A Chapter of Angkor Creation: Two Stories

#voyagevibes For many people, Cambodia is associated primarily with Angkor Wat, which they know is a large ancient temple complex that includes smaller temples, such as the temple where the Lara Croft movie was filmed, or the temple with faces. All of them are located right in the jungle and represent somewhere restored, somewhere abandoned ruins. Actually, it's not quite like that. Angkor Wat is a temple complex, one of the largest in the world. The complex is located on the territory of the city of Angkor (without Wat), like many other temples. Including the Bayon Temple, or the temple with faces. The Angkor Wat temple itself is so impressive in its size, and previously shone with luxurious decoration, that it is not surprising that its appearance was associated with higher forces, namely, with the will of the god Indra. Mythological version Once upon a time, a ruler had a son named Preah Ket Mealea, whose name means Divine Radiance. The young man received it because he was of amazing beauty and, moreover, possessed a wonderful character and many spiritual perfections. And the god Indra, the ruler of the heavenly kingdom, decided to call such a perfect young man to himself. The heavenly castle, which the prince got into, he liked incredibly. The castle consisted of five tall towers decorated with many iridescent precious stones. The interior was also striking in its beauty. The furniture was made of gold and silver, the walls were draped with expensive fabrics. Pleasant music was playing, graceful girls were dancing around. Everything would be fine. But the young man was a living person, and his human smell greatly irritated the celestial inhabitants. He made me think about earthly life and its temptations. The smell especially affected the celestial dancers – apsaras. Therefore, the god Indra had to bring the prince back to earth. And so that he would not be offended, he ordered his heavenly architect to erect a palace on earth the same as in heaven. Historical Version In fact, the temple was built during the reign of Emperor Suryavarman II, who lived at the turn of the XI and XII centuries. His subjects revered him as the incarnation of the god Vishnu on earth. And then the emperor decided to build a temple dedicated to Vishnu. It became Angkor Wat - the earthly home of the emperor and his tomb. The construction lasted for about 40 years, and the temple was almost completed, but after the death of the emperor, work on the temple was stopped. Therefore, in some places, the decoration of the facades has not been completed. The temple was built of black and gray sandstone, which was quarried at quarries located 40 km from the construction site and delivered along the Siem Reap River. It is estimated that the construction took about 5 million tons of stone. No mortar was used to fasten the stone blocks. The stone blocks were tightly fitted to each other, so they are held only by the gravity of their own weight - it remains to be surprised at the skills of Khmer architects and builders.