Spread across an estimated 400 acres, Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world luring thousands of tourists every year with its illustrious antiquity. Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu in half of the 12th under the reign of the Khmer emperor Suryavarman II, it now serves as a prominent temple located in Siem Reap province of Cambodia. Strangled amidst colossal tree roots deep within the lush jungle, this marvelous structure beholds innumerable anecdotes from the distant past. Below are some of the facts about Angkor Wat that every architect must know about.
“City Of Temples” | Facts About Angkor Wat
In Khmer, Angkor connotes “capital city” and Wat is used to refer to “temple grounds”. So Angkor Wat literally translates to “Temple City” or “City of Temples”. Originally, it was called Vrah Vishnuloka or Parama Vishnuloka, a Sanskrit term for the sacred dwelling of Lord Vishnu, to whom the temple was initially dedicated.
Angkor was once the largest city on earth, built around the Angkor Wat and acted as the capital city of the mighty Khmer dynasty. This metropolis of a vast number of citizens seemingly vanished overnight. There are no records of an invasion, plague or any other catastrophic event that led to the decline of this vast empire. Use of current technological advancements have aided the archaeologists to devise a plan of the mega city which was apparently the size of present day Los Angeles making Angkor the largest human settlement ever built in the history of mankind before the industrial revolution.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site
What remains of Angkor Wat today, is mostly ruins of an architectural masterpiece. Nonetheless, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, which stimulated world- wide endeavour to restore the complex. It is also featured as a silhouette on the Cambodian flag since around 1850, and on many denominations of the Cambodian currency, riel. It is an essential component of Cambodian identity and a source of national pride for the citizens.
Angkor Wat Has A Unique Planning and Layout
The plan of Angkor Wat is rather complex. From a distant view, it appears to be a colossal mass of stone on one level with a long causeway leading to the centre but as one approaches the monument, it unfolds itself as a series of elevated towers, covered galleries, chambers, porches and courtyards on different levels linked by stairways.
A vast moat, which is 620 feet wide and over three miles long, encompasses the central temple grounds that are surrounded by a large outer wall. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple is aligned north-south to the axis of the earth. Once stood in the centre a grand statue of lord Vishnu, at the heart of all earthly and divine occurrences.
Angkor Wat Symbolises Mount Meru Of The Hindu Mythology
Angkor Wat is built as a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, which in Hindu mythology, is the sacred five-peaked mountain standing in the centre of the universe, functioning as the abode of the three Hindu principal Gods – Brahma, regarded as the Creator, Vishnu ,the Preserver, and Shiva, also known as the Destroyer, and Hindu demi-gods called Devas. It was created as a physical manifestation of human interactions with the realm of God in the shape of lotus buds. The spires represent the mountains of eternity and the moat emblematizes the boundless Adam’s ale.
Use Of Massive Proportions And Pyramidal Progression At Angkor Wat | Facts About Angkor Wat
The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central tower is 213 meters (699 feet), achieved with three rectangular or square levels. The implication of the design principle of hierarchy is evident as each level is progressively smaller and higher than the one below starting from the outer limits of the temple giving it a pyramidal form.
The imposing height was deliberately introduced to draw the eye upwards to read the majestic tales of the gods carved in stone across the walls and up the columns of the temple. Homes, workplaces and businesses were set up encompassing the complex and connectivity was ensured by creating a network of roadways.
Angkor Wat Is Oriented Towards The West
One of the most distinctive features of this structure is its orientation. While most Hindu temples are directed towards the East, Angkor Wat is so positioned that it faces the West, a direction usually associated with death and also with lord Vishnu. This has led various archaeologists and scholars to conclude that it was meant to act as a temple as well as the king’s mausoleum. However, there is no evidence of his burial in the complex as he died in battle during a failed odyssey to vanquish the Dai Viet (Vietnam) and his funerary rites were presumably performed elsewhere.
The building was intentionally situated in the core of wilderness so as to constrain the entry to the monument solely from the west to experience spiritual renewal as they forwarded in the vicinity of the divine energies of the temple.
Angkor Wat Is Built To Mark The Cosmic Event Of Connection To God
The enormous structure of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was constructed as a representation of Hindu cosmology. The Khmer calendar was based on the cycles of the Heavens where twice a year a celestial event can be witnessed even today and acts as a major tourist attraction. This event is marked by a straight beam of sunlight entering the interior of the temple through a hole in the towers. The alignment of the capstone focuses this intense beam of light into the ceremonial chamber directly onto a pedestal making it the visual focal point through the use of the design principle of emphasis. This was believed to be a way to communicate with the Gods by the Khmer kings, who considered themselves as deva rajas.
Sandstone Was The Main Material Used In The Construction
Angkor Wat’s main temple structure is made out of sandstone blocks and consists of a multi-layered pyramid with a large central obelisk and four other pillars at its corners. A curved sloping roof on galleries, chambers and aisles is a characteristic feature of the temple complex that resembles a series of long narrow ridges. It is a roof made of delicately arched stone rectangles placed edge to edge. Each series of tiles is capped with an end tile perpendicular to the ridge of the roof.
