Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei (បន្ទាយស្រី, Banteay Srei) is a 10th-century Hindu temple of red sandstone in the Angkor area of Siem Reap, Cambodia, dedicated to Shiva. It was consecrated on April 22 or 23, 967 CE, and it was built not by a king but by a royal teacher.

Illustration inspired by the temple's red sandstone shrines.

Heritage site details
Khmer name	បន្ទាយស្រី
Also known as	Tribhuvanamaheshvara
Site type	Temple
Location	Angkor, Siem Reap
Country	Cambodia
Period	10th century
Subjects	Religion & Spiritual Life; Visual Arts & Design
Historical figures	Henri Marchal

History

The temple was founded by Yajnavaraha, a Brahmin counselor and guru of King Rajendravarman II, with his younger brother Vishnukumara. Yajnavaraha went on to train the future King Jayavarman V. The temple belonged to a small town called Ishvarapura.

The temple was first named Tribhuvanamaheshvara, "great lord of the threefold world," a name for Shiva and for the image in its central shrine. Inscriptions place a linga, the emblem of Shiva, in the central and southern sanctuaries and a statue of Vishnu in the northern one. Later inscriptions date from 1011, in the reign of Suryavarman I, and its last known inscription dates to 1303. After that the temple probably lost its patrons, as Hinduism declined at Angkor and Theravada Buddhism took its place in the 14th century.

The temple was rediscovered in 1914 by the French geographic service. In 1923 the French writer André Malraux took four carved female figures from its walls. He was caught and the pieces were recovered. The temple was cleared in 1924, after the theft and the scandal that followed it. Many other sculptures from Banteay Srei were taken out of Cambodia and are now shown in European museums, among them the Guimet Museum in Paris.

Restoration began in 1931 under the French archaeologist Henri Marchal and lasted until 1936. It was the first temple at Angkor rebuilt by anastylosis, a method that restores a monument with its own original stones where possible. A misreading of some inscriptions once gave the buildings a later date, until the discovery of the foundation stela, the inscribed stone that records the temple's founding, in 1936 showed that the temple was older.

Architecture and layout

The southern sanctuary tower of Banteay Srei, Siem Reap province, 2015. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0

Banteay Srei lies about 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of the main group of Angkor temples, in the forest near Phnom Kulen. Its buildings are small by the standards of Angkor. Sandstone forms most of the temple buildings, while brick and laterite were used for the enclosure walls and some structural parts.

The temple faces east. Its three enclosures, one inside another, measure 95 by 110 meters (312 by 361 feet), 38 by 42 meters (125 by 138 feet) and 24 by 24 meters (79 by 79 feet). An outer gateway, or gopura, probably belonged to a fourth enclosure of timber, and a processional way leads from it to the third enclosure. A moat fills most of the third enclosure, crossed by causeways to its eastern and western gateways.

The inner enclosure holds an entrance chamber, three towers and two buildings known as libraries. The sanctuary stands on a T-shaped platform 0.9 meters (3 feet) high. The central tower rises 9.8 meters (32 feet), above the two side towers at 8.3 meters (27 feet). Kneeling figures with human bodies and animal heads guarded the stairways. To prevent looting, the original guardian figures were removed and replaced by concrete copies.

Art and inscriptions

Pediment of the southern library at Banteay Srei showing Ravana shaking Mount Kailash, 2015. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0

Banteay Srei is widely praised as the jewel of Khmer art for its carved red sandstone and its miniature buildings. Its pediments, the triangular panels above the doorways, are stacked one above another and follow the slope of the roof. Banteay Srei was the first Khmer temple where pediments showed complete scenes from myth, not only single figures. Other carving includes kala faces, devatas, false doors and decorated pilasters.

The scenes show Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, Krishna, Indra and Rama, with stories from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. On the southern library, Ravana shakes Mount Kailash with Shiva seated on top. The other pediment of that library shows Kama shooting an arrow at Shiva. The northern library shows the rain of Indra falling on a forest where the child Krishna walks with his brother Balarama, and Krishna killing King Kamsa. A pediment in the southeast part of the complex shows Shiva dancing, with the Tamil saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar in the lower left corner. She gave up her beauty to live as an ascetic. A pediment showing the brothers Sunda and Upasunda fighting over Tilottama was not put back and was sent to the Guimet Museum.

The modern name means "citadel of the women." It is commonly linked to the fine relief carving and the small size of the buildings.

Significance and conservation

In the early 2000s the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Cambodian government paid for a conservation project at the temple. It repaired the drainage to keep rainwater out of the foundations and cut back tree branches that threatened the buildings. Statues of Shiva and Uma from the central sanctuary are in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The APSARA authorities keep the temple under constant watch.

Visiting

Banteay Srei draws large crowds and ranks among the busiest sites at Angkor. After a new road brought a rush of visitors, ropes were put up in June 2001 around the central sanctuary, with its three towers and two libraries. The site has a car park, a dining and shopping area, visitor information and an exhibition on the temple's history and restoration. As of 2026, the temple is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and is included in the Angkor Archaeological Park pass. Visitors cover their shoulders and knees.

References