Apsara and devata Apsaras, divine nymphs or celestial dancing girls, are characters from Indian mythology. Their origin is explained in the story of the churning of the
Ocean of Milk, or
samudra manthan, found in the
Vishnu Purana. Other stories in the Mahabharata detail the exploits of individual apsaras, who were often used by the gods as agents to persuade or seduce mythological demons, heroes and ascetics. The widespread use of apsaras as a motif for decorating the walls and pillars of temples and other religious buildings, however, was a
Khmer innovation. In modern descriptions of Angkorian temples, the term "apsara" is sometimes used to refer not only to dancers but also to other minor female deities, though minor female deities who are depicted standing rather than dancing are more commonly called "
devatas". Apsaras and devatas are ubiquitous at
Angkor, but are most common in the foundations of the 12th century. Depictions of true (dancing) apsaras are found, for example, in the
Hall of Dancers at
Preah Khan, in the pillars that line the passageways through the outer gallery of the
Bayon, and in the famous bas-relief of
Angkor Wat depicting the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The largest population of devatas (around 2,000) is at
Angkor Wat, where they appear individually and in groups. .
Dvarapala Dvarapalas are human or demonic temple guardians, generally armed with lances and clubs. They are presented either as a stone statues or as relief carvings in the walls of temples and other buildings, generally close to entrances or passageways. Their function is to protect the temples. Dvarapalas may be seen, for example, at
Preah Ko,
Lolei,
Banteay Srei,
Preah Khan and
Banteay Kdei.
Gajasimha and Reachisey The
gajasimha is a mythical animal with the body of a lion and the head of an elephant. At Angkor, it is portrayed as a guardian of temples and as a mount for some warriors. The gajasimha may be found at
Banteay Srei and at the temples belonging to the
Roluos group. The reachisey is another mythical animal, similar to the gajasimha, with the head of a lion, a short elephantine trunk, and the scaly body of a dragon. It occurs at
Angkor Wat in the epic bas reliefs of the outer gallery.
Garuda ,
Garuda bears Vishnu on his shoulders.
Garuda is a divine being that is part man and part bird. He is the lord of birds, the mythological enemy of
nāgas, and the battle steed of
Vishnu. Depictions of Garuda at Angkor number in the thousands, and though Indian in inspiration exhibit a style that is uniquely Khmer. They may be classified as follows: • As part of a narrative bas relief, Garuda is shown as the battle steed of
Vishnu or
Krishna, bearing the god on his shoulders, and simultaneously fighting against the god's enemies. Numerous such images of Garuda may be observed in the outer gallery of
Angkor Wat. • Garuda serves as an
atlas supporting a superstructure, as in the bas relief at Angkor Wat that depicts heaven and hell. Garudas and stylized mythological lions are the most common atlas figures at Angkor. • Garuda is depicted in the pose of a victor, often dominating a nāga, as in the gigantic relief sculptures on the outer wall of
Preah Khan. In this context, Garuda symbolizes the military power of the Khmer kings and their victories over their enemies. Not coincidentally, the city of Preah Khan was built on the site of King
Jayavarman VII's victory over invaders from
Champa. • In free-standing nāga sculptures, such as in nāga bridges and balustrades, Garuda is often depicted in relief against the fan of nāga heads. The relationship between Garuda and the nāga heads is ambiguous in these sculptures: it may be one of cooperation, or it may again be one of domination of the nāga by Garuda. In Khmer temple architecture, the kala serves as a common decorative element on lintels, tympana and walls, where it is depicted as a monstrous head with a large upper jaw lined by large carnivorous teeth, but with no lower jaw. Some kalas are shown disgorging vine-like plants, and some serve as the base for other figures. Scholars have speculated that the origin of the kala as a decorative element in Khmer temple architecture may be found in an earlier period when the skulls of human victims were incorporated into buildings as a kind of protective magic or
apotropaism. Such skulls tended to lose their lower jaws when the ligaments holding them together dried out. Thus, the kalas of Angkor may represent the Khmer civilization's adoption into its decorative iconography of elements derived from long forgotten primitive antecedents.
Krishna Scenes from the life of
Krishna, a hero and
Avatar of the god
Vishnu, are common in the relief carvings decorating Angkorian temples, and unknown in Angkorian sculpture in the round. The literary sources for these scenes are the
Mahabharata, the
Harivamsa, and the
Bhagavata Purana. The following are some of the most important Angkorian depictions of the life of Krishna: • A series of bas reliefs at the 11th-century temple pyramid called
Baphuon depicts scenes of the birth and childhood of Krishna. • Numerous bas reliefs in various temples show Krishna subduing the
nāga Kaliya. In Angkorian depictions, Krishna is shown effortlessly stepping on and pushing down his opponent's multiple heads. • Also common is the depiction of Krishna as he lifts Mount
Govardhana with one hand in order to provide the cowherds with shelter from the deluge caused by
Indra. • Krishna is frequently depicted killing or subduing various demons, including his evil uncle
Kamsa. An extensive bas relief in the outer gallery of
Angkor Wat depicts Krishna's battle with the
asura Bana. In battle, Krishna is shown riding on the shoulders of
Garuda, the traditional mount of
Vishnu. • In some scenes, Krishna is depicted in his role as charioteer, advisor and protector of
Arjuna, the hero of the
Mahabharata. A well-known bas relief from the 10th-century temple of
Banteay Srei depicts the Krishna and Arjuna helping
Agni to burn down Khandava forest.
