Hindu DataBase

Sabarimala and God's will - The heavens will fall. The God(s) will Die.

2018-10-21T01:31:00.003-07:00

WRITTEN BY Vishnu Prakash

Yes, it is Sabarimala issue that prompted me to write this. But applicable not just to that one issue. Few people asked me "Who are humans to make laws and rituals for God? Can't God protect his will?"

I want to ask them - Who the hell is God? And what is God's will?

None of the six main Indian schools of thought (Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimansa or Vedanta) teaches any concept of 'God'. God/Religion is an imported theory to this land. I do not have an objection to someone believing in any God/Religion. But today, mixing up this theory with indigenous dharmik cultures is causing a lot of unintended (or maybe intended?) damage. Hence it's time to DIFFERENTIATE.

Temple is a replica of human body(Siddha Purusha) and an expression of Tantra shastra. It declares that the essence of the Brahmanda (universe) can be seen in the Pindanda (man). Each prathishta that is instilled with prana has qualities of its own depending upon the nature of the mantras used and the ‘sankalpas’ the persons who performed them. This is how different prathishtas has different characters and rituals based on inherent prathishta (naishtika brahmacharya of Sabarimala Ayyappa, for example).

Concisely, each prathishta can be defined as a spiritual energy sink where natural forces are channelized. Just to make a vague analogy, we use a fan to channelize the air for our own benefit. My neighbor decides to destroy my fan. According to new gen activists, I must remain quiet because I am doubting the "power of Air" or Air's an ability to preserve it's "will". That's highly progressive reasoning indeed!

Having discussed the illogical imposition of God theory on temple rituals, it is also important to discuss a few non-translatables here. There is no synonym for God/Religion/Soul/Infidel in Sanskrit or any other Indian language for that matter.

'Bhagavan' which is considered an equivalent of God is defined as someone who possesses six 'bhagas' - splendor, virtue, glory, opulence, knowledge, dispassion. Not someone who sits in heaven and give marks or judgments.

Here, there is no idea of a single or "only true" path to be followed. There could be as many paths as there are lives because each individual has to find the truth himself - irrespective of what any Bhagavan says/said. There is only guidance. We're (or were?) a land of seekers and not believers.

No divine personality who descended on this land gave us any commandments to follow. Whether Krishna or Shiva, all they got back were a thousand questions.

'Dharma' which is equated to 'religion' means 'that which upholds' in Sanskrit. It maintains, keeps, or holds the very basis of this universe, the cosmic order. In that sense, dharma means the proper functioning of the various cyclical activities of this universe that maintain its balance. 'Svadharma' of individuals is a subset of dharma.

Atma which is equated to Soul is defined as 'Apnoti sarvam iti Atma' - that which pervades everything is Atma(consciousness or awareness). The soul is defined as the spiritual or immaterial part of a living being. Poles apart in concept.

Another word with no translation is Infidel. Vaidiks have nastika and astika classification where masters of both are respected as maharishi like Maharishi Charvaka or Maharishi Madhava.

There are innumerable such Sanskrit non translatables that we mix up and create a total confusion. Had this issue not created an existential crisis, there would have been no need for a DIFFERENTIATION. But unfortunately, that's not the case.

Tat Tvam Asi.
Swami Saranam.

Hindu Temple Database

2015-07-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Below is a database for Hindu temples in and outside India:

List of Hindu Temples in India

2015-07-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

Below is the list of Hindu Temples sorted according to States:

Andhra	Arunachal	Assam
Bihar	Chattisgarh	Chandigarh
Delhi	Goa	Gujarat
Haryana	Himachal	J & K
Jharkhand	Karnataka	Kerala
MP	Maharashtra	Manipur
Meghalaya	Mizoram	Orissa
Punjab	Rajasthan	Sikkim
Tamil Nadu	Tripura	Uttaranchal
Uttar Pradesh	West Bengal

List of Temples in Tamil Nadu

2015-07-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of temples in Tamil Nadu grouped in Alphabetical order:

A	B-F	G-K
L-N	O-R	S
T-U	V-Z

List of Hindu Temples Outside India

2015-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Australia	Bangladesh	Belgium
Brazil	Burma	Cambodia
Canada	Germany	Guyana
Indonesia	Malaysia	Nepal
Netherlands	New Zealand	Pakistan
Poland	Singapore	Sri Lanka
Switzerland	Trinidad & Tobago	U.K
U.S.A

List of Hindu temples in Malaysia

2015-07-15T22:09:00.001-07:00

This is a list of Hindu temples in Malaysia, sorted by region.

Federal Territories

Kuala Lumpur

Sri Kshemankhari Durgai Amman Alayam – Kepong Baru
Sri Navagraha Nayagi Durgai Amman Alayam – Kepong. Taman Sri Sinar
Sri Paranjothi Vinayagar Temple, Jalan Ipoh, KL
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, KL
Sri Ganesar Aalayam, Kampong Pandan, KL
Sri Aiynareeswarar Temple, Taman Melawati, Setapak, KL
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Sri Segambut, Taman Cuepecs, KL
Sri Karumariamman Temple, Jalan Sentul, KL
Sri Nageswary Amman Temple, Bangsar, KL
Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple, Jalan Kasipillay, Jalan Ipoh, KL
Sri Kamakshi Ambal Alayam – Jalan Bukit Bangsar Off Lorong Maarof, Bangsar, [Kuala Lumpur]
Sri Arulmigu Devi Sri Raja Kaliamman Kovil (Brickfields)
Angkasapuri Sri Maha Kaliamman Alayam
Kuil Sri Kamatchi Amman Aalayam, Jalan Perkasa Satu, Taman Maluri, Cheras.
Sri Thohaiyadi Vinayagar Kovil, Jalan Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur
Sri Kandaswamy Kovil – Brickfields
Sri Maha Eeswaran Temple – Kg. Bumi Hijau, Setapak
Sri Kottumalai Pillayar Temple – Pudu
Sri Thandayuthapani Temple, Jalan Ipoh, KL
Sri Muneeswarar Temple – 60 Jln.Perkasa, Kg.Pandan
Sri Shakti Vinayagar Temple – Brickfields
Sree Veera Hanuman Temple – [Jln. Scott], Brickfields
Sri Sakthi Maha Mariamman Alayam – Jalan Robson Off Jalan Seputeh, Brickfields
Sri Sidthi Vinayagar Kovil Paripalana Sangam – Jalan Brunei Off Jalan Pasar
Kuil Sri Maha Muneswarar – [Jln. Scott], Brickfields
Kuil Sri Krishna Temple -[Jln. Scott], Brickfields
Murugan Temple, Jalan Tebing, Brickfields
Arulmigu Kailayanaathar Sivan Temple – Pangkalan TUDM, Sg Besi
Sri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Jalan Kasipillay, off Jalan Ipoh
Arulmigu Muneeswarar Thirukovil, Lot 54988, Jalan Seberau, Batu 4 Cheras, 56100
Sri Muthumariamman Temple (Setapak, Air Panas)
Om Sri Maha Kaliamman Alayam (Jln berhala) BRICKFIELDS
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam Bukit Kiara,TTDI Kuala Lumpur.
Ahthi Eeswaran Temple – Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

West Malaysia

Perlis

Arulmigu Arumugaswamy Dhevasthanam, Kangar, Perlis
Arulmigu Sri Veera Maha Kaliamman Kovil, Kangar
Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam, Arau
Sri Kamatchi Amman Kovil, Padang Besar
Kedah
Sri Thandayuthabany Temple (Ramesh Kovil, Jalan Tunku Putra, 09000 Kulim, Kedah)
Sri Maha Karumariamman Thirukkovil Taman Permaipura (Riverside) Bedong

Kedah

Sri Thandayuthapani Kovil, Alor Setar
Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam, Alor Setar
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Sungai Petani
Sri Subramaniyar Temple, Sungai Petani
Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Sungai Petani
Sri Vinayagar Temple, Bedong
Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam,Sungai Tok Pawang, Bedong
Sri Arasa Maratthu Mariamman Kovil,Sungai Tok Pawang
Sri Muniswarar Alayam,Central Kedah,Sungai Tok Pawang, Bedong
Sri Subramaniam Devasthanam, Baling
Sri Shivasakthi Alayam, Sungai Petani
Sri Thurgaiamman Temple, Sungai Petani
Shirdi Baba Center, Sungai Petani
Sri Muniswarar Temple, Sungai Petani
Nandi Asramam Temple, Sungai Petani
Sri Aiyanar Alayam, Sungai Tukang, Sungai Petani
Sri Maha Mariamman Devastanam, Batu 2, Jalan Kuala Ketil, Sungai Petani
Sri Maha Mariamman Kampung Air Hitam,09800 Serdang Kedah.
Arulmigu Sri Siva Muniswarar Alayam Air Merah Kulim
Sri Pathinettam Padi Iyappan, Kg. Paya Besar, Paya Besar, Lunas
Sri Iythiswarar Alayam ( SIVAN ) Kg. Paya Besar, Lunas
Sri Bhagavathi Amman Alayam, Paya Besar
Sri Sivasakthi Muniswarar alayam, Batu putih, Karangan,
Sri Subramaniam Devastanam,Serdang Kedah.
Arulmigu Annai Karumariamman Alayam, Paya Besar, Lunas, Kedah.
Sri Thulasi Amman Devastaanam,Jalan Nuri, Sungai Petani, Kedah
Sree Mutu Mariamman Temple, Lunas, Kedah.
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple , Ladang Lubok Segintah , Kuala Ketil -Bkt selambau, Kedah.

