Banteay Srei is known for the intricacy of its carvings. This carving is of a
kala, a mythical creature representative of time and of the god
Siva.
(or
Banteay Srey) () is a 10th century
Cambodian temple dedicated to the
Hindu god
Shiva. Located in the area of
Angkor in
Cambodia, at 13.5989 N, 103.9628 E, it lies near the hill of
Phnom Dei, 25 km (15 miles) north-east of the main group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of
Yasodharapura and
Angkor Thom. 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."
History
Foundation and dedication
"Banteay Srei" (Citadel of Women) is the modern name of a 10th century Khmer temple originally called "Tribhuvanamahesvara" (Great Lord of the Threefold World), an appellation of the god
Siva.
Consecrated in
967 A.D., Banteay Srei was the only major temple at
Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to a courtier named
Yajnavaraha (), who served as a counsellor to king
Rajendravarman(). The foundational
stela says that
Yajnavaraha was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty. Originally, the temple was surrounded by a town called Isvarapura.
It has been speculated that the temple's modern name, Banteay Srei, is due to the many
devatas carved into the red sandstone walls.
Yajnyavaraha's temple was primarily dedicated to the
Hindu god
Shiva. Originally, it was carried the name
Tribhuvanamahesvara — great lord of the threefold world — in reference to the
Shaivite linga that served as its central religious image.
[Freeman and Jacques, Ancient Angkor p. 206.] However, the temple buildings appear to be divided along the central east-west axis between those buildings located south of the axis, which are devoted to
Shiva, and those north of the axis, which are devoted to
Vishnu.
The temple's modern name,
Banteay Srei — citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty — is probably related to the intricacy of the
bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves.
Some have speculated that it relates to the many
devatas carved into the walls of the buildings.
Expansion and rededication
Banteay Srei was subject to further expansion and rebuilding work in the eleventh century. At some point it came under the control of the king and had its original dedication changed; an inscription of the early twelfth century records the temple being given to the priest Divarakapandita and being rededicated to Shiva. It remained in use at least until the fourteenth century.
Restoration
The temple was rediscovered only in 1914, and was the subject of a celebrated case of
art theft when
André Malraux stole four
devatas in 1923 (he was soon arrested and the figures returned). The incident stimulated interest in the site, which was cleared the following year, and in the 1930s Banteay Srei was restored in the first important use of
anastylosis at Angkor. Until the discovery of the foundation
stela in 1936, it had been assumed that the extreme decoration indicated a later date than was in fact the case.
[Glaize, The Monuments of the Angkor Group, p. 183.] To prevent the site from water damage, the joint Cambodian-
Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system between 2000 and 2003. Measures were also taken to prevent damage to the temples walls being caused by nearby trees. Unfortunately, the temple has been ravaged by pilfering and vandalism. When toward the end of the 20th century authorities removed some original statues and replaced them with concrete replicas, looters took to attacking the replicas. A statue of
Shiva and his
shakti Uma, removed to the National Museum in
Phnom Penh for safekeeping, was assaulted in the museum itself.
Materials and style
Banteay Srei is built largely of a hard red sandstone that can be carved like wood.
Brick and
laterite were used only for the enclosure walls and some structural elements. The temple is known for the beauty of its sandstone
lintels and pediments.
A
pediment is the roughly triangular space above a rectangular doorway or openings. At Banteay Srei, pediments are relatively large in comparison to the openings below, and take a sweeping gabled shape. For the first time in the history of
Khmer architecture, whole scenes of mythological subject-matter are depicted on the pediments.
A
lintel is a horizontal beam spanning the gap between two posts. Some lintels serve a structural purpose, serving to support the weight of the superstructure, while others are purely decorative in purpose. The lintels at Banteay Srei are beautifully carved, rivalling those of the 9th century
Preah Ko style in quality.
Many niches in the temple walls contain carvings of devatas or dvarapalas.
Noteworthy decorative motifs include the
kala (a toothy monster symbolic of time), the guardian
dvarapala (an armed protector of the temple) and
devata (demi-goddess), the
false door, and the
colonette. Indeed, decorative carvings seem to cover almost every available surface. According to pioneering Angkor scholar
Maurice Glaize, "Given the very particular charm of Banteay Srei — its remarkable state of preservation and the excellence of a near perfect ornamental technique — one should not hesitate, of all the monuments of the Angkor group, to give it the highest priority." At Banteay Srei, wrote Glaize, "the work relates more closely to the art of the
goldsmith or to
carving in wood than to
sculpture in stone".
The site
Plan of Banteay Srei
Like most Khmer temples, Banteay Srei is oriented towards the east. It consists of three concentric rectangular
enclosures constructed on an east-west axis. A causeway stituated on the axis leads from an outer
gopura, or gate, to the third or outermost of the three enclosures. The inner enclosure contains the
sanctuary, consisting of an entrance chamber and three towers, as well as two buildings conventionally referred to as
libraries.
The outer Gopura
The
gopura is all that remains of the outer wall surrounding the town of Isvapura. The wall is believed to have measured approximately 500 m square, and may have been constructed of wood. The gopura's eastern
pediment shows
Indra, who was associated with that direction, mounted on his three-headed elephant
Airavata. The 67 m causeway with the remains of corridors on either side connects the gopura with the third enclosure. North and south of this causeway are
galleries with a north-south orientation.
