In my previous post, I shared with you some details about the museum in Thailand, the temple in Phimai and the book Angkor Wat that I found there.Although I have not visited this Angkor Wat temple in person, I would like to share with you some more things that I have learned about Angkor Wat temple through the book I got in Phimai
The Angkor Wat temple is a massive temple modeled after the one at Phimai. Some thousand over years ago this temple was a Hindu temple. The construction of this temple follows the construction norms of Hindu temples. In later days, when Buddhism prevailed there, the Hindu gods in these temples were removed and worshiped with Buddhist idols.The sculptures in the Phimai and Angkor wat temples were almost identical to those in the Thanjavur Great Temple.
When I was working in China, I had many opportunities to visit Angkor Wat but never found the time to go there. But on the other hand, even though I have been in India for a long time now, I have not been able to go there.After saving money to travel there, I have decided to stay there for five days and do a thorough research about Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.
If we look at the photographs in the book about this Angkor Wat temple, there are rare photographs that show how they fought with ships and elephants during that period. You can fully understand this Angkor Wat temple by visiting it and researching it.I am currently uploading only the photos that are in the book and what I know. Just look at the pictures in the book and you will understand.
In this place where Tamil kings once ruled, there are many traces of Nandi idols, Singhayali idols and so on.This Angkor Wat temple is located in a dense forest area. This temple has remained undiscovered for hundreds of years, overgrown with vines and on the verge of complete destruction. Later it is said that a French naturalist was the first to discover it.Why the kings who built this great temple city abandoned it remains a mystery to this day.This temple is built in an amazing way for everyone to see.
There are numerous sculptures in this temple.In the sculptures here, you can see the clothes, ornaments and weapons of the Tamils. Regarding this temple of Angkor Wat, the influence of Tamils can be seen a lot. This Angkor wat temple tells us that the rule of the Tamil kings extended across the ocean during that period. Taking a fleet to conquer a country is not an easy task. But it is surprising to think that our Rajaraja Cholan had such a magnificent fleet a thousand years ago.
After his time, during the reign of Rajendra Chola, how big of an army he must have had when we see that it stretched across the ocean to here. He must have had well trained soldiers and great generals and sea going admirals who made these conquests possible.The way he conquered Sri Vijaya is equivalent to the surgical strike the Indians did on Pakistan, taking the enemy completely by surprise.
I have downloaded some of the photographs of this temple. I have decided to personally visit Angkor Wat temple by the end of 2024 and give you more information. We will see about the Singapore Museum on Cholas in the next post. The journey continues…..