Penang

Sree Sithi Vinayager Devasthanam,Nibong Tebal,Seberang Perai Selatan,Penang
Thannirmalai Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, George Town
Arulmigu Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, George Town
Arulmigu Ganesar Temple, Jalan Air Terjun (Waterfall Road), George Town
Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple, Penang, George Town
Sri Meenakshi Sundaraeswarar Temple, Jalan Air Terjun (Waterfall Road), George Town
Sri Muneeswaran Temple, Jalan Air Terjun (Waterfall Road), George Town
Sri Kunj Bihari Temple, George Town
Nagarathar Sivan Temple, Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town
Sri Kamatchi Amman Temple, Jalan Dato Keramat, George Town
Sri Raja Mariamman Temple, Jalan Kampung Jawa Baru, George Town
Sri Poongka Munneswarar Temple, Jalan Kampung Jawa Baru, George Town
Sri Madurai Veeran Temple, Jalan Timah, George Town
Sri Kamatchi Amman Temple, Jalan Sungai Pinang, George Town
Sri Muniswarar Temple, Jalan Jkr, Sungai Pinang, George Town
Sri Balamurugar Temple, Jalan Kajang, George Town
Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, Lorong Kulit, George Town
Sri Karumariamman Temple, Dhoby Ghaut, George Town
Sri Ramar Temple, Solok York, George Town
Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, Solok York, George Town
Sri Aatrangkarai Vinayagar Temple, Solok York, George Town
Sri Jadamuneeswarar Temple, Solok York, George Town
Sti Throubathai Amman Temple, Solok York, George Town
Sri Sivasakthi Amman Temple, Jalan Air Itam, George Town
Sri Ambakarathoor Pathrakaliamman Temple, Jalan Air Itam, George Town
Sri Rudra Veera Muthu Maha Mariamman Temple, Jalan Air Itam, George Town
Sri Maha Muneeswarar Temple, Jalan Pokok Cherry, George Town
Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple, Bukit Bendera, George Town
Sri Rokku Malai Muneeswarar Temple, Paya Terubong, George Town
Sri Sivasakthi Aiyappar Temple, Jalan Mount Erskine, George Town
Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Temple, Jalan Fettes, Tanjung Tokong, George Town
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Tanjung Bunga, George Town
Sri Kadalora Kaliamman Temple, Tanjung Bunga, George Town
Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple, Teluk Bahang
Sri Munesswaran Temple (new), Teluk Bahang
Sri Muthu Mariamman Thandayuthapani Temple, Balik Pulau
Sri Manalmedu Muthu Mariamman Temple, Balik Pulau
Sri Muthu Mariamman Muneeswarar Temple, Bayan Lepas
Sri Visvanathar Visalatchi Temple, Jalan Tokong Ular, Bayan Baru
Sri Veera Kaliamman Temple, Batu Uban, George Town
Sri Krishnar Temple, Sungai Dua, George Town
Sri Veera Makaliamman Temple, Gelugor, George Town
Sri Muneeswarar Temple, Jalan Tengku Kudin (Udini Road), George Town
Sri Aathi Baghavathi Temple, Bukit Gelugur, George Town
Sri Ragunatha Swami Madalayam, Bukit Gelugur, George Town
Sri Veera Makaliamman Temple, Lorong Ipoh, Jelutong, George Town
Sri Vazhividum Murugar Temple, Jalan Gurdwara, George Town
Sri Ashtambar Muneeswarar Temple, Jalan Gurdwara, George Town
Sri Murugar Temple, Sungai Ara
Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple, Jalan Batu Gantung, George Town
Sri Aghora Veerapathra Temple, Jalan Batu Gantung, George Town
Sri Dharma Muneeeswarar Temple, Jalan Kampung Pisang, George Town
Sri Muneeswarar Temple, Jalan Kelawai, Pulau Tikus, George Town
Sri Dhurga Devi Temple, Jalan Kelawai, Pulau Tikus, George Town
Sri SivaShakti Durgaiamman, George Town
Sree Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Temple, Butterworth
Dewi Sree Veerapathra Maha Kaliamman Temple, Butterworth
Sri Radha Krishna Temple, Butterworth
Sri Thandayuthapani Kovil, Jawi
Sri Thandayuthapani Kovil, Bukit Mertajam
Sri Sangilikarrupar Kaliamman Temple, Butterworth
Sri Angalla Paramesvary Temple No.1864/2, Jln Assumption, Butterworth
Sri Mangalanayagi Amman Devasthanam, Bukit Mertajam
Arulmigu Karumariamman Temple, Seberang Jaya
Jalan Baru Sri Muniswarar Temple, Perai
Sri Meenakshi Amman Kovil, Simpang Ampat
Sri Saiva Muniswarar-Naga Karumariamman Temple, Jalan Heng Choon Thian, Butterworth
Throwpathi Amman Temple, Pokok Machang, Butterworth
Sri Saiva Muneeswarar Alayam, Island Glades, Penang

Perak

Sree Senthil Vel Murugan Aalayam, Tong Wah Estate, Tapah, Perak (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sree-Senthil-Vel-Murugan-Aalayam/1410851772514628)
Sree Maha Muthu Mariamman, TRP Taiping, Perak
Sri Mahalechumyamman Alayam, Slim River, Perak
Sri Meenachiamman Alayam, Slim River, Perak
Arulmigu Annai Devi Sri Karumariamman Alayam, Bedford/Slim Village, Slim River
Sree Bathra Kaliamman Temple, Fair Park, Ipoh
Arulmigu Thandayuthabani Alayam Teluk, Intan
Sri Venkateswara Devastanamu Sungai Sumun, Hutan Melintang, Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia
Aruligu Mariaman Alayam Ulu Licin, Beruas
Arulmigu Thandayuthapaandi Solan Ulu Licin, Beruas
Om Sri Maha Nagakanniamman Temple, Changkat, Batu Gajah, Perak (www.facebook.com/OmSriNagakanniamanTemple)
Sri Subramaniyar Swamy Temple, Batu Gajah, Perak (www.facebook.com/SriSubramaniyarSwamyTemple )
Arulmigu Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Buntong Ipoh, Perak
Sri Veeramuthu Mahakaliamman (Kungumangi) Temple, Buntong Ipoh, Perak
Kallumalai Arulmigu Sri Subramaniyar Temple, Gunong Cheroh, Ipoh Perak
Arulmigu Sri Maha Batrakaliamman Temple, Batu Gajah, Perak
Arulmigu Nagammal Paripalana Sabah
Sri Kaliamman Temple, Jalan Tanjung Tualang, Batu Gajah Perak
Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Bidor, Perak
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, MTD Batu Gajah, Perak
Arulmigu Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple, Changkat Batu Gajah Perak
Om Sri Arulmigu Sivasakthi Alayam Changkat Batu Gajah Perak ( face book...arumigu sivasakthi @yahoo.com)
Sri Ayyanar Temple, Ulu Sepetang, Perak (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Taiping-Sri-Ayyanar-Temple-Ulu-Sepetang/207094786087327)
Sri Bulokammah Alayam, Batu 24, Jalan Bagan Datoh, 36200 Selekoh, Perak.
Sri Anantha Nadarajar Alayam,(Hindu Sabah Sivan Koyil) No 1152, Jalan Syed Abu Bakar,36000 Teluk Intan,Perak.
Sri Seethala Maha Mariamman Alayam,Batu 4,Teluk Intan Perak
Arulmigu Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam,Kota Baharu,Gopeng,Perak

Selangor

Kuil Sri Perumal Simpang Morib Banting Kuala Langat Selangor:Chairman Mr M S MALAYALAM
Sri Maha Muniswarar Alayam, Taman Seri Berembang, 42000 Pelabuhan Klang . Founder Mr Vijian Amaran. https://www.facebook.com/srimahamuniswaralayam
Sri maha mariamman tample, Taman Glenmarie, U1/80, Jalan subang, Batu 3,Shah alam, Selangor
Devi Sri Maha Karumariamman, Sri Muniswarar, Sri Kottai Muniandy Temple. Batu 2 Jalan Langat, 41200 Klang
Sungai Buloh Sri 18 Bhagavathi Amman Temple
Arulmigu Sri Subramaniyar Alayam Rawang
Sri Devi Padaivetri Maha Mariamman Kovil, Bt 5 1/2 Meru, Klang
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam (Bukit Kemuning 12 km, Shah Alam)
Sri Subramaniam Kovil
Sri Subramaniar Alayam, Sepang, Selangor
Sri Sitthi Vinayagar Kovil, P.J. Selangor
Sri Sakthi Easwari Kovil, P.J. Selangor
Sri Shivan Temple, Bukit Gasing,Selangor
Sri Subramaniar Kovil, P.J. Selangor
Sri Subramania Swamy Kovil, Klang, Selangor
Sri Sivan Kovil, Kota Road, Klang, Selangor
Sri Maha Mariamman Kovil, Klang, Selangor
Sri Maha Mariamman Kovil, 47000 Sungai Buloh
Sri Selva Vinayagar Kovil, Klang, Selangor
Sri Raja Rajeswary Kovil, Ampang
Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Alayam, Ampang
Sri Thruga Parameswary Amman Alayam,Kampung Tumbuk, Tanjong Sepat, Selangor. https://www.facebook.com/srithurgaparameswary.amman
Sri Subramaniaswami Temple Paribalana Sabai, Kajang
Sri Sundaraja Perumal Kovil, Klang, Selangor
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Telok Panglima Garang, Banting
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Klang (Istana)
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam, (Kg Muhibah, Rawang)
Sri Vartharaja Perumal Temple, SS 13 Subang Jaya
Sri Verrakathy Vinayagar Temple, Rawang, Selangor
sri subramaniam swamy kovil, Jln reko kajang
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla, Kota Kemuning, 40460 Shah Alam
Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, USJ Subang Jaya
Sri Murugan Temple, Persiaran Selangor, Shah Alam (CSR Sugar)
Sri Murugan Temple Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya
Sri Vengadachalapathy Temple, Puchong, Subang Jaya
Sri Maha Maheswari Kaliamman Temple, Batu 14 Puchong
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Batu 14 Puchong
Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple,Pusat Bandar Puchong
Sri Naga Nageswary Amman Temple,Puchong Intan
Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple, Seafield, Subang Jaya. (Demolished)
Sri Subramaniar Aalaya, Semenyih
Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple,Kampung Sireh,Semenyih
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Ladang Rinching, Semenyih
Sri Veppilaikari Mariamman Aalayam, Sa-ringgit Est, Semenyih
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple HICOM, Shah Alam
Om Sri Maha Veera Jada Muneswarar Alayam (Jalan e3/1),Taman Ehsan, Kepong(Weldroad)
Sri Rajarajeswari Alayam,Taman Sri Sentosa,Klang
Sri Subramaniar Kovil,Port Klang
Sri Maha Muneeswarar Aalayam, Jalan Klang Banting, Klang Selangor
Sri Muniswaran Temple, Bukit Tinggi, Klang
Arulmigu Sri Subramaniar Temple Kerling
Sri Sithivinayagar Temple Jalan Pahang, Kuala Kubu Bharu
Sri Pottu Veerar Aalayam, Batu Belah, Meru, Klang
sri thurobathai amman alayam, tongkah, Banting
Arulmigu Om Sri Muneeswaran Alayam, Tepi Sungai Klang
Sri Sitthi Vinayagar, Taman Kim Chuan, Pandamaran, Klang
Om Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam, Pandamaran, Klang
Om Sri Vettaikara Pandimuni Kaliamman Alayam, Pandamaran, Klang
Sri VeeraBhatra Kaliammal Temple, Sg.Jelok, Kajang
Arulmigu Agora Veerabathirar-Sanggili Karuppar Alayam, Kg.Benggali, Rawang
Anggala Parameswari / Pechayi Amman Temple, Ladang Bukit Talang, Kuala Selangor
Sri Muneerwaran Temple, Ladang Tuan Mee
Sri Rama Baktha Raja PanjaMukha Aanjaneyar Temple (Taman Sentosa Klang and Vanarai Padai Urumi Melam Members)
Sri Balasubramaniar Alayam Sungai Tinggi Estate Batang Berjuntai
Kuil Sri Maha Muniswarar,Ampang Local Council,Bandar Baru Ampang
Kuil Aum Siva Sri Muneeswarar, Kampung Benggali, Rawang
Sri Maha Mariamman Old temple Bukit Rajah New Devison Klang
Sri Maha Mariamman ( lot 963 ) Kg. Kayu Ara,Damansara,Petaling Jaya.
Sri Sithi Vinayagar Tanjung Karang Selangor
Kuil Sri Maha Kaligambaal Muneeswarar Puchong Utama Selangor.
Arulmigu Sri Ayyappaswamy Devasthanam, Batu Caves, Selangor
Sri Raja Kaliamman alayam,Taman Sentosa Klang ( Mathurai muni urumi melam @ Maada Samy )
Sri Maha Maariyamman alayam,Bandar Rinching,43500 Semenyih Selangor
Sri Maha Karumaariyamman Alayam, Taman Batu Untong, 42800 Tanjung Sepat, Selangor

Terengganu

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Chukai, Kemaman
Sri Kali Yuga Durga Lakshmi Amman Temple, Jalan Cherong Lanjut, Kuala Terengganu
Sri Soola Amman Temple, Kuala Terengganu
Sri Maha Mariamman, Kerteh, Kemaman

