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INVESTIGATIONS/World
The Dragon's Mirror: The Magic of Angkor Wat I
Part 1
Diego Antolini
11/05/2022 09:50:14
Introduction
Angkor
or “The Capital Temple” is a large complex of temples structures in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world.
Angkor Wat
was first a Hindu, and then a Buddhist temple, built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II at the beginning of the 12th century in Yasodharapura, the site that is recognized today as Angkor.
Angkor was the old capital of the Khmer empire, it was a State Temple and then a mausoleum.
Detaching from the Shiva traditions of previous kings,
Angkor Wat
was built in dedication of
Vishnu
.
Angkor is also the main temple of the whole religious complex, the most preserved and the only one left among the ancient
religious centers
since its foundation. The temple is built with the classic style of the Khmer architecture at its apogee.
It is, today, the symbol of
Cambodia
(it is present on its national flag) and the first touristic attraction of the country.
Angkor Wat
combines two basic principles of
Khmer
architecture: the Temple-Mountain style, and the later Gallery Temple style. The general structure is inspired by the earliest Dravidian architecture with some notable elements such as the
Jagati
.
The
temple
was designed to represent Mount Meru, the house of the Devas in the
Hindu
mythology: it is surrounded on the outer perimeter by a large, artificial lake and protected by an outer wall of 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles). The internal plan features a series of 3 rectangular tunnels, each erected on a higher level than the others; at the center of the
temple
there is a series of 5 towers arranged in a quincunx. Unlike many Angkorian temples,
Angkor Wat
is oriented westward. Scholars are divided as to the meaning of this orientation. The
temple
is admired especially for the grandeur and the harmonies of its architecture, for the incredible number of bas-reliefs, and for the numerous figurines of the Devas adorning the walls.
Angkor Wat
means "Temple City" or "The City of the Temple." In Khmer language, Angkor means "City" or "Capital City," being a vernacular form of the word
nokor
, which comes from the Sanskrit
nagara
. Wat is instead a native
Khmer
word meaning "Templar Site" (its Sanskrit counterpart would be
vata
.) During our visit at
Angkor Wat
, and after observing the complex symbolism of its elements, we feel that the original root of the word Angkor, that is,
nagara
, takes its roots from Nag- or “Serpent”. Our comparative studies of the Hindu lore (see the
Indus Civilization
Series on thexgates.com) lead us to believe that a more appropriate translation of
Angkor Wat
should be “City of
Nagas
” or “The
Nagas
’ Temple.”
NAGAS: A Shapeshifting History
Kindle
Paperback
ANGKOR WAT
DRAGON'S MIRROR
CAMBODIA
FIELD INVESTIGATION
THEXPLAN GROUP
KHMER EMPIRE
NAGAS
HINDU
VISHNU
MAGIC