TA PROHM - middle of 12th to early 13th (1186)
.....

---

Constructed under King Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his mother
Cult Buddhist

Even though the relentless force of the vegetation is the cause of so much damage, the École Française d'Extrême-Orient felt obliged to leave at least one temple in Angkor as an example of the "natural state" that so marvelled the early explorers, while also showing by comparison the importance of the effort already achieved in its work to safeguard these ancient stones. It chose Ta Prom - one of the most imposing and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it - as but one specimen typical of a form of Khmer art of which there were already other models. The concession to the general taste for the picturesque could be made, therefore, with not too much reluctance, in order to enable each to give free rein to their own imagination and emotion.

 

Ta Phrom is a Buddhist monastery typical of the last formula of the Khmer temples in which the ensemble, laid out on a single plane, no longer followed the principle of multiple levels, but where the notion of elevation was rather expressed by the rising of the towers and predominant central sanctuary from within an arrangement of concentric galleries.

The overall site is enclosed by two successive walls, the outer of which measures 600 metres by 1000. It may seem surprising that the temple as such with its three concentric galleries, consisting of all the elements of a grand composition, has been crowded into a meagre square of 100 metres each side which is itself lost in a park of 60 hectares. One should not forget, however, that - if one is to believe the inscription - there were 12,640 people living within the interior of the enclosure, including 18 high priests, 2,740 officiants, 2,232 assistants and 615 dancers...

While for some time all the various temples in the style of the Bayon were attributed to a single king - Jayavarman VII - during his twenty or so years reign, today it seems more likely that he could not, in such a short time, have done more than just transform, extend or complete already existing religious establishments with his mark. A monument as intricate as Ta Prohm, as Mr Groslier observed, was not built in a single throw, and shows traces of numerous alterations and adjustments. Some parts, in terms of style, are quite close to Angkor Wat, while others are to the Bayon - and only a deeper study after clearing the temple would allow one to classify the various elements with any certainty.

The stele of Ta Prohm is inscribed on its four sides and was found in a part of the gallery preceding the eastern gopura of the second enclosure. It gives the date of 1186, later by five years than the accession of Jayavarman VII, and describes the placing of a statue of the king's mother in the form of Prajnaparamita, the "Perfection of Wisdom", considered as "mother of the Buddhas", so classifying Ta Prohm in the category of temples consecrated to the glory of deified parents. After a listing of ancestors and the description of a victorious expedition to Champa, it attributes to the prince the setting of 260 statues of divinities, as well as the one of his "guru" or spiritual master, and the construction of 39 pinnacled towers, 566 groups of stone habitations, 286 in brick, and 2,702 metres of laterite enclosure wall.

3,140 villages and 79,365 people were involved in the service of the temple, whose particulars the text lists with a great delight for detail - including notably the existence of 5 tons of gold plates, 512 silk beds and 523 parasols. After defining the celebration of certain festivals it then also describes the foundation in the kingdom of 102 hospitals.

If you want to know more about the temples: www.angkor-cambodia.org
it is the traduction in English of Angkor temples "bible": the book of Maurice Glaize