Negeri Sembilan

Sri Rajakaliamman Sri Dato Alayam, Seremban
Sri Muneeswarar Alayam, Taman Labu Jaya Seremban
Sri Maha Mariamman Port Dickson
Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Jalan Dr Muthu
Sri Bala Thandayuthapani Temple, Paul Street
Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Taman Rasah Jaya
Dewi Sri Maha Mariamman Thiruthondar Peravai, Pajam, 71700 Mantin, NS
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Jalan Besar, Mantin
Om Sri Anjaneyar Aalayam, Jalan Pantai, Port Dickson
Sri Maha Mariamman Aalayam, Dusun Nyior Seremban
Sri Palanimalai Murugan Temple, Ulu Temiang, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
Sri Murugan Temple, Siliau, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple, Rantau, Negeri Sembilan
Arulmighu Maha Sapthakaniga Devi Temple, Bukit Kepayang 2
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Bukit Tembok. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sri-Maha-Mariamman-Temple-Bukit-Tembok-Seremban/275091572501382
Sri Puthu Vinayagar temple, Bukit Tembok
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Rasah
Sri Kottai Muniswaran Temple, Taman Minang,Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan
Arulmighu Maha Sapthakanniga Devi Temple, Kanni Koil, www.kannikoil.gbs2u.com
Sri Durga Temple, Taman Senawang Jaya Senawang
Taman Sri Permata Mariamman Temple, Sungai Ujong
Sri Murugan Temple, Mambau Seremban
Sri Muniswarar Temple, Loco Railway Qrts, Rasah Seremban
Arulmigu Om Sri Muneeswaran Alayam,T Springhill, Negeri Sembilan
Sri Maha Raja Rajeswarar Temple Tmn Tuanku Jaafar NSDK (Sivan Alayam)
Sri Veerabathra Kaaliamman Temple, Kajang
Sri Maha Karumariamman Temple, Banting
Sri Maha Marriamman Temple, Ladang Dominion, Semenyih
Sri Ayinariswar Temple, Jalan Genting Kelang Setapak
Dewi Sri Naagaputru Karumariamman Temple, Lukut, Port Dickson
Mariamman Temple, Rasah Jaya 5/12
Sri Subramaniayar Bala Thendayuthapani Lobak, Jalan Tan Sri Manicavasagam, Seremban
Sri Raja Kottai Muniswarar,Taman Sri Senawang, Tuanku Jaafar

Malacca

Sri Subramaniar Thuropathai Amman Alayam (Gajah Berang Melaka)
Sri Subramaniar Alayam Batu Berendam Melaka
Sri Mutu Mariam Alayam, Bukit Beruang
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Gajah Berang Melaka
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Pengakalan Rama
Sri Maa Veeran Temple (Madurai Veeran Temple)
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Taman Sri Sebang, Pulau Sebang, 78000 Alor Gajah, Melaka
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Kampung Pulau Sebang, Jalan SimPang Empat, Pulau Sebang, Alor Gajah
Sri Bala Thandayudabani Temple, Naning division, Simpat Empat
Sri Mookambikai Temple, Simpang Empat, Alor Gajah
Arulmigu Sannasimalai Andavar Temple, Cheng
Sundaramoorti Vinayagar Temple
Sri Maha Kaaliamman Temple, Jalan Hutan Percha, Alor Gajah
Sri Astha Thasa Bhuja Kaliamman, Durian Tunggal,
Sri Nondi Samy Alayam Temple, Jalan Pengkalan,Alor Gajah
Sri Poyyathia Vinayagar Moorthi Temple, Jalan Tokong
Devi Sri Karu Maha Kaliamman Temple, Jasin Melaka
Sri Maha Karumariamman Estate Air Panas, Alor Gajah
Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Alor Gajah
Sri Maha Mariamman Estate Kemuning Kru, Alor Gajah
SRI SUBRAMANIAR ALAYAM BERTAM ESTATE DURIAN TUNGGAL MELAKA
SRI SIVAN AALAYAM, JASIN (Jalan Jasin)
SRI MAHAA MAARIAMMAN AALAYAM, JASIN (Jalan Jasin)

Johor

SRI VALLITHEIVANAI MURUGAN TEMPLE,PANCHOR,MUAR,JOHOR
Arulmigu Menaatchi Amman Alaiyam , kg Oren, Ulu tiram
Sri Devi Karumariamman Temple, Taman Dato Chellam – (Ulu Tiram), Johor
Sri Muthu Mariamman Temple – Muar, Muar District
Sri Nagamalai Koil Alaiyam – Bukit Pasir, Muar, Muar District
Arulmigu Sri Maha Mariamman Muttapan Alayam – Batu Anam
Sri Subramaniar Temple – Labis, Segamat District
Sri Devi Karumariamman Temple -Kg.Boopathi, Chaah, Segamat Johor
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam – Chua Estate Ladang Sungai, Labis, Segamat District
Aathiparasakhti Aalayam – Labis, Segamat District
Sri Muniswarar Thiru Kovil – Lorong Mempelam, Jalan Skudai, Tampoi
Arulmigu Sri Raja Mariamman Devasthanam – Jalan Ungku Puan, Bandaraya, Johor Bahru
Sri Maha Subramaniam Kovil – Skudai
Thandayuthabani Kovil – Wadi Hana, Johor Bahru
Sri Maha Kaliamman Kovil – Wadi Hana, Johor Bahru
Sri Subramaniam Kovil – Masai, Johor Bahru District
Sri Muneswaran Kovil – Masai, Johor Bahru
Maha Kaliamman Kovil – Masai, Johor Bahru
Dewa Sri Hanumar Thiru Kovil – Tmn Damai Jaya, Skudai, Johor Bahru
Arulmigu Sri Maha NagaKarumariamman Alayam – Tmn Damai Jaya, Skudai
Kuil Sri Subramaniar Tangkak Johor
Arulmigu Sithi Vinayagar Thirukkovil – Johor Jaya, Johor
Arulmigu Sri Athi Siva Sakthi Kanthariswarar Temple – Kampung Melayu Niyor, Kluang, Johor
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Jalan Hospital Kluang, Kluang, Johor
Sri Vel Murugan Alayam - Jalan Satu, Taman Bersatu, Kluang, Johor
Aathi Parasakthi Temple - Jalan Mengkibol, Kluang, Johor
Sri Jeya Subramaniar Alayam – Kampung MIC, Sri Lalang Jalan Batu Pahat, Kluang, Johor
Sri ThiruMurugan Alayam - Kem Geresan, Kluang, Johor
Sri Durgaiamman Alayam, Kampung Majid, Kluang Johor
Sri Nagakani Alayam, Padang Tembak, Kluang, Johor
Sri Bathrakaliamman Alayam, Kluang Estate,
Sri Raja Rajeswari Temple, Kluang
Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Glass Temple – Bandaraya Johor Bahru,
Sri Mahamariammam Temple – Tai Tak Kota Tinggi, Johor
Sri Maha Marriamman – Ladang New Pogoh, Segamat District, Johor
Sri Karumariamman, Alayam – Ladang Sagil
Arulmigu Sri Thandayuthapani Alayam Segamat District
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam, Segamat District
Sri Maha Karumariamman Alayam – Sungai Senarut, Batu Anam
Maha Mariamman Alayam – Kg.Kenangan, Batu Anam
Sri Maha Kaliamman Alayam – Batu Anam
Dewi Sri Meenachi Amman- Ladang Mount Austin, Taman Seri Austin
PERSATUAN SRI RAMA THOOTHA BAKTHA HANUMAN ALAYAM SENAI KAMPUNG SEPAKAT(138,JLN KAMPUNG SEPAKAT BARU BATU 12/5 SENAI JOHOR)

Pahang

Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Jalan Kemunting, Kuantan, Pahang
Sri Sitti Vinayagar Temple – Bukit Ubi, Kuantan
Sri Subramaniar Aalayam – Jalan Sungai Lembing, Kuantan
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Tanah Ratah, Cameron Highlands
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Bue Valley, Cameron Highlands
Sri Subramaniyar Temple – Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands
Sri Subramaniyar Temple – Ringlet, Cameron Highlands
Sri Subramaniyar Temple – Kuala Terla, Cameron Highlands
Sri Thandayuthabani Temple – Brinchang, Cameron Highlands
Sri Maha Mariaman Temple – Boh Tea Estate, Cameron Highlands
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Sungai Palas Estate, Cameron Highlands
Thanggala Kaliamman Alayam – Ladang Kelapa Sawit, Bukit Koman, Raub
Sri Subramaniyar Alayam – Raub
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam -Rotan Tunggal, Raub
Kallukori Sri Kaliamman Alayam – Mentakab
Sri Maha Mariamman Alayam – Mentakab
Sri Subramaniar Alayam – Mentakab
Sri Maha Mariammam Temple Mentakab Estate – Mentakab Division
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Temerloh
Sri Marathandavar Bala Dhandayuthapani Alayam, Maran
Kuil Arulmigu Sri Batumalai Andavar, Batu 18, Jalan Lipis/Raub, 27300 Benta, Pahang Darul Makmur
Kuil Sri Maha Mariamman Ladang Benta, 27300 Benta, Pahang Darul Makmur
Sri Attur Amman Alayam – Benta 10 Pahang, Kuala Lipis
Sri Subramaniar Aalayam, Jalan Benta, Kuala Lipis
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Budu Estate Benta, Kuala Lipis
sri maha muthumariamman aalayam – Jengka 16
sri sithi vinayagar aalayam – Jengka 21
sri maha muniyandhi aalayam – Mentakab
sri maha mariamman – Jengka 13

Kelantan

Sri Maha Muthu Mariamman Temple – Tumpat, Kelantan
Sivasubramaniyam Temple – Kota Bharu
Karumariamman Temple, Kerilla Estate, Tanah Merah
Thiru Murugan Temple _ Kuala Krai
Shri Maha Kaliaman Alayam, taman Guchil Jaya@ daskoh, Kuala Krai, Kelantan

East Malaysia

Sabah

Sri Subramaniar Temple – Kem Lok Kawi, Kota Kinabalu
Sri Pasupathinath Alayam(with Murugan Sannithi) – Jalan Khidmat, Opp St Francis Convent, Kota Kinabalu
Thirumurugan Temple – Tawau
Sri Sivan Kovil with Murugan sannithi – Camp Paradise, Kota Belud
Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Sandakan

Sarawak

Mount Matang Maha Mariamman Temple – Mount Matang, Kuching, Sarawak
Sri Srinivasagar Kaliamman Temple – Ban Hock Road, Kuching
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple – Batu Lintang, Kuching
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple - Jalan Orchid, Sibu

Labuan

Thiru Murugan Temple – Pangkalan Udara Labuan, Membedai, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan

List of Hindu temples in Netherlands

2015-07-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

Below is the list of Hindu temples in Netherlands

Lord Shiva Hindu Temples, Hoogoorddreef 79, 1101 BB, Amsterdam, Zuidoost. http://www.shivatemple.nl
Sri Hindoestanen Sai Baba Mandir, Amsterdam
Hare Krishna ISKCON Temple, Van Hilligaertstraat 17, Amsterdam
Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Lange Lombardstraat 34, Den Haag (Relocating soon)
Triloki Dhaam Mandir, Tongelresestraat 371, Eindhoven
Mantra Mandir, Enschede
VHP Holland, Van Ledenberchstraat 8, Leiden
Shri Jagadambe Mandir, Griend, Lelystad
Limburg Murugan Temple, Putgraaf 3, Heerlen
Sri Sivasubramaniya Thevastanam, Schipperswal 26C, Roermond
Gurdwara und Hindoe Tempel Shri Nanak Dev, Buffelstraat, Rotterdam-Kralingse Veer
Sri Maha Diwali aur Holi Hindu Centre, Rotterdam
Om Sri Gagaday Swami Temple, Utrecht
Shree Raam Mandir, Stationslaan 18, Wijchen
Sewa Dhaam Mandir Alberdingk Thijmplein 34 Den Haag

List of Hindu Temples in New Zealand

2015-07-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Below is the List of Hindu Temples in major New Zealand cities. Cities are ordered by the number of Hindu Temples. The name of the Mandir is in bold and the location is in italics.

Auckland

The Bharatiya Mandir is located in Balmoral and contains Deities of Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Rama and Goddess Seeta, and Lord Hanuman.
There is a Tamil-style Thirumurugan Temple in Ellerslie. The temple has Deities of Lord Ganesha, Lord Murugan, Goddess Rajarajeswari Amman, Lord Bhairava and the Navagrahas (nine planets).
The Sri Ganesh Temple is located in Papakura. The temple has Deities of Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, Lord Kamakshi, Lord Kartikeya (Murugan)and Parvati (Shakti).
There is also a Radha-Krishna Temple in Eden Terrace and a Ram Krishna Temple in Papatoetoe.
The International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation runs a Swaminarayan Temple in Auckland. The main Deities are Ghanshyam Maharaj, Nar Narayan Dev, Radha Krishna Dev and Ram Parivar as well as Kul Devs of the local community.

