Baksei Chamkrong Temple — Attraction in Siem Reap

The bird that shelters under its wings.This little temple with its four square tiers of laterite, crowned by a brick sanctuary, might serve for a model in miniature of some of its giant neighbors, and is almost as perfect as perfect as the day it was built. Prasat Baksei Chamkrong is located 150 meters (492 feel) north of Phnom Bakheng and 80 meters (262 feet) from the road leading to the south gate of Angkor Thom. A visit to Baksei Chamkrong can be combined with a stop at the south gate of Angkor Thom. Enter and leave the temple from the east entrance. The stairs to the Central Sanctuary are in poor condition but the architecture and decoration of this temple can be viewed by walking around it (in a clockwise direction). Those who persist in climbing to the Central Sanctuary should use the north stairway. It was built in middle of the tenth century (947), perhaps begun by Harshavarman I and completed by Rajendravarman II, dedicated to Siva (Hindu) may have been a funerary temple for the parents of the king with following transitional between Bakheng and Koh ker. According to legend, the king fled during an attack on Angkor and was saved from being caught by the enemy when a large bird swooped down and spread its wings to shelter the king. The name of the temple derives from this legend. Baksei Chamkrong was the first temple-mountain at Angkor built entirely of durable materials brick, laterite and sandstone. Even though it is small the balanced proportions and scale of this monument are noteworthy. Inscriptions on the columns of the door and the arches give the date of the temple and mention a golden image of Siva. Baksei Chamkrong is a simple plan with a single tower on top of a square tiered base with four levels of diminishing size (27 meters, 89 feet, a side at the base) built of laterite (1-4). The height from the ground to the top of the Central Sanctuary is 13 meters (43 feet). Three levels of the base are undecorated but the top one has horizontal molding around it and serves as a base for the Central sanctuary. A steep staircase on each side of the base leads to the top. A brick wall (5) with an entry tower (6) and sandstone steps enclosed the temple. Although it has almost all disappeared vestiges are visible on the east side of the temple. CENTRAL SANCTUARY The square central tower is built of brick and stands on a sandstone base. It has one door opening to the east with three false doors on the other sides. As is typical of tenth-century Khmer architecture, the columns and lintels are made of sandstone. A vertical panel in the center of each false door contains motifs of foliage on stems. The interior of the tower has a sunken floor and a vault with a corbel arch. The finely worked decoction on the sandstone columns and horizontal beams above the doors imitates woodcarving. An outline divinity can be seen in the bricks at the corners of the tower. A three-headed elephant on the east lintel is...

Baksei Chamkrong (also spelled Baksey Chamkrong, Khmer: បក្សីចាំក្រុង) is a legendary monarch of Cambodia, whose life and rule are known from the Cambodian Royal Chronicles. Despite a lack of historicity, the narrative of his epic has had a lasting influence on Cambodian culture and politics. Legend: found there. While the men were arguing, making a mess to look at the traces on the flour, Ta Kohé, sensing the danger, grabbed Baksei Cham Krong, carried him in his arms and fled.

Flight of Ta Kohé Ta Kohé had been able to get out, because the tumult was great, and the guards could not stop them. They brought this matter to the attention of His Majesty who ordered the troops to be raised to pursue and arrest Baksei Cham Krong. Ta Kohé went to tell his wife what had happened in all respects, then asked her to prepare food. Then he went to take back Baksei Cham Krong; and carrying him in his arms, he fled through the forests. In the morning, they left their place of rest, and arriving on the edge of the river, they did not find a boat to cross to the other bank. Seeing a large rokar tree standing on their bank, and a large coila[spelling?] tree on the other bank, Baksei Cham Krong said, "If I possess merits (Mean Boun) and really must ascend the throne, may this tree bend forward, so that the lovea tree bends to meet it”. The two trees then bowed to meet each other according to the invocation. They crossed the river and managed to reach the eastern bank. This is how there have been, since then and up to the present day, villages called Roka Kong and Lovea Té.

Ascension to the throne

King Prom Kel reigned 20 years and died at the age of 31. Then the dignitaries and all the mandarins, having learned that Baksei Cham Krong possessed miraculous merits, met and agreed to go and invite Baksei Cham Krong to leave the Phnom Prasiddh region. Then they invited him to ascend the...

Baksei Chamkrong (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបក្សីចាំក្រុង) is a small Hindu temple located in the Angkor complex (Siem Reap, Cambodia). It is dedicated to Lord Shivaand used to hold a golden image of him. The temple can be seen on the left side when entering Angkor Thom at the southern gate. It was dedicated to Yasovarman by his son, King Harshavarman I. The temple was completed by Rajendravarman II (944-968). This temple is one of the first temples constructed of durable material such as bricks and laterite and with decoration in sandstone. A brick enclosure originally surrounded the pyramid with a stone gopura on the east side is now almost completely disappeared. Much of the stucco on the surface of the temple has vanished. The main sandstone lintel is decorated with a fine carving of Indra standing on his three-headed elephant Airavata. Garlands emanate from either side of Indra in the style current to the monument. There is an inscription on either side of the small doorway which detail the dedication and praises the early Khmer kings from Jayavarman IIonward as well as earlier legendary kings, including the ancestor of the nation, the hermit Kambu. The pyramid measures 27 metres across at the base and 15 at the summit for an overall height of 13 metres. Four stairway reach the summit at the cardinal points. The brick sanctuary tower, eight meters square on a sandstone base open to the east with the usual blind doors on the...