discoverer of angkor wat

Pavilion Indochina: hotel siem reap angkor cambodia

THE LEGEND OF ANGKOR WAT
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Cambodians like to let mysteries lie, but maybe they don't know themselves. Perhaps, it's not even human work. According to the legend, the god Indra living on Mount Meru gave life to his son Ketomealea as a human being whose mission was "to protect Buddhist religion and to take care of the Kingdom in glory, prosperity and peace". One night, Indra sent the god Meatolei to Earth on his divine chariot to bring Ketomeala back to the "Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods". During his short stay Indra taught him the ten royal duties and bathed him seven times a day for seven days in the perfumed bath in his garden. He then invited seven divine Brahmans to recite magical formulas and splash Ketomealea with magic water to bless him with a long life lasting over a century. After which they flew over Indra's palaces on a divine chariot: Ketomealea was to choose one he would use as a model for the one he would build on Earth.
And so a heavenly architect built Angkor Wat. Ketomealea, very pleased with the palace, asked Pisnouka to build a few others. The day prince Ketomealea was sacred King of the kingdom, Indra descended on Earth to bless his noble son and give him the sacred name "Aritha-polape a-hano" or "Powerful Destroyer of Enemies". He then named the country "Kampuja" - Cambodia.

Angkor Legend & Story
Angkor history
The discoverers

THE TEMPLES

Angkor Thom
Ta Phrom
Small circuit
Grand circuit
Remote temples

Tips for the visit

Pass prices

Reconstructing Angkor's royal succession has required over thirty years of work by Orientalists. 27 kings are known to have ruled between 802 and 1327. Beyond that date, no more writings can be found. A few linguistic remarks might be useful. For instance, the suffix "Varman" -often ending Kings' names- means "armour" in Sanskrit and "Jaya" can be translated as "victory".
Jayavarman II was the first king to settle in the Roluos area -15 km from Siem Reap on the road to Phnom Penh. What is known as "Angkorian history" is commonly accepted to have started in 802, the year he was sacred "Universal Monarch" ("Chacravartin" in Sanskrit), on mount Mahendra, on Phnom Kulen. Although he declared himself "King of Kings" he only ruled one kingdom among many others, all as independent as his own. However, it is Jayavarman II who introduced the concept of the cult of the God-King -or Devaraja- starting a tradition that was to last to the present day. Followers believed the King was the earthly representative of one of the gods and ancient Khmer inscriptions mention "The Lord of the Universe who is King". Jayavarman II is said to have become the first Devaraja at a ceremony on Phnom Kulen. This transition from man to God-King enabled him and successive rulers to unify the Khmer Empire and establish themselves at its head, as well as bestowing upon them the responsibility to ensure the security and welfare of the Khmer nation. The main symbol of the Devaraja is that of the Linga, a phallus-shaped object representing the creative energies and powers of nature. Little is known about the reign of Jayavarman II the first Devaraja, as no inscriptions written during his reign have been found. The prince had to re-conquer his kingdom before being able to proclaim himself God-King. His son Jayvarman III succeeded him. The fact that we know very little of Jayavarman III's reign is regarded by some scholars as an indication that the period was probably peaceful. Jayvarman III (830-877) and his nephew Indravarman (877-886) remained in Hariharalaya. Indravarman is thought to have been a powerful king and is credited with expanding the size and importance of the Roluos group, the first classical Angkorian city. Between 879 and 881 he built Preah Ko and the temple-mountain of Bakong.