Cambodia & Culture: Bakong, the first mountain temple

Bakong (ប្រាសាទបាគង), also known as Indresvara, is certainly one of Siem Reap's most beautiful monuments. It was the first sandstone temple-mountain built by the kings of the Khmer empire at Angkor.

The Bakong temple was built at the request of Indravarman I and consecrated in 881. Bakong is historically remarkable, as it became a kind of prototype of the typical Khmer temple "pyramid", also known as a temple-mountain or stepped pyramid. Bakong was the state or imperial temple of its time, dedicated to the king's Shiva-Lingam.

Indravarman I (877-889)

Jayavarman II in the early 9th century is regarded as the founder of the nascent Angkor empire, known as "Kambuja-Desa", "the land of the descendants of Kambu", but Indravarman I (877-889) is the first Khmer king at the dawn of the Angkor era whose achievements are accurately documented, notably by his own inscriptions and by clearly attributed architectural achievements such as Bakong and Preah Ko.

The Bakong was once surrounded by an outer moat and an enclosure 900 m long and 700 m wide. In fact, not much remains of this original outer wall and moat. But the second 60m-wide moat (450m by 400m) is well maintained and still impressive, even by Angkor temple standards. The main entrance is the eastern causeway, with a second ramp crossing the ditch at the rear to the west. The causeway is decorated with two seven-headed snakes called Nagas, their enormous bodies forming the balustrades.

Inner temple enclosure

In the inner enclosure of the temple (160 m by 120 m), there are the remains of four entrance gates called Gopurams at the four cardinal points, two chapels on either side of the temple avenue, and six square buildings with air vents near the corners of. There are also five elongated rectangular buildings, three of which, on the east and south walls, date from the time of King Indravarman, the founder of Bakong.

But the other two, parallel to the avenue, are later additions, showing that Bakong was not abandoned at all after the capital moved from Roluos (ancient Harihalaya) to Angkor. Even today, a monastery with modern buildings is located on the temple island.

Brick towers

Eight brick towers on platforms encircling the main mountain of the temple are arranged symmetrically, dedicated to the eight faces of Shiva called Murtis ("faces"), namely the Sun, Moon, Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Ether and Atman. The sandstone lintels and columns are also noteworthy. The finest door decorations are to be found in the north-east of the Prasat, but the best-preserved lintels are to be found in the western towers.

Temple - mountain

The main structure, of course, is the central mountain temple built of sandstone blocks. It measures 67 m long by 65 m wide and 14 m high. Unusual rectangular pavilion doors with pitched roofs and gables and semi-circular moonstone thresholds give access to axial staircases on either side. Lions guard the four flights of steps. The upper levels are narrower and less high than those below. Statues of elephants face outwards from the corners of the three lower levels.

Mount Meru

The five levels represent those of Mount Meru with their respective mythical inhabitants: the Naga snakes, the Garuda birds, the Rakshasa demons, the Yaksha tree spirits and the Deva gods. On the fourth level are twelve small sandstone towers arranged at regular intervals, which once consecrated the Lingams. The remains of bas-relief sculptures on the walls of the highest level are believed to be the earliest examples of these Khmer bas-reliefs, which originally covered a much larger area of the walls. Only a panel depicting the demons of Ashura losing a battle, on the south side, is in relatively good condition.

Central Prasat

The Central Prasat, which now dominates the skyline of the entire Bakong Pyramid, was a later addition in the Angkor Wat style in the 12th century, replacing the original Prasat which had fallen into ruin. All that remains of the Prasat are its foundations. It consecrated a Shiva Lingam called Indreshvara, combining the names of King Indravarman and the god Ishvara.

Lingam

The Lingam (Shiva's phallus) was the main symbol of imperial power. Most Khmer kings built their own Shiva temple. Bakheng, Prasat Prang (at Prasat Thom in Koh Ker), Pre Rup, Ta Keo and Baphuon are the most remarkable of these. The artistic details are why the construction of the Bakong marks the beginning of the development of typical Khmer mountain temples.

Hor Sopheak

Illustrations by Gary Todd