Angkor Wat is renowned as one of Southeast Asia’s ancient wonders. It was an engineering marvel that has stood for centuries and covered an extensive area of 1,626,000 meter square. Guinness World Record recognized it as the largest religious structure in the world today.
We know the historical facts about Angkor Wat’s construction. It was built in the early 12th century during the reign of Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire. First served as a place of worship for the Hindus, it was later converted into a Buddhist temple when Jayavarman VII ascended as the empire’s new king.
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However, there is also a legend about the construction process you probably have not heard before. A story from Cambodia’s great epic poem and an early Khmer literature’s magnum opus known as “Lpoek Angkor Vat” or “The Poem of Angkor Wat.”
God Indra and His Son
The following narrative is retold from a publication by Sotheavin Nhim titled “A Commentary on Lboek Angar Vat (Poem of Angkor Wat)”.
The story began with a righteous and generous king named Preah Bat Vong Oschar. His son, Preah Ketmealea, was so extraordinary that he was famous not only on the earth, but also in the Sthan Traitroeng, the residence of God Indra.
God Indra realized that Preah Ketmealea was actually a reincarnation of his son from a previous life. Indra descended to the earth, intending to return Preah Ketmealea to his residence.
However, since Preah Ketmealea was a human with a human scent, the Devatas (angels) of the divine realm were disturbed by him. Because of this matter, he was exiled back to the earth.
Preah Ketmealea was disappointed and suffered mentally. He did not want to depart from Sthan Traitroeng where he lived a comfortable life in its splendid palace called Bejjayanta Ratana.
In an act of compassion for his son, Indra promised to build a copy of everything in the divine realm on the human world. Preah Ketmealea requested Indra the Bejjayanta Ratana and other places that existed in the Sthan Traitroeng.
Construction of The Angkor Wat
Indra then dispatched a divine architect named Preah Pisnukar to construct the magnificent palace on Earth with the help of the Devatas.
Preah Pisnukar cleared the forest around Phnom Bakheng and brought high-quality stone materials for the structure.
The architect crafted a masterpiece of a temple called Intapras. It was a vast complex adorned with a meeting hall, four gorgeous ponds, places to secure religious treatises, galleries, and nine towers adorned with flowery motifs.
With the temple completed, Preah Ketmealea ascended as the Maharaja (great king). Preah Pisnukar was tasked by Indra to assist his son by supervising servants from all over the world, including Khmer, Siam, Burmese, Lav (Laos), Langka (Sri Lanka), Kloeng (indian), Chin Katang (Cantonese), Chipon (Japanese) and others.
The Poem's Backstory
The Poem of Angkor Wat dated back to the early 17th century. It was based on oral traditions that were transcribed into modern script by French linguist and explorer named Étienne Aymonier in 1878.
It was an influential piece of Khmer literature. The name of its characters have been etiologically embodied into Siam Reap’s geography.
The story itself has been referenced in various plays, pastiches, and even the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. Preah Pisnukar is still admired as the legendary builder of Angkor Wat.
The poem was a cultural artifact that continued to be relevant with modern-day Cambodia, transcending beyond different time and generations.
Source:
Sotheavin, N. (2020). “A Commentary on Lboek Angar Vat (Poem of Angkor Wat)” in Renaissance Culturelle du Cambodge, 31, 107-143. https://www.academia.edu/50811955/A_commentary_on_Lboek_Angkor_Vat
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-religious-structure
