKRAS

An Architect by choice and design, she completed a BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE Degree
from the now famous Institute of Design Education and Architectural Studies, Nagpur,India.

Her distinguished design and architectural experience has taken her to Mumbai, Pondicherry and
Hyderabad. She has also visited Dubai, Australia and Seattle, USA as a visiting architect. Srishti
has worked for Vivek Varma Architects , Mumbai ,Uday Dighe and Associates , Mumbai, Ashok
Mokha Architects Nagpur ,and Shama Dalvi in Auroville.Currently working in the REVIT
domain in BASE 4 corporation at Nagpur, the main work center of Base4,USA. She has been a
part of the design map of the Nagpur Metro; Google corporate office Hyderabad, residential
houses in the city of Pondicherry –AUROVILLE, India and Nagpur, India. Restaurant Designs
for Kettle and Brew Beverages Pvt Ltd, PUNE,India

She has attended the bamboo and earth construction workshop , Auroville • Attended
construction workshop organizedby Indian Institute of Engineers • Participated in N.A.S.A. 2015
• Held 1st position in Product Design/Competition “ Light em up ” at Regional Level •
Shortlisted for S.A. Deshpande Trophy/organized by Indian Institute of Architects , Nagpur

Visiting Architectural scholar at Melbourne, Sydney , Australia and Seattle, Deira Dubai and
New Jersey USA

219
Srishti has published 46 research and allied papers and 5 books on CREATIVITY &
ARCHITECTURE. She also contributed a chapter on REVIT software for the book Human
Resources in Project Management. Her particular area of interest is INTERIORS DESIGN.
Some of the Collected works of Srishti: 1. The GREAT WALL of CHINA an Architectural
Foray 2. Architecture of Hotels 3. The Vastu-Purusha-Mandala in Temple Architecture 4.
Prambanan, a Hindu temple in Indonesia-general architectural and morphological analysis 5.
HINDU TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE of BHARAT-SOME MUSINGS 6. Autodesk Revit for
Project Management 7. VERTICAL GARDENS - an Architectural Perspective.pdf 8. Theme
Park and Architecture 9. Philosophy and Architecture 10. AYODHYA in ITS ARCHITECTURE
Myth and Reality 11. The Nagara Architecture of Khajuraho 12. Hotel Design- Architectural
Breviary 13. Hindu Temple Architecture 14. Lanka 15. Cambodia and Angkor Vat 16. reativity and
Architecture

220
ABOUT THE AUTHOR DR UDAY DOKRAS

About the Author

The author has worked for 30 years in the human resources arena in India and abroad. He
was Group Vice -President of MZI Group in New Delhi and has anchored Human
Relations in Go Air and Hotel Holiday Inn;was General Manager-Health Human
Resources at the Lata Mangeshkar Hospital amd Medical college. Is currently Consultant
to Gorewada International Zoo,Nagpur and visiting Faculty at the Central Institute of
Business Management and Research, Nagpur.

In Sweden he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB and advisor to a multi

millionaire. He has studied in Nagpur, India where he obtained degrees of Bachelor of
Science, Bachelor of Arts(Managerial Economics) and Bachelor of Laws. He has done
his Graduate Studies in labour laws from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston; a
MBA from USA, and Doctorate from Stockholm University, Sweden. Apart from that he
has done a Management Training Program in Singapore.

221
 A scholar of the Swedish Institute, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and Wineroth
Fund Awardee.A scholar for the Swedish Institute for 5 years.
In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labour Law Project of the University of
California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there. In 1985 he was
invited by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the labour laws of
Seychelles.

Author of a book on a Swedish human resource law, his brief life sketch is part of the
English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English.
SPOTLIGHT 7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - “SPOTLIGHT 8- Lausnir.”

RESEARCH PAPERS-320 + in Researchgate and academia.edu & scribd

Followers(readers) 65,000 consolidated as on 26 th September,2020.

Authors-DR Uday DOKRAS

Dr. Uday Dokras

B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India
Certificat'e en Droit, Queen’s University. Ontario, Canada,
MBA, CALSTATE,Los-Angeles, USA,
Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden,
Management and Efficacy Consultant, India

222
 Reviews of the Book PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The authors highlight the benefits of paying attention to human resources and offer success and
failure factors guideline for a variety of potential practitioners and students in global project
marketplace.
Ms.Ylva Arnold, Head HR- Norstedts Publishers, Stockholm SWEDEN

223
From the Newspaper Times of India March
24, 2018

224
Iceland Sweden both countries use the English Text SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in
which is about Dr Uday Dokras

225
Prof. S.Deshpande,President of the Indian Instituye of Architects, New Delhi INDIA
releasing the book of Dr Dokras HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA
gimes( May 2010)

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227
228
229
Some of my books

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231
232
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Some of the 80 BOOKS BY DR UDAY DOKRAS
Published by
The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Stockholm
The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Finland

Dr. Uday Dokras

Tamil People as Traders and Voyagers

234
 The Cambodian Trilogy

I.HINDU CAMBODIA

II.HYDROLOGY of ANGKOR
ANGKOR is known as a Hydraulic city- full or canals and river and
waterways. It is this water system they say that brought the downfall of this
intrinsic kingdom. But is that TRUE?

