Gypsy Camp Blog

Cambodia’s ancestry has Indian roots and royal lineages both from the Kings and Queens of the Somavamsa as well as the Suryavamsa. King Jayavarman II declared that he was the universal ruler of the Khmer people in 802, and he even called himself the God king. Many Cambodian rulers claimed that higher powers chose and guided them.

Modern Cambodia is different from the one of the past, when it also included places like China, Thailand, and Vietnam among several others. Jayavarman II made this region the center of his empire and it was later called Angkor. Thousands of Khmer workers cleared the jungles and made the land good for farming. They also started building palaces and temples.

The Angkor Wat temple was built by Suryavarman II, the Khmer Emperor, and it was initially a Hindu temple. When the Khmer empire was thriving, many temples and palaces were built. The temple architecture is such that it is talked about as the best and most impressive human creations even to this day.

Lord Vishnu is the main deity; however, the sculptures on the temple also pay homage to several Vedic gods and goddesses including Lord Siva. The Angkor Wat temple is said to have served as an observatory where the rising sun was aligned on the equinox and solstice days with the entrance to the West of the temple, and numerous sighting lines were identified to be able to observe the rising of the sun and moon seasonally.

Angkor Wat is an excellent example of the temple mountain design. An amazing work of the Khmer architecture, it showed how intrinsic symmetry and repetition are to the Khmer design. The temple has five huge towers, each one representing the peaks of Mount Meru. The unique and stunning architecture of Angkor Wat has to be seen with the naked eye to be able to experience the impact. The galleries inside the temple depict the history in a most beautiful manner.

At one point, there was a controversy regarding the art in Angkor Wat. Some Europeans brought out the theory that the temple was built much later than the–th century. The reasoning behind this claim is that the temple’s motifs look very similar to motifs from the Italian Renaissance, suggesting that they were copied from the Europeans. However, it was later proved that these allegations are completely wrong and have no basis. In fact, it was said that the Europeans may have taken the oriental art from Angkor Wat to Europe.

The well-known Divakara Pandita, who lived during 1050-1135, was a priest and was also said to be the chief architect behind the temple. There are several inscriptions on the walls of the temples that sing his praises, as well as the existence of his image at Wat Phu. The temple was designed along the lines of astronomy, as revealed in the puranas. All these nuances make Angkor Wat what it is today – the greatest architectural genius of all times and continues to amaze people to this day.

Visit KhmerPortal.com, a Khmer community that likes Khmer music and Khmer Karaoke!

categories: Angkor Wat,Cambodia,Culture,Travel,History

Related posts:

1. Siem Reap, There is More to See Than Just Angkor Wat There is no doubt that tourists flock to Siem Reap,...
2. Battambang – The North-western Province of Cambodia Millions of tourists from all over the world head towards...
3. Discover the Sights and Sounds of Cambodia Cambodia houses many tourist attractions which can draw anyone's attention...
4. Khmer Music At The Heart Of Cambodian Culture One of the most beautiful contributions of the Khmer Empire...
5. Centuries Old Khmer Culture And Its Uniqueness The Khmer Empire varied in size under different rulers and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.