The Third (Outer) Enclosure
The pediment representing the fight between the
asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda over the
apsara Tilottama is located in the
Musée Guimet.
The third enclosure is 95 by 110 m; it is surrounded by a
laterite wall breached by
gopuras at the eastern and western ends.
[Glaize, Monuments of the Angkor Group, p.184.] Neither
pediment of the eastern gopura is
in situ. The west-facing
pediment is now located in the
Musée Guimet in Paris. It depicts a scene from the
Mahabharata in which the
Asura brothers
Sunda and
Upasunda fight over the
Apsaras Tilottama. The east-facing pediment is lying on the ground. It depicts a scene from the
Ramayana in which a demon seizes
Rama's wife
Sita. Most of the area within the third enclosure is occupied by a
moat divided into two parts by causeways to the east and west.
The Second Enclosure
Shiva Nataraja is depicted on the eastern gopura of the inner enclosure wall.
The combat between Vali and Sugreeva is depicted on the western gopura.
A pediment shows Narasimha clawing Hiranyakasipu.
The second enclosure sits between an outer laterite wall measuring 38 by 42 m, with gopuras at the eastern and western ends, and a brick inner enclosure wall, measuring 24 by 24 m.
The western gopura features an interesting
bas relief depicting the duel of the monkey princes
Vali and
Sugreeva, as well as
Rama's intervention on Sugreeva's behalf. The inner enclosure wall has collapsed, leaving a gopura at the eastern end and a brick shrine at the western. The eastern pediment of the gopura shows Shiva
Nataraja; the west-facing pediment has an image of
Durga. Likewise, the laterite galleries which once filled the second enclosure (one each to north and south, two each to east and west) have partially collapsed. A pediment on one of the galleries shows the lion-man
Narasimha clawing the demon
Hiranyakasipu.
The First (Inner) Enclosure
Between the gopuras on the collapsed inner wall are the buildings of the inner enclosure: a
library in the south-east corner and another in the north-east corner, and in the centre the
sanctuary set on a T-shaped platform 0.9 m high. Besides being the most extravagantly decorated parts of the temple, these have also been the most successfully restored (helped by the durability of their sandstone and their small scale). As of 2005, the entire first enclosure was off-limits to visitors, as was the southern half of the second enclosure.
The Libraries
The two libraries are of brick, laterite and sandstone. Each library has two
pediments, one on the eastern side and one on the western. According to Maurice Glaize, the four library pediments, "representing the first appearance of
tympanums with scenes, are works of the highest order. Superior in composition to any which followed, they show true craftsmanship in their modelling in a skilful blend of stylisation and realism."
A pediment shows Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa.
- The east-facing pediment on the southern library shows Shiva seated on the summit of Mount Kailasa, his mythological abode. His consort Uma sits on his lap and clings anxiously to his torso. Other beings are also present on the slopes of the mountain, arranged in a strict hierarchy of three tiers from top to bottom. In the top tier sit bearded wise men and ascetics, in the middle tier mythological figures with the heads of animals and the bodies of humans, and in the bottom tier large animals, including a number of lions. In the middle of the scene stands the ten-headed demon king Ravana. He is shaking the mountain in its very foundations as the animals flee from his presence and as the wise men and mythological beings discuss the situation or pray. According to the legend, Shiva stopped Ravana from shaking the mountain by using his toe to press down on the mountain and to trap Ravana underneath for 1000 years.
[Rovedo, Khmer Mythology, p.34.]
- The west-facing pediment on southern library shows Shiva again seated on the summit of Mount Kailasa. He is looking to his left at the god of love Kama, who is aiming an arrow at him. Uma sits to Shiva's right; he is handing her a chain of beads. The slopes of the mountain are crowded with other beings, again arranged in a strict hierarchy from top to bottom. Just under Shiva sit a group of bearded wise men and ascetics, under whom the second tier is occupied by the mythological beings with the heads of animals and the bodies of humans; the lowest tier belongs the common people, who mingle sociably with tame deer and a large gentle bull. According to the legend, Kama fired an arrow at Shiva in order to cause Shiva to take an interest in Uma. Shiva, however, was greatly angered by this provocation, and punished Kama by gazing upon him with his third eye, frying Kama to cinders.
Another pediment shows the burning of Khandava Forest.
- The east-facing pediment on the northern library shows the god of the sky Indra creating rain to put out a forest fire started by the god of fire Agni for purposes of killing the nāga king Takshaka who lived in Khandava Forest. The Mahabharatan heroes Krishna and Arjuna are shown helping Agni by firing a dense hail of arrows to block Indra's rain. Takshaka's son Aswasena is depicted attempting to escape from the conflagration, while other animals stampede about in panic.
- The west-facing pediment on the southern library depicts Krishna slaying his wicked uncle Kamsa.
The Sanctuary
The
mandapa and central tower, seen from the northeast.
The sanctuary is entered from the east by a doorway only 1.08 m in height: inside is an entrance chamber (or
mandapa) with a
corbelled brick roof, then a short corridor leading to three towers to the west: the central tower is the tallest, at 9.8 m. Glaize notes the impression of delicacy given the towers by the
antefixes on each of their tiers. The six stairways leading up to the platform were each guarded by two kneeling statues of human figures with animal heads; most of those now in place are replicas, the originals having been stolen or removed to museums.
See also
