Dvalapalas at the western entrance to the sanctuary
Dvalapalas (guardian gods) at the western entrance to the sanctuary in Preah Khan. I found a photo of the same statues with heads taken in 1942 on the internet.
I think this is the most handsome architecture in Preah Khan.
If you enter inside, corridors and doorways continue almost endlessly along the east-west axis. There are also buildings one after the other, which are constructed perpendicular to the axis. The site as a whole is kept as an extensive ruin with minimal restoration works like in Ta Prohm.
Preah Khan is not modelled after Mt. Sumeru like many Hindu temples in Khmer Empire; hence it doesn't have the prang or central tower. Hindu temples are usually dedicated to a god or goddess but this temple monastery was built for the memory of the emperor's father. It is quite a deviation from the Hindu tradition of the empire.
It was converted later to a Hindu temple. The fronton of the entrance probably depicts a battle scene of Ramayana or Mahabharata. Buddha images were intentionally removed from lintels and frontons by Jayavarman VIII, VII's successor (^_^;
Dvalapalas at the western entrance to the sanctuary
Dvalapalas (guardian gods) at the western entrance to the sanctuary in Preah Khan. I found a photo of the same statues with heads taken in 1942 on the internet.
I think this is the most handsome architecture in Preah Khan.
If you enter inside, corridors and doorways continue almost endlessly along the east-west axis. There are also buildings one after the other, which are constructed perpendicular to the axis. The site as a whole is kept as an extensive ruin with minimal restoration works like in Ta Prohm.
Preah Khan is not modelled after Mt. Sumeru like many Hindu temples in Khmer Empire; hence it doesn't have the prang or central tower. Hindu temples are usually dedicated to a god or goddess but this temple monastery was built for the memory of the emperor's father. It is quite a deviation from the Hindu tradition of the empire.
It was converted later to a Hindu temple. The fronton of the entrance probably depicts a battle scene of Ramayana or Mahabharata. Buddha images were intentionally removed from lintels and frontons by Jayavarman VIII, VII's successor (^_^;