III.ENTER…… THE KINGDOM THAT

VANISHED- Angkor
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Building Materials of the Hindu Temple
Indo Nordic Author's collective, 2021
In depth study of how Building Materials of the Hindu Temple was used in
India,Indonesia and Cambodia and India

The Art & Architecture of THE GOLDEN TEMPLE

COMPLEX, AMRITSAR

236
Mathematics in Temple Designs

Jain ART
Book on Jain Art and Iconography

Jain Temples- Part I -Complete Compendium-

Book I
A to Z of the architecture, Design,Cosmology,Philosophy of Jain temples in

Jain Temples II

237
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAIN TEMPLES AND THE
ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS(ORIGINAL) OF 3JAIN TEMPLES of Nagpur

DWARKA- CELESTIAL MYSTERIES of the Lost

CITY of KRISHNA

TIRUPATI TEMPLE Book part I

TIRUPATI TemplePart II

Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods

238
Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods. Animals in Hinduism. demi Gods

SATYANARAYAN PUJA-The Complete Compendium

Satyanarayan Puja or 9 Graha Puja( a puja of 9 planets) has been
performed by most Hindus not only now but for 1,000’s of years.

MAHALAXMI Puja
Hindu Goddess MAHALAXMI Puja

ARCHITECTURE OF PALESTINE

239
Palestine my Love
Palestine my Love is about the culture arts and crafts of palestine so we
recognize it as a entity that is fighting for recognition of not only its
legitimacy but also its cultural heritage

QUINTET (5) BOOKS ON MANDALA

Unravelling the MAZE of the MANDALA BOOK I

First part of a two book treatise on MANDALAS. This introductory phase
introduces mandalas

Maze of MANDALA BOOK II

Advanced Mandala routine for those who want to know more about
MANDALAS

Mandala BOOK III on Nakshatra

240
BOOK IV MANDALA & ARCHITECTURE
The Use of Mandalas in Building Temples and Modern Buildings

Book V on Mandala of the Oriental Kingdoms

Islamic Architectureal Arts of of Imam Ali's 2

Shrines

241
Hindu Gods in Scandinavia
Did the Hindu Gods originate or live in Scandinavia once? Find out

Book on Divinity and Architecture

What is divinity? How has man tried to harness architecture to create magic
in space

Virat Hridaya Padma-sthalam CHIDAMBARAM

Temple -Celestial Mysteries
This book is about a mysterious and revered tempe built by the Chola
Kings of South India 2000 years ago

T2- Temple Tech. A Book

How are Hindu temples built and the technology that follows this craft.
From A to Z Complete Guide.

242
Rendezvous with Sri RAM Portfolio of Temple Art
by Srishti Dokras, Architect Special section on
Hindu Foods by Karan Dokras, Product Guru

Best Foot Forward

The story of Footwear through the ages up to COVID times

Hindu Temple Panorama-Celestial Mysteries

A to Z of Temples. A total Panoramic View of design and architecture of
Hindu temples in 350 page...

243
 DUOLOGY (2) on JAINISM
Ativir
ATIVIR means Very Brave and is the name given to Lord Mahavir the 24 th
Saint(TIRTHANKAR) Contains rare translations of the Dialogue of the
Mahavir with his disciples called GHANDHARVAVAD

Vardhaman-वर्णिान
IThis book is about Jainism- written by a non-

THE TRILOGY(3) on DEVRAJA The God kIngs of

Khemer

Book I DEVRAJ- The God Kings of Indo China-

Cambodia.

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This is the first Book of a Trilogy that traces the growth of Hinduism in
South East Asia.

BOOK I I DEVRAJA- The Great Civilizations of

South East Asia -HINDU Era
How Hinduism reached Cambodia and how the Hindu Kings called Devraj
Built these magnificent structures

Devraja BOOK II I Devraja and Raj Dharma God

King and Kingly Religion The HINDU Era of
Great Civilizations of Khemer
Book 2 of a Trilogy that traces the advent of Hinduism on South East Asian
and Indo-Chinese

Vayu- Man's taming of the winds

Man's conquest of nature spans a million years. How was wind tamed by
him. Here is the full story... more

245
VIMANA Ancient Conquests of Wind
Ancient flying machines of Gods and Men(?) Were they true. Did they really
exist. 7000 years ago?

LIGHT HOUSES In words and pictures

BOOK Architecture of the Lighthouse of

Alexandria-BOOK
Indo Swedish Author's Collective, 2020
The lighthouse was built on an island off the coast of Alexandria called
Pharos. Its name, legend

246
Cosmology of lotus
Indo Nordic Author's Collective, 2020
The Lotus is the king of the flower world but few know it as a part of
creation. Find out the Cosmology.

Celestial Mysteries of the Borobudur Temple

Borobudur remains a mystery even today. The largest Buddhist Stupa in
the world has many unanswered...
Win with this new DIET

Hindu tempel of India , Cambodia and Indonesia

Hindu Temples dot India, Cambodia and Indonesia

247
DISRUPTION-Book

Book Architecture Creativity

Creativity and Architecture are linked and go hand in hand. This Book is a
culmination of 16 publications that have been put together as a book

Project HR Management
Indo Swedish Author's Collective
PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/'Dr UDAY DOKRAS The
project sphere has not been valued appropriately

248
Human Resource Engineering in Theme Parks.
by Dr. Uday Dokras and Mansse Bhandari
As theme parks evolve into facilitating for greater thrill seeking
audience,the role of human res... more

Health Human Resource Management

Management of Health care workers in hospitals and the human resource
practices to be followed in hospitals.

WIN DIET Lose fat-Diet and Exercise Book ONLY

BODY SHAPING GUIDE YOU NEED

The Act on Co-determination at Work – an Efficacy

study
Thesis of the Author for the degree of Doctor of Law
Stockholm University, SWEDEN 1990
249
SCIENTIFIC BOROBUDUR

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U.DOKRAS-S. DOKRAS-K. SHAH

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