Heritage site
Preah Khan (Angkor)
ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន
Preah Khan (ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន) is a 12th-century temple in Angkor that King Jayavarman VII built in honor of his father, King Dharanindravarman II.[1][2] The name means "holy sword"; the temple was first called Nagara Jayasri, "holy city of victory".[1] It lies within the strictest protection zone of the Angkor park.[1] It is a different temple from Preah Khan Kampong Svay, which stands in Preah Vihear province.[3]
History
An inscription found at the temple records that in 1191 Jayavarman VII consecrated a statue of the bodhisattva Lokeshvara, named Sri Jayavarmesvara, in its central tower in honor of his father, with 283 other deities around it. The inscription calls the temple Jayasri. It names the king's parents, describes the temple and the Jayatataka reservoir with its temple, now known as Neak Poan, and lists 121 rest houses and 23 statues set up across the kingdom. The king's son Sri Virakumara composed it.[4] The stone, a four-sided stele 2.23 meters high carved with 179 Sanskrit verses, was found on November 13, 1939 by the French conservator Maurice Glaize, lying in the first eastern gateway during the temple's restoration.[4]
Jayavarman VII also dedicated the smaller temple of Ta Som to his father. Preah Khan lies at the western end of the Northern Baray, a reservoir that is now dry, and Ta Som at its eastern end.[2] He built Ta Prohm in honor of his mother.[1]
A kneeling statue now in the Angkor National Museum, found at Preah Khan, is thought to show his first consort, Queen Jayarajadevi, in the form of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist deity of wisdom.[5]
The temple
The temple is a complex of shrines and courts inside a small moat and a strong wall. Statues of gods and giants holding nagas line the approaches to its four gateways.[1] Like Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei, other temples of Jayavarman VII's reign, it has several enclosure walls.[6]
Preah Khan holds shrines to more than one faith. Im Sokrithy works for the APSARA National Authority, the government body that manages the Angkor park. He has said that the main temple is Buddhist, another was built for the Hindu god Vishnu, and the northern section was built to worship Shiva.[1]
Conservation
By 2002 World Monuments Fund teams had about a decade of experience at Preah Khan, which they brought to restoring Ta Som.[2] In March 2000 the Fund trained about two dozen Cambodians, from the national police, conservation groups and the APSARA National Authority, to draw up a five-year plan for managing the temple and its visitors.[7]
Like Ta Prohm, Preah Khan is surrounded by large trees whose roots have grown into some of its walls.[1] The World Monuments Fund team hired a forestry expert to map which trees most threatened the temple, and removed some of them.[8] In early October 2013 a 30-meter tree blown down in a storm broke eight large stones of the northern gate, in the section built for Shiva. No one was hurt, and the APSARA National Authority collected the stones to restore the gate.[1]
See also
- Preah Khan Kampong Svay, a temple of the same name in Preah Vihear province
- Ta Prohm
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Cambodia Daily, Saing Soenthrith, Preah Khan Damaged After Storm Uproots Large Tree (October 7, 2013)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Cambodia Daily, Jody McPhillips, Cambodian Team Working to Restore Temple (March 5, 2002)
- ↑ The Cambodia Daily Khmer, Ancient mysteries (April 30, 2016; in Khmer)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Angkor National Museum, Inscription of Preah Khan (K.908) (July 5, 2025)
- ↑ Angkor National Museum, Highlight artifact: Prajnaparamita (undated)
- ↑ Cambodianess (ThmeyThmey), The Enclosure Wall of Angkor Thom (July 19, 2021)
- ↑ The Cambodia Daily, Brian Mockenhaupt, Students Learn to Manage Future of Angkor (March 7, 2000)
- ↑ The Cambodia Daily, Molly Ball, Restorers Battle Over Ta Prohm's Famous Trees (December 16, 2002)