Wellington

Wellington Hindus can worship at the Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Newlands. It has Deities of Lord Ganesh, Lord Murugan and Lord Shiva (as Nataraja)and many more.
The Wellington Indian Association run a North Indian style Temple with Deities of Lord Rama, Goddess Seeta and Lakshmana, Goddess Radha and Lord Krishna, Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman.

Tauranga

Members of the Tauranga Hindu community created the Sanatan Dharam Trust, with the goal of building the Sanatan Dharam Mandir in Tauranga. The trust bought roughly 2150 square meters of land in the suburb of Tauriko for around $400,000. Despite being inaugurated in 2012, work on the actual Hindu Temple did not commence until early 2015. Stage One of the temple is expected to be completed by mid-late 2015. The temple is located at 108 Whiore Ave, Tauriko, Tauranga.

Christchurch

Christchurch's and the South Island's only Hindu temple is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Christchurch, located in 19 Frank Street in the suburb of Papanui. The mandir was inaugurated on July 26, 2011, after a "Mahapuja". The temple was inaugurated after 12 months of renovations, which the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake temporarily halted.

Rotorua

The BAPS Sri Swaminarayan Temple, Rotorua's first Hindu Temple, opened in September 2012 for an estimated $1.5 million making it the fourth "BAPS" temple in New Zealand. The temple is located in the suburb of Fenton Park, where Hindus made up 7.5%(95 people) of the total suburb population in the 2013 census. It the only Hindu Temple in the central north island.

Hamilton

The Sri Balaji Temple was opened in March 2015, six years after the founding of the Sri Balaji Temple Charitable Trust. The temple is currently located at 2 Kent St, Frankton.

Other locations

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness also has a presence in New Zealand, running temples in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. The Auckland temple is located out of the city, and is built in the Vedic style with a tower over the main shrine.
The International Society of Krishna Consciousness run programs at the university Clubs and Socieites Centre.

List of Hindu Temples in Australia

2015-07-15T08:01:00.001-07:00

Below is the list of Hindu temples in Australia:

Australian Capital Territory

Gemini temple, Canberra
Canberra Saiva Temple
Hindu Temple & Cultural Centre, Canberra
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple, Ainslie

New South Wales

Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir Sydney ISSO (The 1st Swaminarayan Hindu Sanathan Dharma Temple in Australia)
Sydney Shakti Temple, Old Toongabbie [www.sydneyshakti.org]
Sri Karphaga Vinayagar Temple
Sydney Murugan Temple, Mays Hill, Sydney
Sydney Sri Durga Devi Temple,Regents park ( http://www.sydneydurga.org)
Sri Mandir, Auburn, Sydney
Sri Venkateswara Temple (Helensburgh)
Mukti-Gupteshwar Mandir Society Minto
Hare Krishna Temple (North Sydney)
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple (Newtown)
Shirdi SaiBaba Temple (Strathfield)(http://www.shirdisai.org.au)
Shri Sanatan Dharam Mandir (Prestons)
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Sydney (SSTS)
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Sydney
Shri Shiva Mandir Ltd. Minto
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple and Farm Murwillumbah
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) New Gokula Farm Millfield near Cessnock
Sita Ram Mandir, Gorakshan Road, Carramar, Sydney
Sri Sharada Temple 1037 Old Northern Rd,Dural, NSW- 2158

Northern Territory

Darwin Hindu Temple
Queensland
Sri Selva Vinayakar Temple (Ganesha Temple) (South Maclean)
Sri Sri Gaur Nitai (Gracehill)
Shiv Dhaam (Kingston)
Hindu Mandir Association of Queensland (Burbank)
Hindu Temple (Nundah)
Sri Sri Gaur Nitai - Hare Krishna Temple
Shiva Mandir Temple - 17 Kyonet Street, Baree, QLD 4714
Om Shree Deveshwar Mahadev Shiv Mandir - 46 Doggett St, Newstead

South Australia

Shree Swaminarayan Temple Adelaide (SSTA) (The 1st Hindu Sanathan Dharma Temple in South Australia)
Adelaide Ganesh Temple
Hare Krishna (ISKCON)Temple (Kilburn)
Adelaide Murugan Temple

Victoria

Shree Swaminarayan Temple Melbourne (The 1st Hindu Sanathan Dharma Temple in Victoria)
AUMSAI SANSTHAN Temple, 76 Albert St, Mordialloc, Located in Bear street, behind Commbank parking, next to Mordialloc Station
Shirdi SAI Temple located in Mordialloc, Celebrates the festivals of Shirdi www.aumsai.org.au
Vaishnav Sangh - Shreenathji Temple, Haveli, (3-5 Princes Domain Drive,Hallam, Victoria - 3803)
Shree Shirdi Sai Mandir Melbourne, (32 Halley Ave, Camberwell VIC 3124, Glorious Sai Baba Temple in Camberwell, To reach temple from Monash university take bus no 703 or 733 and get down at burwood highway and catch tram no 75, stop no 50
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Sanstha Melborne
Craigieburn Mata Mandir , Craigieburn
Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple, Victoria (Carrum Downs)
Sri Vakratunda Vinayaka Temple (The Basin)
Mata Chintapurni Mandir (St Albans) www.matachintapurni.org
Melbourne Murugan Temple (Sunshine North)
Durga Temple, Rockbank
Kundrathu Kumaran Temple (Rockbank)
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) New Nandagram Rural Community (Bambra)
Sri Sai Shiva Vishnu Temple (Hoppers Crossing)
Sankat Mochan Samiti (Shri Hanuman Ji temple) (Huntingdale)

Western Australia

Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, Perth
Shree Swaminarayan temple , Whiteman park Perth
Sri Shiva Temple, Perth
Shirdi Sai Sansthan Perth, 18 Kerry Street, Dianella, WA 6051,
Sri Bala Murugan Temple (Mandogalup)
Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple, (Bayswater)

List of Hindu Temples in Bangladesh

2015-07-15T07:50:00.002-07:00

Below is the list of Hindu temples in Bangladesh:

The Grate Kali Mondir, Dasharhat(RDRS-Bazar), Kurigram District,Rangpur Division, Bangladesh
Dhakeshwari Temple, Dhaka
Kantaji Temple, Dinajpur
Chandranath Temple, One of the Shaktipithas Sitakund, Chittagong
Adinath Temple, Moheshkhali, Cox's Bazar
Bhabanipur Shaktipeeth, Bhabanipur, Sherpur Upazila, Bogra
Ramna Kali Mandir in the Ramna area of Dhaka was the primary Hindu temple of East Bengal but was destroyed by the West Pakistan Army in March 1971.
Boro Kali Bari Temple, Mymensingh
Jeshoreshwari Kali Temple, Shyamnagar, Satkhira
Baba Lokenath Brahmachari Ashram, Barodi, Narayongonj
Sree Sree Lokenath Mondir, Hashimpur, Chandanaish, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Kal Bhairab Temple, Brahmanbaria
Puthia Temple Complex, Rajshahi
Sri Sri Mehar Kalibari,Shahrasti, Chandpur, Bangladesh

List of Hindu Temples in Belgium

2015-07-15T07:37:00.001-07:00

Below are the list of Hindu temples in Belgium

Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha Mandir (ISKCON), Radhadesh - Chateau de Petite Somme, Ardennes
Namaskar - Hindu Association of Brussels, Belgium
Brussels Mandir - Brussels - Belgium

List of Hindu Temples in Cambodia

2015-07-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Below are the list of Hindu temples in Cambodia

Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត or "Capital Temple") is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally founded as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,[2] appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds" (Sanskrit: वाट vāṭa ""enclosure").

History

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

According to legend, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to act as a palace for his son Precha Ket Mealea. According to the 13th century Chinese traveler Daguan Zhou, it was believed by some that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect.

The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished. In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a few kilometers to the north.

Toward the end of the 12th century, Angkor Wat gradually transformed from a Hindu center of worship to Buddhism, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that it "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." In the mid-19th century, the temple was visited by the French naturalist and explorer, Henri Mouhot, who popularised the site in the West through the publication of travel notes, in which he wrote:

"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged."

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, found it difficult to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site. There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking utensils, weapons, or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence of the monuments themselves.

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of accumulated earth and vegetation. Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.

The temple is a powerful symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride that has factored into Cambodia's diplomatic relations with France, the United States and its neighbor Thailand. A depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of the first version circa 1863. From a larger historical and even transcultural perspective, however, the temple of Angkor Wat did not become a symbol of national pride sui generis but had been inscribed into a larger politico-cultural process of French-colonial heritage production in which the original temple site was presented in French colonial and universal exhibitions in Paris and Marseille between 1889 and 1937. Angkor Wat's aesthetics were also on display in the plaster cast museum of Louis Delaporte called musée Indo-chinois which existed in the Parisian Trocadero Palace from c.1880 to the mid-1920s.

The splendid artistic legacy of Angkor Wat and other Khmer monuments in the Angkor region led directly to France adopting Cambodia as a protectorate on 11 August 1863 and invading Siam to take control of the ruins. This quickly led to Cambodia reclaiming lands in the northwestern corner of the country that had been under Siamese (Thai) control since 1351 AD (Manich Jumsai 2001), or by some accounts, 1431 AD. Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953 and has controlled Angkor Wat since that time. It is safe to say that from the colonial period onwards until the site's nomination as UNESCO World Heritage in 1992, this specific temple of Angkor Wat was instrumental in the formation of the modern and gradually globalized concept of built cultural heritage.

Architecture

Site and plan

Angkor Wat, located at 13°24′45″N 103°52′0″E, is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples and the later plan of concentric galleries. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level.

Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led many (including Maurice Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple. Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which proceed in a counter-clockwise direction—prasavya in Hindu terminology—as this is the reverse of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. The archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar which was recovered from the central tower. It has been nominated by some as the greatest expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she argues that the structure represents a claimed new era of peace under King Suryavarman II: "as the measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in academic circles. She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.

Style

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture—the Angkor Wat style—to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material. Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified, although natural resins or slaked lime has been suggested.

The temple has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style."

Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static and less graceful than earlier work. Other elements of the design have been destroyed by looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.

Features

Outer enclosure

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper. Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach, which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine. Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth.

The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central structure.

Central structure

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.Each gallery has a gopura at each of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Gods"). Buddha images were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed. This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may originally have been filled with water. North and south of the cloister are libraries.

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115 m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru. Three sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. This inner gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines. The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. The shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine: filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.

Decoration

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known linear arrangement of stone carving". From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, showing 92 asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the equinox to the summer solstice). It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize, "The workmanship is at its worst"). and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna.

Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30–40 cm) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95–110 cm) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. In 1927, Sappho Marchal published a study cataloging the remarkable diversity of their hair, headdresses, garments, stance, jewelry and decorative flowers, which Marchal concluded were based on actual practices of the Angkor period.

Construction techniques

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuvre them into place.

The monument was made out of millions of tonnes of sandstone and it has a greater volume as well as mass than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. The Angkor Wat Temple consumes about 6 million to 10 million blocks of sandstone with an average weight of 1.5 tons each. In fact, the entire city of Angkor used up far greater amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Moreover, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which use limestone quarried barely half a km away all the time, the entire city of Angkor was built with sandstone quarried 40 km (or more) away. This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the northeast. The route has been suggested to span 35 kilometres (22 mi) along a canal towards Tonlé Sap lake, another 35 kilometres (22 mi) crossing the lake, and finally 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) upstream and against the current along Siem Reap River, making a total journey of 90 kilometres (56 mi). However, Etsuo Uchida and Ichita Shimoda of Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan have discovered in 2012 a shorter 35-kilometre (22 mi) canal connecting Mount Kulen and Angkor Wat using satellite imagery. The two believe that the Khmer used this route instead.

Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling chariots as well as warriors following an elephant-mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1,000 square metres of bas reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers. While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stonemason and sculptor, recreated a stone sculpture under 4 feet (1.2 m), this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labor force to quarry, transport, carve and install so much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The skills required to carve these sculptures were developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated by some artifacts that have been dated to the seventh century, before the Khmer came to power.

Angkor Wat today

Restoration and conservation

The restoration of Angkor Wat in the modern era began with the establishment of Conservation d'Angkor by École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in 1908, prior to that activities at the site were primarily concerned with exploration. The Conservation d'Angkor was responsible for the research, conservation, and restoration activities carried out at Angkor until the early 1970s, and a major restoration of Angkor was undertaken in the 1960s. However, work on Angkor was abandoned during the Khmer Rouge era. Between 1986 and 1992, the Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple, although criticisms were raised about the damage to stone surface caused by their use of chemicals.

In 1992, following an appeal for help by Norodom Sihanouk, Angkor Wat was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage in Danger (later removed in 2004) and World Heritage Site together with an appeal by UNESCO to the international community to save Angkor. Zoning of the area was set up to protect the Angkor site in 1994, APSARA was established in 1995 to protect and manage the area, and a law to protect Cambodian heritage was passed in 1996. A number of countries such as France, Japan and China are involved in varius Angkor Wat conservation projects. The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. Other work involves the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, while a Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. World Monuments Fund began conservation work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008 after several years of conditions studies. The project restored the traditional Khmer roofing system and removed cement used in earlier restoration attempts that had resulted in salts entering the structure behind the bas-relief, discoloring and damaging the sculpted surfaces. The main phase of work ended in 2012, and the final component will be the installation of finials on the roof of the gallery in 2013.

Microbial biofilms have been found degrading sandstone at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, and the Bayon and West Prasat in Angkor. The dehydration and radiation resistant filamentous cyanobacteria can produce organic acids that degrade the stone. A dark filamentous fungus was found in internal and external Preah Khan samples, while the alga Trentepohlia was found only in samples taken from external, pink-stained stone at Preah Khan. Replicas were also made to replaced some of the lost or damaged sculptures.

Tourism

Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 1993, there were only 7,650 visitors to the site; by 2004, government figures show that 561,0000 foreign visitors had arrived in Siem Reap province that year, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia. The number reached over a million in 2007, and over two million by 2012. Most visited the Angkor Wat, which received over two million foreign tourists in 2013. The site has been managed by the private SOKIMEX group since 1990, which rented it from the Cambodian government. The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance—as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples—although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities.

Since Angkor Wat has seen significant growth in tourism throughout the years UNESCO and its International Co-ordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), in association with representatives from the Royal Government and APSARA, organized seminars to discuss the concept of "cultural tourism". Wanting to avoid commercial and mass tourism, the seminars emphasized the importance of providing high quality accommodation and services in order for the Cambodian government to benefit economically, while also incorporating the richness of Cambodian culture. In 2001, this incentive resulted in the concept of the "Angkor Tourist City" which would be developed with regard to traditional Khmer architecture, contain leisure and tourist facilities, and provide luxurious hotels capable of accommodating large amounts of tourists.

The prospect of developing such large tourist accommodations has encountered concerns from both APSARA and the ICC, claiming that previous tourism developments in the area have neglected construction regulations and more of these projects have the potential to damage landscape features. Also, the large scale of these projects have begun to threaten the quality of the nearby town's water, sewage, and electricity systems. It has been noted that such high frequency of tourism and growing demand for quality accommodations in the area, such as the development of a large highway, has had a direct effect on the underground water table, subsequently straining the structural stability of the temples at Angkor Wat. Locals of Siem Reap have also voiced concern over that the charm and atmosphere of their town have been compromised in order to entertain tourism. Since this local atmosphere is the key component to projects like Angkor Tourist City, local officials continue to discuss how to successfully incorporate future tourism without sacrificing local values and culture.

At the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012, it was agreed that Borobudur and Angkor Wat would become sister sites and the provinces sister provinces.

List of Hindu Temples in Brazil

2015-07-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Below is the list of Hindu Temples in Brazil:

The Behvand Arya Dewaker Hindu Temple
Centro Estudos Vidya Mandir, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro
Pousada Vrajabhumi Mandir, Est Isaías Vidal, Albuquerque, Teresópolis Rio de Janeiro
Satya Mandir Bistrô, Alameda Franca, 444 Jardim Paulista, São Paulo - SP
Mecânica Mandir, Rua Mal Deodoro, Governador Valadares - MG
Kirtana Mandir, VI Festa da Lua do Senhor Gauranga, Recife, Brazil
Templo Radha-Gokulananda, Fazenda Nova Gokula - Bairro Ribeirão Grande, Pindamonhangaba,SP, Brazil
Templo Radha Govinda, Fazenda Nova Vraja Dhama - Serra dos Cavalos, Distrito de Murici, Caruaru, PE, Brazil
Templo Goura Vrindavana, Eco-vila Goura Vrindavana, Rod. Rio-Santos BR 101, Km 558 - Graúna - Paraty, RJ, Brazil
ISKCON Rio de Janeiro, Estrada da Barra da Tijuca, 1990 - Itanhangá, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
ISKCON Belo Horizonte, Rua Ametista, 212 - Prado, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
ISKCON São Paulo, Rua Tomás Gonçalves, 70 - Butantã, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
ISKCON Porto Alegre, Rua Jose Bonifacio, 605 - Bom Fim, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

Baksei Chamkrong Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T09:29:00.001-07:00

Baksei Chamkrong (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបក្សីចាំក្រុង) is a small Hindu temple located in the Angkor complex (Siem Reap, Cambodia). It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and used to hold a golden image of Him. The temple can be seen on the left side when entering Angkor Thom at the southern gate. It was dedicated to Yasovarman by his son, King Harshavarman I. The temple was completed by Rajendravarman II (944-968).

Name

The name Baksei Chamkrong means "The Bird Who Shelters Under Its Wings" and comes from a legend. In it, the king tried to flee Angkor during a siege and then a huge bird landed and sheltered him under its wings.

Description

This temple is one of the first temples constructed of durable material such as bricks and laterite and with decoration in sandstone. Much of the stucco on the surface of the temple has vanished. The main sandstone lintel is decorated with a fine carving of Indra standing on his three-headed elephant Airavata. Garlands emanate from either side of Indra in the style current to the monument. There is an inscription on either side of the small doorway.

The pyramid measures 27 metres across at the base and 15 at the summit for an overall height of 13 metres.

Harshavarman I began construction or perhaps dedicated statues at the site in the early 10th century. It was later improved/restored by Rajendravarman II shortly after the capital was returned to Angkor from Koh Ker. According to inscriptions on the doorway, Rajendravarman II consecrated the temple with the installation of a golden Shiva image in 947 AD. It may have also served as a funerary temple. Combine with a visit to the South Gate in the morning or Phnom Bakheng in the evening. Lighting is best in the morning.

Banteay Samre Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

Banteay Samré (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយសំរែ) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia located east of the East Baray. Built under Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.

Named after the Samré, an ancient people of Indochina, the temple uses the same materials as the Banteay Srei.

Large, comparatively flat temple displaying distinctively Angkor Wat-style architecture and artistry. The temple underwent extensive restoration this century by archaeologists using the anastylosis method. Banteay Samre was constructed around the same time as Angkor Wat. The style of the towers and balustrades bear strong resemblance to the towers of Angkor Wat and even more so to Khmer temple of Phimai in Thailand. Many of the carvings are in excellent condition. Banteay Samre is a bit off the Grand Circuit, near the southeast corner of the East Baray. The trip there is a nice little 3km road excursion through villages and paddies. Combine a visit to Banteay Srey with a stop at Banteay Samre on the way back.

List of Hindu Temples in Burma(Myanmar)

2015-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

Below are the list of Hindu temples in Burma(Myanmar).

Banteay Srei Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T05:42:00.001-07:00

Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយស្រី) is a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva. Located in the area of Angkor in Cambodia. 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. 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."

History

Foundation and dedication

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 a courtier named Yajnavaraha / Yajñavarāha (modern Khmer: យជ្ញវរាហៈ), who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman II (modern Khmer: ព្រះបាទរាជេន្រ្ទវរ្ម័ន).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.

Yajñavarāha's temple was primarily dedicated to the Lord Śiva. Originally, it was 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.

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.

A brief study on Chola-built temples in Kampuchea (Cambodia)

With this good Chola-Khamer relationship the Saivite Priests, Traders and Stone Sculpturers from Chola country gradually settled in the region of Angkor the capital city of the Khamer emperor Suriyavarman - 1. During this period an old Siva Temple at 'Banteay Srei' 30 km from the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia was 'expanded and new sections were added to an existing Siva temple' evidently by the Chola forces and re-dedicated to Lord Siva, with the new name "Thiribuvanamahadeva Temple" after Rajendra Chola's own mother's name the "Thiribhuvanamahadevi".

In this temple in its second enclosure, on the Gopura over main entrance we see an image of Nadarajah represented with eight hands but not in the same style as the Nadarajah images in the Tamil Nadu with left leg lifted and with four hands. In the lower panel beneath the Nadarajah image on its right side we see an image of a Drummer playing the drums to the beat of the Dance of Lord Siva depicted as Nadarajah, and on the left we see an image "visibly and positively confirmed" as that of the Kaaraikaal Ammaiyar of the Chola Country being one of the 63 - Tamil Saiva Saints of Tamil Nadu. This Panel undoubtedly was carved by a Tamil Sculpturer apparently from Chola country in Tamil Nadu.

The Image of the Stone Panel at 'Banteay Srei' Siva Temple in Angkor, Cambodia, with the images of Nadarajah & Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyar can be reached and viewed on the following URL. (Enlarge this Image on your Computer to see the image of Kaaraikaal Ammaiyaar clearly with her ghostly Face and lean body with Ribs showing and holding a mango fruit in the right hand, an image of Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar comparable with the other images of her found in Tamil Nadu and in Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka.

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. 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.

Restoration

The temple was rediscovered only in 1914, and was the subject of a celebrated case of art theft when André Malraux stole four devatas in 1923 (he was soon arrested and the figures returned). The incident stimulated interest in the site, which was cleared the following year, and in the 1930s Banteay Srei was restored through the first important use of anastylosis at Angkor whereby a ruined building or monument is restored using the original architectural elements to the greatest degree possible. Until the discovery of the foundation stela in 1936, it had been assumed that the extreme decoration indicated a later date than was in fact the case. To prevent the site from water damage, the joint Cambodian-Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system between 2000 and 2003. Measures were also taken to prevent damage to the temples walls from nearby trees. Unfortunately, the temple has been ravaged by pilfering and vandalism. When toward the end of the 20th century authorities removed some original statues and replaced them with concrete replicas, looters took to attacking the replicas. A statue of Shiva and his shakti Uma, removed to the National Museum in Phnom Penh for safekeeping, was assaulted in the museum itself.

Materials and style

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.

Noteworthy decorative motifs include the kala (a toothy monster symbolic of time), the guardian dvarapala (an armed protector of the temple) and devata, 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 site

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.

The third (outer) enclosure

The 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 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 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 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 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."

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.

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 Lord 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 Lord of the sky Indra creating rain to put out a forest fire started by the Lord 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 southern 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.

