Banteay Srei-Jewel in the Crown

Banteay Srei

Jewel in the Crown

(Hindu Temples in Cambodia Part IV)

We had spent three days visiting temples of grandeur and in various stages of neglect. There are many more temples available but the constraint of time made us limit our stay to four days in Siem Reap. Incidentally, the name “Siem Reap” means “Victory over Siam”. There has been continuous dispute between Cambodia and Thailand over the territory in which the temples are located.

The last day was reserved for a completely different experience at Banteay Srei. This temple is a bit away from Siem Reap and we decided to combine the visit with our return to Phnom Penh. A distance of about 25 to 30 kilometres had to be covered and we had arranged a van to take us back to Phnom Penh via Banteay Srei. The owners of Ta Som Hotel where we stayed came out to see us off, after looking after us extremely well during our stay. As before I had collected information about Banteay Srei so that we could make the visit fruitful.

The temple is quite small in size and a good bit of the structure had already disappeared. It is built of sandstone with exquisite carvings following the Chola style. The temple was constructed by the Khmer king Rajendravarman who ruled during 944-968 and the temple was constructed in 967. Hence it could be seen that it predated the Big Temple of Thanjavur which was constructed in the 11^th century almost fifty years later. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The carvings are so exquisite that it is believed thet male sculpters could not have achived such skill and that the carvings were done by female sculpters. The term “Srei” stands for ladies in Khmer language.

Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "Precious Gem", or the "Jewel of Khmer art."

Since the temple is much smaller in size as compared to the others in the region, it should be possible to complete the tour in about three hours, spending time over the details of carvings. Since the pictures speak better than words, I am giving below some pictures which speak for themselves.

Being seen off from Ta Som Guest House

Tuk Tuk Ride

Indra on His Elephant

Gajalakshmi

Entrance



Inside Temple Complex

Temple Complex

Intricate Artwork

Rama Killing Vaali

Intricate Artwork

Shiva and Parvathi on Rishabha Vahana

Fresh Palmyra Juice, which was being sold outside the temple complex was really refreshing after a tour in the sun.

Ladies who were selling mementos were attracted by the kunkum stickers being used by our ladies and were pestering them for the stickers. The lady who finally received a bunch of stickers was very happy and posed for a photograph.