of beauty and drowning
There is such a thing as being lost to reality. A reality spun by ancient dream weavers so that what you see is a reflection of what used to be. Angkor’s magic is like such, and we were willing to get lost in its web.
Banteay Srei, also known as the ‘Citadel of Women’ or ‘Citadel of Beauty’ because of its intricate carvings, was said to have been dedicated to Yajnyavahara, a courtier of King Rajendravarman, who was known for his philantrophy. Originally known as Tribhuvanamahesvara — great lord of the threefold world, the temple is greatly dedicated to Shiva and partly to Vishnu.
The carvings are more pronounced here than anywhere else as the great Hindu stories of the old lend themselves to the the red sandstone from which the temple is made of. The pediments, the roughly triangular spaces above rectangular doorways or openings, depict scenes from Ramayana while lintels, horizontal beams spanning the gap between two posts, support the reliefs and at the same time, decorate doorways with carvings of numerous apsara dancers.
A few minutes of tuk-tuk ride and we found ourselves rounding the pools of Neak Pean meaning ‘The Entwined Serpents’ or ‘Coiled Serpents’, deriving the name from the Nagas (snakes) that encirle the temple. King Jayavarman VII had this built for medical purposes. The Hindu belief of balance is shown with the presence of four pools representing Earth (elephant), Wind (man), Fire (lion) and Water (horse). They are connected by the main pool at the center where the statue of Bahala (Bodhisattva Guan Yin transformed into a horse) ferries the people to safety.
We are long gone from the surreal world that is Angkor, but the images are as real as if I can touch them in a handspan. We can’t wait to be lost in her arms once again…
January 5th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Dude, great site! I love the pictures and the layout, both really good. If you wanna come to China check out our blog, http://middleofchina.blogspot.com
January 5th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
thanks matt! we are actually planning to go to china this year. we’ll definitely check out your blog for tips. thanks for visiting!
monette
January 6th, 2010 at 2:54 am
I do like the carvings in Banteay Srei – they’re so delicate and intricately done it’s been ravaged by looters. Even a prominent Frenchman back in the 1920’s was caught attempting to loot some carvings to be shipped to Paris.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:29 am
yep! it was a good thing the authorities were able to capture the guy. tells us how important it is to preserve culture for the future generation. this is my second favorite after angkor wat. aside from the elaborate carvings, it also helped that the structure was pink… haha!
monette
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:52 am
Thats really cool…any other thoughts?
February 4th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Hello hunnie, nice blog! I really like this article.. I was curious about this for a long time now. This cleared a lot up for me! Do you have a rss feed that I can add?
February 5th, 2010 at 4:02 am
you may click the rss link at the footer of the page.
thanks