Phimeanakas Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T05:31:00.002-07:00

Phimeanakas (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភិមានអាកាស, Prasat Phimean Akas, 'celestial temple') or Vimeanakas (Khmer: ប្រាសាទវិមានអាកាស, Prasat Vimean Akas) at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the Khleang style, built at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Rajendravarman (from 941-968), then rebuilt by Suryavarman I in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple. On top of the pyramid there was a tower, while on the edge of top platform there are galleries. Phimeanakas is located inside the walled enclosure of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom north of Baphuon.

The temple was the focal point of Suryavarman I's capital. The buildings there from his reign are enclosed by a wall 600 by 250 m, with five gopuram, and include the Southern and Northern Khleangs.

The tower must originally have been crowned with a golden pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it in his report. According to legend, the king spent the first watch of every night with a woman thought to represent a Nāga in the tower, during that time, not even the queen was permitted to intrude. Only in the second watch the king returned to his palace with the queen. If the naga who was the supreme land owner of Khmer land did not show up for a night, the king's day would be numbered, if the king did not show up, calamity would strike his land.

Phnom Bakheng Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-14T05:27:00.001-07:00

Phnom Bakheng (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភ្នំបាខែង) at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu and Buddhist temple in the form of a temple mountain. Dedicated to Shiva, it was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman (889-910). Located atop a hill, it is nowadays a popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much bigger temple Angkor Wat, which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast. The large number of visitors makes Phnom Bakheng one of the most threatened monuments of Angkor. Since 2004, World Monuments Fund has been working to conserve the temple in partnership with APSARA.

Constructed more than two centuries before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the principal temple of the Angkor region, historians believe. It was the architectural centerpiece of a new capital, Yasodharapura, that Yasovarman built when he moved the court from the capital Hariharalaya in the Roluos area located to the southeast.

An inscription dated 1052 AD and found at the Sdok Kak Thom temple in present-day Thailand states in Sanskrit: "When Sri Yasovardhana became king under the name of Yasovarman, the able Vamasiva continued as his guru. By the king's order, he set up a linga on Sri Yasodharagiri, a mountain equal in beauty to the king of mountains." Scholars believe that this passage refers to the consecration of the Phnom Bakheng temple approximately a century and a half earlier.

Surrounding the mount and temple, labor teams built an outer moat. Avenues radiated out in the four cardinal directions from the mount. A causeway ran in a northwest-southeast orientation from the old capital area to the east section of the new capital's outer moat and then, turning to an east-west orientation, connected directly to the east entrance of the temple.

Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, home of the Hindu devAs, a status emphasized by the temple’s location atop a steep hill 65 m above the surrounding plain. The temple is built in a pyramid form of seven levels, representing the seven heavens. At the top level, five sandstone sanctuaries, in various states of repair, stand in a quincunx pattern—one in the center and one at each corner of the level’s square. Originally, 108 small towers were arrayed around the temple at ground level and on various of its tiers; most of them have collapsed.

Jean Filliozat of the Ecole Francaise, a leading authority on Indian cosmology and astronomy, interpreted the symbolism of the temple. The temple sits on a rectangular base and rises in five levels and is crowned by five main towers. One hundred four smaller towers are distributed over the lower four levels, placed so symmetrically that only 33 can be seen from the center of any side. Thirty-three is the number of dEvAs who dwelt on Mount Meru. Phnom Bakheng's total number of towers is also significant. The center one represents the axis of the world and the 108 smaller ones represent the four lunar phases, each with 27 days. The seven levels of the monument represent the seven heavens and each terrace contains 12 towers which represent the 12-year cycle of Jupiter. According to University of Chicago scholar Paul Wheatley, it is "an astronomical calendar in stone."

Phnom Bakheng is one of three hilltop temples in the Angkor region that are attributed to Yasovarman's reign. The other two are Phnom Krom to the south near the Tonle Sap lake, and Phnom Bok, northeast of the East Baray reservoir.

Following Angkor's rediscovery by the outside world in the mid-19th century, decades passed before archeologists grasped Phnom Bakheng's historical significance. For many years, scholars' consensus view was that the Bayon, the temple located at the center of Angkor Thom city, was the edifice to which the Sdok Kak Thom inscription referred. Later work identified the Bayon as a Buddhist site, built almost three centuries later than originally thought, in the late 12th century, and Phnom Bakheng as King Yasovarman's state temple.

Later in its history, Phnom Bakheng was converted into a Buddhist temple. A monumental Sitting Buddha, now lost, was created on its upper tier. Across its west side, a Reclining Buddha of similar scale was crafted in stone. The outlines of this figure are still visible.

Phnom Bok Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

Phnom Bok (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភ្នំបូក) is a hill in the northeast of Eastern Baray in Cambodia, with a prasat (temple) of the same name built on it. It is one of the "trilogies of mountains", each of which has a temple with similar layout. The creation of the temple is credited to the reign of Yasovarman I (889–910) between 9th and 10th centuries; established after he moved his capital to Angkor and named it Yasodharapura. The two other sister temples, named after the contiguous hills, are the Phnom Bakheng and Phnom Krom.

The site of the three hills was chosen by Yashovarman I along with the Eastern Baray (where only the base of the central shrine is surviving). In the 10th century, these shrines had high religious value during the Angkorian rule. The temples called as part of an "architectural triad" brought about an element of experimentation in architectural style in the Angkorian period. From the astronomical references planned for thee temples, out of the four noted alignments three, namely, equinox and winter and Solar Solstices could be observed from inside the western entrance of Phnom Bok hill temple, which is also known for the triple sanctuary dedicated to the Trimurti.

Geography

Phnom Bok is the third natural hill site. Its elevation is 221 metres (725 ft). The hill is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Siem Reap. It is approached from the road to Banteay Srei. An eastbound road leads to Banteay Samré for another 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from whence the hill is approached through 635 wide steps leading to the top where the Phnom Bok temple is situated. From the top of this mountain, though the temple is seen mostly in ruins, the panoramic vistas seen all round are of the Tonlé Sap Lake, the Phnom Kulen to the north and vast plains of rice fields to the south. Like Phnom Krom, Phnom Bok consists of sandstone which has a relatively high magnetic susceptibility.

History

Yasovarman I, son of Indravarman I (his capital was at Hariharalaya), shifted the capital to Yashodarapura (the first Angkor capital meaning "The City That Bears Glory"). The temples that he built, apart from Phnom Bok in 910 AD consisted of the Lolei (893 AD), Pra Vihear (893 AD), Phnom Bakheng, the Royal temple (900 AD) and Phnom Krom (910 AD). However, Yashovarman did not choose Phnom Bok as the capital city, near the city of Hariharalaya, as he considered it unsuitable due to its "awkward and too high" a location to mark as the centre of the city. He did not choose Phnom Krom hill either, as he considered it too close to the Tonle Sap Lake. Eventually, Phnom Bakhen of the triumvirate of hills was chosen as the capital city due its low height and large expanse of land available to establish a capital city. His objective was also to build a temple for housing a linga, which surpassed his father’s Indresvara and named it as Yashodaresvara. He also named his capital as Yashodarapura, which became the first capital city of Angkor. He, however, installed the Trimurtis in the temples on the other two hills of Phnom Bok and Phnom Krom. Statues of the Hindu Trimurti were found at both Phnom Bok and Phnom Krom.

Architecture

Prasat Phnom Bok, rectangular in shape and attributed to the reign of Yasovarman I, is similar in design to the Phnom Krom prasat. However, while the Phnom Krom central tower is higher than the other two flanking towers, the Phnom Bok prasat has three identical sanctum towers in a row on a single terrace.

The temple is an Angkor monument. It is dedicated to the Trimurti of the Hindu pantheon: the Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara or Shiva. It was built in Bakheng style (893–927) and designed with individual sanctums, which have door openings to the east and west. These are raised on a foundation with a plinth made of laterite stone. Frontons of Bakheng and Phnom Bok are said to "represent heads of the entire thirty-three deities of the Hindu pantheon. There is said to be a "fine example of the head of Shiva in the Chandrasekhara form with the moon prominent on his locks" at the temple. The summer solstice occurring over Phnom Bok hill temple, which had the images of Trimurtis defied in it, can be observed from the temple’s western entrance.

Angkor monuments built in Angkor period architecture in Bakheng style were made of sandstone and laterite but brickwork was also adopted. Laterite has been used for the walls, platforms and pavements. Greyish yellow sandstone was the main stonework used in the temples.

Though the temple is in a good condition, there is over growth of two large frangipani (Plumeria) trees over the ruined temple towers. It is said that when the flowers bloom on these trees, the appearance of "some sort of extravagant haircut" is discerned.

Phnom Krom Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-13T22:45:00.001-07:00

Phnom Krom (Khmer: ប្រាសាទភ្នំក្រោម) is a 140 m high hill close to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Location

Phnom Krom is located to 12 kilometers southwest of Siem Reap town.

Phnom Krom hill is very rocky; local legend has it that the rocks were exposed by Shri Hanuman during a hunt for medicine in the Ramayana. The area beyond the temple’s west gate affords a spectacular view of the Tonle Sap lake.

Angkorian Temple

There is an Angkorian temple on top of the hill. It is a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

The temple in was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman (889 A.D.-910 A.D.).

Oriented toward the east, the hilltop temple is enclosed by a wall built of laterite blocks. Along the walls' top runs a cornice. Gates bisect the walls at each of the four cardinal directions. Just inside the east gate are four small buildings arrayed in a north-south row, possibly formerly used as crematoria. Inside the walls on the north and south sides are three halls, now collapsed. The temple’s focus is three towers, also in a row running north to south. They sit atop a platform reached by staircases of seven steps. The southern tower is dedicated to Brahma, the central to Shiva, the northern to Vishnu. They are built of sandstone; much of their carving and detail has been lost to erosion.

Phnom Krom is the southernmost of three hilltop temples built in the Angkor region during the reign of Yasovarman. The other two are Phnom Bakheng and Phnom Bok.

Phnom Krom railway

Phnom Krom was at the southern end of the Phnom Krom railway, a narrow-gauge French colonial railway that was most likely constructed to take stone quarried on the now defunct quarries on Phnom Krom to Siem Reap.

Preah Vihear Temple, Cambodia

2015-07-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

Preah Vihear Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ Prasat Preah Vihea; Thai: ปราสาทพระวิหาร; rtgs: Prasat Phra Wihan) is an ancient Hindu temple built during the period of the Khmer Empire, that is situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province, Cambodia. In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled that the temple is in Cambodia.

Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in Thailand's Sisaket province and through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nomenclature

Prasat Preah Vihear is the compound of words Prasat, Preah and Vihear. Prasat (ប្រាសាទ) mean "castle", sometimes "temple"; in Sanskrit प्रासाद. Preah (ព្រះ) mean "sacred". "Vihear" (វិហារ) mean "shrine" (the central structure of the temple). The word Vihear could be related to the Sanskrit word Vihara (विहार) which means "abode."

Prasat (ប្រាសាទ) in Sanskrit means ("castle", sometimes "temple"; in Sanskrit प्रासाद), and in Khmer: "phnom" (ភ្នំ) means mountain. Cambodians occasionally refer to it as "Phnom Preah Vihear" (ភ្នំព្រះវិហារ). The word "Preah" (ព្រះ) means "sacred", and the word "Vihear" (វិហារ) means "shrine" (the central structure of the temple).

Thais call it "ปราสาทพระวิหาร" (Prasat Phra Wihan), meaning "Castle of Celestial Abode".

The three versions of the name carry significant political and national connotations

Location

The temple was built at the top of Pey Tadi, a steep cliff in the Dângrêk Mountain range which are the natural border between Thailand and Cambodia.

The Temple is listed by Thailand as being in Bhumsrol village of Bueng Malu sub-district (now merged with Sao Thong Chai sub-district), in Kantharalak district of the Sisaket Province of eastern Thailand. It is 110 km from the Mueang Sisaket District, the center of Sisaket Province.

The Temple is also listed by Cambodia as being in Svay Chrum Village, Kan Tout Commune, in Choam Khsant District of Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia. The temple is 140 km from Angkor Wat and 320 km from Phnom Penh.