These sandstone blocks were quarried from the sacred Phnom Kulen Mountains, more than 50km away and floated down the Siem Reap River on rafts. According to inscriptions, the construction of Angkor Wat involved 300,000 workers and 6000 elephants yet it was never accomplished as the king died prior to its completion.
Galleries Symbolize The Constellation Of Draco
Each of the three layers of the temple house a series of interlinked galleries accommodating decorative depictions of Hindu mythology .A few researchers believe that the galleries were used for astronomical observations and were built specifically intended to assist the astronomers to view the rotation of the heavens in the night sky with clarity. The linkage of the site to astronomical observances is obvious due to its precise positioning to mirror the constellation of Draco, the dragon, as it appeared in the sky during the spring equinox of the year 10,500 BC, which never sets, symbolizing eternity.
The Bas- Relief At Angkor Wat Represent Two Religions Harmoniously
Angkor Wat is well- known for having more than 3000 beguiling apsaras (heavenly nymphs) intricately carved into its walls. Each exclusive in terms of hairstyles and features. Surrounding the first level of Angkor Wat, is the Gallery of Bas-reliefs containing 1,200 square meters (12,917 square feet) of carvings in sandstone, covering most of the inner walls of the gallery extending for two meters (seven feet) from fore and aft.
The detail, exquisite composition and execution give them an unparalleled status in worldly art and architecture. Columns along the outer wall of the gallery create an enthralling interplay of light and shadow on the relief. These are divided into eight sections, two on each wall of the square gallery, all depicting an individual theme.
These themes for the bas-reliefs derive from two main sources-Indian epics and sacred books like Ramayana and Mahabharata and warfare of the Angkor Period. The most significant of these themes include the Battle of Kurukshetra depicted in the West gallery and the Churning of the Ocean of Milk in the East gallery. The common method of generating these reliefs was to carve away the background leaving the design in relief. Although sometimes this methodology was reversed giving a sunken appearance. The reliefs and inscriptions are so carved that the visitors need to observe the vistas in a counter- clockwise direction, which is often a part of funerary rites in the Hindu traditions. This further affirms the scholars’ assumptions regarding the original function of the monument of serving as a tomb for king Suryavarman II. When the Buddhists took over Angkor in the sixteenth century, they did not take away anything from these inscriptions. Instead, they added to it their own carvings. The Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas was home to innumerable images of the Buddha which were agonizingly damaged during the wars.
Angkor Wat’s perfection in composition, balance, proportions, reliefs and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world. It is needless to say that the scents of history and mystique hidden in the stone carvings of Angkor Wat intrigue admirers from across the globe who flock to the remote region to experience the majestic view. De facto, British historian and archaeologist Arnold Joseph Tonybee says “See Angkor Wat and Die” implying the necessity to witness the grandeur and magnificence of the Sui generis Cambodian marvel at least once in a lifetime.
References –
Online sources
- Cs.mcgill.ca. 2022. Angkor Wat. [online] Available at: <https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/a/Angkor_Wat.htm> [Accessed 24 September 2022].
- Tourismcambodia.com. 2022. Angkor Wat – 7th Wonder of the World – Angkor Archeological Park – Angkor Wat Guide – What to See in Cambodia – Cambodia Major Attractions | Tourism Cambodia. [online] Available at: <https://www.tourismcambodia.com/attractions/angkor/angkor-wat.htm> [Accessed 24 September 2022].
- Thehindu.com. 2022. Angkor Wat: A bridge to the past. [online] Available at: <https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/angkor-wat-a-bridge-to-the-past/article24103506.ece> [Accessed 22 September 2022].
- Asia Society. 2022. The Legacy of Angkor. [online] Available at: <https://asiasociety.org/education/legacy-angkor> [Accessed 24 September 2022].
Images/visual mediums
Citations for YouTube videos:
- National Geographic. (2021). Angkor Wat (Full Episode) , Access 360 World Heritage. [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jpbwizxBs. [Accessed: 22/ 09/ 2022].
Citations for images/photographs – Print or Online: | Facts About Angkor Wat
- Image 1- Daily News.(2022).Angkor Wat: Cambodia’s Iconic ‘City of Temples’.[Photogra[h].(URL: https://engoo.co.kr/app/daily-news/article/angkor-wat-cambodias-iconic-city-of-temples/Y5SRPrsbEeyZKQ8UpLe_Gw)
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- Image 2- Best, C. (2019). You’ll never forget a sunrise at Ankor Wat, Cambodia. [Photograph].
- Image 3- Khan, V. (2019). angkor-wat-temple. [Photograph].
- Image 4- DeMong, V. (2022). Angkor wat temple. [Photograph].
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- Image 5,6,9- National Geographic. (2021). Angkor Wat (Full Episode) , Access 360 World Heritage. [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5jpbwizxBs. [Accessed: 22/ 09/ 2022].
- Image 7- Stubbert, S. (2017). Cambodia:Angkor wat . [Photograph].
- Image 8- DG-Photography. (2020). Cambodia’s ‘hidden’ Angkor wat . [Photograph].
- Image 10,11,12- Waring, M. (2022). Angkor wat. [Photograph].