Linga The
linga is a phallic post or cylinder symbolic of the god
Shiva and of creative power. As a religious symbol, the function of the linga is primarily that of worship and ritual, and only secondarily that of decoration. In the
Khmer empire, certain lingas were erected as symbols of the king himself, and were housed in royal temples in order to express the king's consubstantiality with Siva. The lingas that survive from the Angkorean period are generally made of polished stone. The lingas of the Angkorian period are of several different types. • Some lingas are implanted in a flat square base called a
yoni, symbolic of the womb. • On the surface of some lingas is engraved the face of Siva. Such lingas are called
mukhalingas. • Some lingas are segmented into three parts: a square base symbolic of
Brahma, an octagonal middle section symbolic of
Vishnu, and a round tip symbolic of
Shiva.
Makara shows a man riding on the back of a
makara that in turn disgorges another monster. A
makara is a mythical sea monster with the body of a serpent, the trunk of an elephant, and a head that can have features reminiscent of a lion, a crocodile, or a dragon. In Khmer temple architecture, the motif of the makara is generally part of a decorative carving on a lintel, tympanum, or wall. Often the makara is depicted with some other creature, such as a lion or serpent, emerging from its gaping maw. The makara is a central motif in the design of the famously beautiful lintels of the
Roluos group of temples:
Preah Ko,
Bakong, and
Lolei. At
Banteay Srei, carvings of makaras disgorging other monsters may be observed on many of the corners of the buildings.
Nāga , the
nāga king who shielded
Buddha as he sat in meditation, was a favorite motif for Cambodian Buddhist sculptors from the 11th century. This statue is dated between 1150 and 1175 CE. Mythical serpents, or
nāgas, represent an important motif in Khmer architecture as well as in free-standing sculpture. They are frequently depicted as having multiple heads, always uneven in number, arranged in a fan. Each head has a flared hood, in the manner of a cobra. Nāgas are frequently depicted in Angkorian
lintels. The composition of such lintels characteristically consists in a dominant image at the center of a rectangle, from which issue swirling elements that reach to the far ends of the rectangle. These swirling elements may take shape as either vinelike vegetation or as the bodies of nāgas. Some such nāgas are depicted wearing crowns, and others are depicted serving as mounts for human riders. To the Angkorian, nāgas were symbols of water and figured in the myths of origin for the Khmer people, who were said to be descended from the union of an Indian
Brahman and a serpent princess from Cambodia. Nāgas were also characters in other well-known legends and stories depicted in Khmer art, such as the churning of the
Ocean of Milk, the legend of the Leper King as depicted in the bas-reliefs of the
Bayon, and the story of
Mucalinda, the serpent king who protected the Buddha from the elements.
Nāga Bridge hold the
nāga Vasuki on a bridge leading into the 12th century city of
Angkor Thom. Nāga bridges are causeways or true bridges lined by stone
balustrades shaped as nāgas. In some Angkorian nāga-bridges, as for example those located at the entrances to 12th century city of
Angkor Thom, the nāga-shaped balustrades are supported not by simple posts but by stone statues of gigantic warriors. These giants are the
devas and
asuras who used the nāga king
Vasuki in order to the churn the Ocean of Milk in quest of the
amrita or elixir of immortality. The story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk or
samudra manthan has its source in Indian mythology.
Quincunx , is carved into the riverbed at
Kbal Spean. A
quincunx is a spatial arrangement of five elements, with four elements placed as the corners of a square and the fifth placed in the center. The five peaks of
Mount Meru were taken to exhibit this arrangement, and Khmer temples were arranged accordingly in order to convey a symbolic identification with the sacred mountain. The five brick towers of the 10th-century temple known as
East Mebon, for example, are arranged in the shape of a quincunx. The quincunx also appears elsewhere in designs of the Angkorian period, as in the riverbed carvings of
Kbal Spean.
Shiva Most temples at
Angkor are dedicated to
Shiva. In general, the Angkorian Khmer represented and worshipped Shiva in the form of a
lingam, though they also fashioned anthropomorphic statues of the god. Anthropomorphic representations are also found in Angkorian bas reliefs. A famous tympanum from
Banteay Srei depicts Shiva sitting on Mount Kailasa with his consort, while the demon king
Ravana shakes the mountain from below. At
Angkor Wat and
Bayon, Shiva is depicted as a bearded ascetic. His attributes include the mystical eye in the middle of his forehead, the trident, and the rosary. His
vahana or mount is the bull
Nandi.
Vishnu Angkorian representations of
Vishnu include anthropomorphic representations of the god himself, as well as representations of his incarnations or
Avatars, especially
Rama and
Krishna. Depictions of Vishnu are prominent at
Angkor Wat, the 12th-century temple that was originally dedicated to Vishnu. Bas reliefs depict Vishna battling with against
asura opponents, or riding on the shoulders of his
vahana or mount, the gigantic eagle-man
Garuda. Vishnu's attributes include the discus, the conch shell, the baton, and the orb. ==Wooden architecture==