In 1962 the ICJ ruled that only the temple building belonged to Cambodia, while the direct way to access the temple is from Thailand.

Ancient History

Construction of the first temple on the site began in the early 9th century; both then and in the following centuries it was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in his manifestations as the mountain gods Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the empire's capital was at the city of that name. Today, elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century can be seen, but most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of the Khmer kings Suryavarman I:96–97 (1006–1050) and Suryavarman II (1113–1150). An inscription found at the temple provides a detailed account of Suryavarman II studying sacred rituals, celebrating religious festivals and making gifts, including white parasols, golden bowls and elephants, to his spiritual advisor, the aged Brahmin Divakarapandita. The Brahmin himself took an interest in the temple, according to the inscription, donating to it a golden statue of a dancing Shiva known as "Nataraja". In the wake of the decline of Hinduism in the region the site was converted to use by Buddhists.

The site

The temple complex runs 800 m (2,600 ft) along a north-south axis facing the plains to the north, from which it is now cut off by the international border. It consists essentially of a causeway and steps rising up the hill towards the sanctuary, which sits on the clifftop at the southern end of the complex (120 m or 390 ft above the northern end of the complex, 525 m or 1,722 ft above the Cambodian plain and 625 m or 2,051 ft above sea level). Although this structure is very different from the temple mountains found at Angkor, it serves the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods.

The approach to the sanctuary is punctuated by five gopuras (these are conventionally numbered from the sanctuary outwards, so gopura five is the first to be reached by visitors). Each of the gopuras before the courtyards is reached by a set of steps, and so marks a change in height which increases their impact. The gopuras also block a visitor's view of the next part of the temple until they pass through the gateway, making it impossible to see the complex as a whole from any one point.

The fifth gopura, in the Koh Ker style, retains traces of the red paint with which it was once decorated, although the tiled roof has now disappeared. The fourth gopura is later, from the Khleang/Baphuon periods, and has on its southern outer pediment, "one of the masterpieces of Preah Vihear" (Freeman, p. 162) : a depiction of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. The third is the largest, and is also flanked by two halls. The sanctuary is reached via two successive courtyards, in the outer of which are two libraries.

Modern history and ownership dispute

In modern times, Prasat Preah Vihear was rediscovered by the outside world and became subject of an emotional dispute between Thailand and the newly independent Cambodia.

In 1904, Siam and the French colonial authorities ruling Cambodia formed a joint commission to demarcate their mutual border to largely follow the watershed line of the Dângrêk mountain range, which placed nearly all of Preah Vihear temple on Thailand's side. In 1907, after survey work, French officers drew up a map to show the border’s location. However, the resulting topographic map, which was sent to Siamese authorities and used in the 1962 (ICJ) ruling, showed the line deviating slightly from the watershed without explanation in the Preah Vihear area, placing all of the temple on the Cambodian side.

Following the withdrawal of French troops from Cambodia in 1954, Thai forces occupied the temple to enforce their claim. Cambodia protested and in 1959 asked the International Court of Justice to rule that the temple and the surrounding land lay in Cambodian territory. The case became a volatile political issue in both countries. Diplomatic relations were severed, and threats of force were voiced by both governments.

The court proceedings focused not on questions of cultural heritage or on which state was the successor to the Khmer Empire, but rather on Siam's supposed long-time acceptance of the 1907 map.

Arguing in The Hague for Cambodia was former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson, while Thailand’s legal team included a former British attorney general, Sir Frank Soskice. Cambodia contended the map showing the temple as being on Cambodian soil was the authoritative document. Thailand argued that the map was invalid and that it was not an official document of the border commission, and that it clearly violated the commission’s working principle that the border would follow the watershed line, which would place most of the temple in Thailand. If Thailand had not protested the map earlier, the Thai side said, it was because Thai authorities had had actual possession of the temple for some period of time, due to the great difficulty of scaling the steep hillside from the Cambodian side, or simply had not understood that the map was wrong.

On 15 June 1962, the court ruled 9 to 3 that the temple belonged to Cambodia and, by a vote of 7 to 5, that Thailand must return any antiquities such as sculptures that it had removed from the temple. In its decision, the court noted that in over the five decades after the map was drawn, the Siamese/Thai authorities had not objected in various international forums to its depiction of the temple’s location. Nor did they object when a French colonial official received the Siamese scholar and government figure Prince Damrong at the temple in 1930 (possibly before the Thais realised the map was wrong). Thailand had accepted and benefited from other parts of the border treaty, the court ruled. With these and other acts, it said, Thailand had accepted the map and therefore Cambodia was the owner of the temple.

"It was clear from the record, however, that the maps were communicated to the Siamese Government as purporting to represent the outcome of the work of delimitation; since there was no reaction on the part of the Siamese authorities, either then or for many years, they must be held to have acquiesced. The maps were moreover communicated to the Siamese members of the Mixed Commission, who said nothing, to the Siamese Minister of the Interior, Prince Damrong, who thanked the French Minister in Bangkok for them, and to the Siamese provincial governors, some of whom knew of Preah Vihear. If the Siamese authorities accepted the Annex I map without investigation, they could not now plead any error vitiating the reality of their consent.

The Siamese Government and later the Thai Government had raised no query about the Annex I map prior to its negotiations with Cambodia in Bangkok in 1958. But in 1934-1935 a survey had established a divergence between the map line and the true line of the watershed, and other maps had been produced showing the Temple as being in Thailand. Thailand had nevertheless continued to also use and indeed to publish maps showing Preah Vihear as lying in Cambodia. Moreover, in the course of the negotiations for the 1925 and 1937 Franco-Siamese Treaties, which confirmed the existing frontiers, and in 1947 in Washington before the Franco-Siamese Conciliation Commission, Thailand was silent. The natural inference was that Thailand had accepted the frontier at Preah Vihear as it was drawn on the map, irrespective of its correspondence with the watershed line."

Australian judge Sir Percy Spender wrote a scathing dissent for the minority on the court, however, pointing out that the French government had never mentioned Thai "acquiescence" or acceptance at any time, not even when Thailand stationed military observers at the temple in 1949. On the contrary, France always insisted that their map was correct and the temple was located on their side of the natural watershed (which it clearly is not). Thailand had modified its own maps, which in Spender's opinion was sufficient without having to protest to France. Spender said:

Whether the Mixed Commission did or did not delimit the Dangrek, the truth, in my opinion, is that the frontier line on that mountain range is today the line of the watershed.

The Court however has upheld a frontier line which is not the line of the watershed, one which in the critical area of the Temple is an entirely different one. This finds its justification in the application of the concepts of recognition or acquiescence.

With profound respect for the Court, I am obliged to say that in my judgment, as a result of a misapplication of these concepts and an inadmissible extension of them, territory, the sovereignty in which, both by treaty and by the decision of the body appointed under treaty to determine the frontier line, is Thailand's, now becomes vested in Cambodia.

Thailand reacted angrily. It announced it would boycott meetings of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, with Thai officials saying this step was to protest a U.S. bias toward Cambodia in the dispute. As evidence, Thai officials cited the pro-Cambodia vote of an American judge on the court and Acheson’s role as Cambodia’s advocate; the U.S. government replied that Acheson was merely acting as a private attorney, engaged by Cambodia. Mass demonstrations were staged in Thailand protesting the ruling.

Thailand eventually backed down and agreed to turn the site over to Cambodia. Rather than lower the Thai national flag that had been flying at the temple, Thai soldiers dug up and removed the pole with it still flying. The pole was erected at nearby Mor I Daeng cliff, where it is still in use. In January 1963, Cambodia formally took possession of the site in a ceremony attended by around 1,000 people, many of whom had made the arduous climb up the cliff from the Cambodian side. Prince Sihanouk, Cambodia’s leader, walked up the cliff in less than an hour, then made offerings to Buddhist monks. He made a gesture of conciliation in the ceremony, announcing that all Thais would be able to visit the temple without visas, and that Thailand was free to keep any antiquities it may have taken away from the site.

Civil War

Civil war began in Cambodia in 1970; the temple's location high atop a cliff served to make it readily defensible militarily. Soldiers loyal to the Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh continued to hold it long after the plain below fell to communist forces. Tourists were able to visit from the Thai side during the war.

Even though the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in April 1975, the Khmer National Armed Forces soldiers at Preah Vihear continued to hold out after the collapse of the Khmer Republic government. The Khmer Rouge made several unsuccessful attempts to capture the temple, then finally succeeded on May 22, 1975 by shelling the cliff, scaling it and routing the defenders, Thai officials reported at the time. The defenders simply stepped across the border and surrendered to Thai authorities. It was said to be the last place in Cambodia to fall to the Khmer Rouge.

Full-scale war began again in Cambodia in December 1978 when the Vietnamese army invaded to overthrow the Khmer Rouge. Khmer Rouge troops retreated to border areas. In January, the Vietnamese reportedly attacked Khmer Rouge troops holed up in the temple, but there were no reports of damage to it. Large numbers of Cambodian refugees entered Thailand after the invasion. Guerrilla warfare continued in Cambodia through the 1980s and well into the 1990s, hampering access to Preah Vihear. The temple opened briefly to the public in 1992, only to be re-occupied the following year by Khmer Rouge fighters. In December 1998, the temple was the scene of negotiations by which several hundred Khmer Rouge soldiers, said to be the guerrilla movement's last significant force, agreed to surrender to the Phnom Penh government.

The temple opened again to visitors from the Thai side at the end of 1998; Cambodia completed the construction of a long-awaited access road up the cliff in 2003.

Expulsion of Cambodian refugees

On June 12, 1979, the government of General Kriangsak Chomanan, who had come to power in Thailand by a military coup, informed foreign embassies in Bangkok that it was going to expel a large number of Cambodian refugees. He would allow the governments of the United States, France, and Australia to select 1,200 of the refugees to resettle in their countries. Lionel Rosenblatt, Refugee Coordinator of the American Embassy, Yvette Pierpaoli, a French businesswoman in Bangkok, and representatives of the Australian and French governments rushed to the border to select the refugees that night. In three frantic hours the foreigners picked out 1,200 refugees for resettlement from among the thousands being held by Thai soldiers behind barbed wire in a Buddhist temple at Nong Chan Refugee Camp and loaded them on buses to go to Bangkok. The remaining refugees were then loaded on buses and sent away, their destination unknown.

It later became known that Cambodian refugees had been collected from many locations and sent to Preah Vihear. An American Embassy official stood beneath a tree along a dirt road leading to the temple, counted the buses, and estimated that about 42,000 Cambodians were taken to Preah Vihear.

Preah Vihear is situated at the top of a 2,000 foot high escarpment overlooking the Cambodian plains far below. The refugees were unloaded from the buses and pushed down the steep escarpment. “There was no path to follow,” one said. “The way that we had to go down was only a cliff. Some people hid on top of the mountain and survived. Others were shot or pushed over the cliff. Most of the people began to climb down using vines as ropes. They tied their children on their backs and strapped them across their chests. As the people climbed down, the soldiers threw big rocks over the cliff.”

At the foot of the cliffs were minefields, placed by the Khmer Rouge during their rule in Cambodia. The refugees followed a narrow path, the safe route indicated by the bodies of those who had set off land mines. They used the bodies as stepping stones to cross the three miles of mined land to reach the Vietnamese soldiers, occupiers of Cambodia, on the other side. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees later estimated that as many as 3,000 Cambodians had died in the push-back and another 7,000 were unaccounted for. General Kriangsak's objective in this brutal operation apparently was to demonstrate to the international community that his government would not bear alone the burden of hundreds of thousands of Cambodian refugees. If so, it worked. For the next dozen years the UN and Western countries would pay for the upkeep of Cambodian refugees in Thailand, resettling thousands in other countries, and devising means by which Cambodians could return safely to their own country.

Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site

On July 8, 2008, the World Heritage Committee decided to add Prasat Preah Vihear, along with 26 other sites, to the World Heritage Site list, despite several protests from Thailand, since the map implied Cambodian ownership of disputed land next to the temple.

As the process of Heritage-listing began, Cambodia announced its intention to apply for World Heritage inscription by UNESCO. Thailand protested that it should be a joint-effort and UNESCO deferred debate at its 2007 meeting.

Following this, both Cambodia and Thailand were in full agreement that Preah Vihear Temple had "Outstanding Universal Value" and should be inscribed on the World Heritage List as soon as possible. The two nations agreed that Cambodia should propose the site for formal inscription on the World Heritage List at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in 2008 with the active support of Thailand. This led to a redrawing of the map of the area for proposed inscription, leaving only the temple and its immediate environs.

However, Thailand's political opposition launched an attack on this revised plan (see Modern History and Ownership Dispute), claiming the inclusion of Preah Vihear could nevertheless "consume" the overlapping disputed area near the temple. In response to the political pressure at home, the Thai government withdrew its formal support for the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site.

Cambodia continued with the application for World Heritage status and, despite official Thai protests, on July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites.

The renewed national boundary dispute since 2008 has been a reminder that despite the World Heritage ideals of conservation for all humanity, operating a World Heritage site often requires use of national authority at odds with the local cultures and natural diversity of the landscape. Prior to the listing, Cambodia considered Preah Vihear to be part of a Protected Landscape (IUCN category V), defined as "Nationally significant natural and semi-natural landscapes which must be maintained to provide opportunities for recreation." However, Category V is generally defined as "Land, with coast and seas as appropriate, where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant aesthetic, cultural and/or ecological value, and often with high biological diversity. Safeguarding the integrity of this traditional interaction is vital to the protection, maintenance and evolution of such an area."

A luxury tour that takes travellers camping on temple sites, crossing the border into Thailand issues a warning to travellers on the possibility of a 're-routing' of the itinerary.

During the People's Alliance for Democracy's seizure of Suvarnabhumi Airport, future Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya reportedly called Cambodian Prime Minister in a 2008 television interview "crazy" and a "nak leng" (commonly translated as "gangster").

In 1994, Thailand held a World Heritage proposal conference in Srisaket in which local cultural traditions were considered along with monuments such as Preah Vihear that stimulate more nationalistic sentiments. The use of passes in the Dongrak Mountains reportedly tied together cultural communities and practices divided by a militarized (and imperfectly demarcated) modern border line. A Mon-Khmer ethnic minority, the Kui or Suay (the ethnonyms have multiple spellings), used the passes to hunt and capture elephants in the forests below the Dongrak cliff edge, including the Kulen area which is now a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary. Kui in Cambodia were skilled ironsmiths using ore from Phnom Dek.

While elephant hunting in the vicinity of Preah Vihear was touched upon in the International Court of Justice proceedings, the World Heritage plans overlook local culture and species protection to facilitate national revenues from tourism. One international law professor has urged that practicality calls for laying aside exclusive sovereignty in favor of an "international peace park." A scholarly article concurs in concluding: "Since Thailand and Cambodia have brought only blood and bitterness to this place, it might be desirable to preserve it from both. It could be given back to nature and the indigenous peoples, to be managed cooperatively between the two governments in equal partnership with local communities, as a transborder Protected Landscape-Anthropological Reserve (IUCN category V and old category VII)." Given the massing troops in 2008, perhaps such a transborder reserve would create not only a demilitarized buffer zone in which any future demarcation can be amicably undertaken, but a recognition of the added ecological and cultural aspects of an area which both Cambodia and Thailand may still save from the destructive and exploitative impacts of rapid development so often suffered in other ASEAN countries.

Disputes over ownership since 2008

The conflict between Cambodia and Thailand over land adjoining the site has led to periodic outbreaks of violence.

A military clash occurred in October 2008. In April 2009, 66 stones at the temple allegedly were damaged by Thai soldiers firing across the border. In February 2010, the Cambodian government filed a formal letter of complaint with Google Maps for depicting the natural watershed as the international border instead of the line shown on the 1907 French map used by the International Court of Justice in 1962.

In February 2011, when Thai officials were in Cambodia negotiating the dispute, Thai and Cambodian troops clashed, resulting in injuries and deaths on both sides. Artillery bombardment in the area occurred during the conflict. The Cambodian government has claimed that damage occurred to the temple. However, a UNESCO mission to the site to determine the extent of the damage indicates that the destruction is a result of both Cambodian and Thai gunfire.

Since February 4, both sides have used artillery against each other, and both blame the other for starting the violence. On February 5, Cambodia had formally complained in a letter to the U.N. "The recent Thai military actions violate the 1991 Paris Peace Accord, U.N. Charter and a 1962 judgment from the International Court of Justice", the letter claims. On February 6, the Cambodian government claimed that the temple had been damaged. Cambodia's military commander said: "A wing of our Preah Vihear temple has collapsed as a direct result of the Thai artillery bombardment". However, Thai sources spoke only of minor damage, claiming that Cambodian soldiers had fired from within the temple.

ASEAN, to which both states belong, has offered to mediate over the issue. However, Thailand has insisted that bilateral discussions could better solve the issue. On February 5, the rightwing People's Alliance for Democracy called for the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for "failing to defend the nation's sovereignty".

An UNESCO World Heritage convention held in Paris in June 2011 determined to accept Cambodia's management proposal for the temple. As a consequence, Thailand withdrew from the event, with the Thai representative explaining, "We withdraw to say we do not accept any decision from this meeting."

Following a February 2011 request from Cambodia for Thai military forces to be ordered out of the area, judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by a vote of 11–5 ordered that both countries immediately withdraw their military forces, and further imposed restrictions on their police forces. The court said this order would not prejudice any final ruling on the where the border in the area between Thailand and Cambodia should fall. Abhisit Vejjajiva said that Thai soldiers would not pull out from the disputed area until the military of both countries agree on the mutual withdrawal. "It depends on the two sides to come together and talk," he said, suggesting that an existing joint border committee would be the appropriate place to plan a coordinated pullback.The ICJ ruled on 11 November 2013 that the land adjacent to the temple on the east and west (south being previously agreed as Cambodian, north as Thai) belongs to Cambodia and that any Thai security forces still in that area should leave.

Access

From Cambodia, the temple can be approached either by Tbeng Meanchey in Preah Vihear province or from Siem Reap in Siem Reap province via Anlong Veng. Although the highway is paved when it leaves Siem Reap, both roads are (occasionally) graded gravel once they begin to approach the Dangrek escarpment.

It can be approached more easily from Thailand. The approach is from Kantharalak district (amphoe) of Sisaket province. Cambodia allows day-trip access to the temple from Thailand on a visa-free basis.

Cambodia has periodically cut off access from Thailand during times of dispute with the Thai government.

Preah Khan Temple, Cambodia

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Preah Khan Temple (built 1191)

Preah Khan was built in 1191 during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. He was a warrior king celebrated for reconstructing the Khmer Empire after a period of fragmentation. Jayavarman first made a name for himself in 1165, when news of a rebellion reached his ears. Rushing home from the Cham Kingdom, where he resided, he arrived too late to stop the usurper Tribhuvanadityavarman from crowning himself King of the Khmers. Jayavarman was powerless to interfere,

but waited patiently for an opportunity. Finally in 1177, the Cham kingdom sent an invasion force against the Khmer usurper, joined by native elements, that toppled him in a bloody campaign. Fighting even reached Angkor, laying waste to the capital. The victorious Cham occupied Khmer territory as a foreign power, but their rule was not to last long.

Jayavarman jumped in with his own private army, striking headlong at the Cham forces. He won a spectacular naval battle on the Great Lake that crippled the Cham fleet. This opened the door to a wholesale invasion that not only drove out the foreign occupiers, but struck against native kinglets that resisted his "liberation". Only in 1181 was he confident enough to crown himself King, taking the reign title Jayavarman VII.

The King commissioned Ta Prohm and Preah Khan temples as monuments of his rule. Preah Khan was probably built on the same spot where previous kings had kept their palaces. Preah Khan was more than just a monastery—it was an entire city enclosing a town of 56 hectares. About 100,000 farmers produced rice to feed about 15,000 monks, teachers, and students. Subsidiary buildings included a hospital, rest house, and rice granary.

The central Buddhist temple at Preah Khan included an image of the Boddhisattva Lokeshrvara, carved to resemble the King's father. There were 282 sub-deities around the main statue, including Khmer heroes and deceased officials. There was even a statue of the usurper-king in front of the temple. Though this seems odd, the Khmers believed that all past kings, even usurpers, guarded the country after death.

An architectural detail typical of Jayavarman VII's reign are the free-standing statues that flank the gateways.

Temple Architecture

Thommanon Temple, Cambodia

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Thommanon Temple (built mid 12th-century)

Thommanon is a small temple built at the end of Suryavarman II's reign, around the middle of the 12th century. It is nearly symmetrical to Chau Say Tevoda, another of Suryavarman's temples that stands nearby. Although the placement of Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda neatly frame the east causeway to the Angkor Thom complex, this was probably not the original intention, since in Suryavarman's time the center of the capital was closer to Angkor Wat. Thommanon is architecturally more advanced than its predecessors. The designers took advantage of the natural qualities of sandstone, rather than simply carving it in imitation of wood.

Plan of Thommanon

Small, attractive temple in very good condition, built at the same time as Angkor Wat. The Angkor Wat style is most easily seen in the style of the towers and carved devatas. Thommanon seems to stand in conjunction with Chau Say Tevoda across the street, but was built decades earlier. Thommanon is currently in much better condition than Chau Say Tevoda, in part because archaeologists heavily restored it in the 1960's. But even before restoration, Thommanon was in better shape due in part to the lack of the stone-enclosed wood beams in Thommanon’s super-structure that were used in Chau Say Tevoda’s construction. Many of Thommanon’s carvings are in excellent condition. The colors of the age stained sandstone against the jungle are very photogenic, particularly in the wet season.

Structure

Thommanon is a single-towered temple with an east-facing central sanctuary, crowned by a prasat, or tower. Access from the east is via a gopura, followed by a mandapa, or antechamber, before arriving at the central sanctuary. The temple's carvings are very well preserved and the aged sandstone provides a distinct contrast to the surrounding jungle. The architectural style of its tower is also akin to the Ankor Wat temple and the Chau Say Tevoda in its vicinity.The temple is much better preserved than the nearby Chau Say Tevoda, which is undergoing restoration, though both temples are similar in design. The reason for better preservation of Thommanon is attributed to the fact that its super-structure does not have stone-enclosed wood beams. Thus, adoption of sandstone as the medium for carvings in this temple has made it more advanced in its architectural design vis-à-vis other temples in its vicinity, which were mostly wood-based. All doorways include carved pediments.

The compound walls around the temple have all disappeared, leaving only the entry gates on the east and the west; the central tower is all that remains of the main temple. It is inferred that both Thommanon and Chau Say Thavoda were interlinked to the central tower under one large compound with large gates. The independent building separated from the main temple was the library.

Devatas

Images of Devatas, the female divine carved figurines, are seen in profusion here, as in other Khmer temples. They are the centre of attraction in Thommanon. The devatas depict flower crowns, sampots (Cambodian skirts), necklaces, armbands, belts and ankle bands. The mudras displayed are complex. The devatas grip the flower very distinctively, holding the ring and middle fingers against the thumb, while the index and small finger are extended. One Angkor researcher calls this position the “devata mudra”, and notes it is also prominent at Angkor Wat. The sampots of the devatas though are divided into two distinct types of sampot, one type is the ancient pleated style, seen in the Bakheng period at Lolei and Phnom Bok (900 AD), and the other is a patterned fabric style with folds and “tail” seen at Angkor Wat.