PHNOM BAKENG

PHNOM BAKENG
 (In-drean-tri) (Big mountain dedicating to the main god)
- Location : 1,300 meters north of Angkor Wat and 400 meters south of Angkor Thom (south gate).
- Access : enter and leave Phnom Bakeng “67 meters high”, by climbing along steep path with some steps on the east side of the monument. It is possible to see the five towers of Angkor Wat in the east and (Phnm Krom) in the southwest Baray in the west.
- Date : late 9th century to the early 10th century (900?).
- King : Yasovarman 1st (Paramasivaloka) he had 2 sons, Harshavarman 1st (910-923, 900-944) and Isanavarman 2nd (923-928, 925-928).
- Religion : Hinduism dedicated to the god Siva.
- Art-style : Bakheng.
- Clearance worked by Mr. Henri Marchal (1919-1930). 
- Researched by Mr. Victor Goloubew (1931-1934).

 BACKGROUND
 After king Yasovarman 1st became king in the year 889, he found his own capital called (Yasodharapura) north west of “Rolous Group”, and he built Bakheng as his state temple. Bakheng is sometimes called “The first Angkor”. This capital was surrounded by a square earth embankment (4 kilometers for each side) enclosed an area of about 16 square kilometers, but today nothing left. The second fall is of laterite (440 meters wide by 650 meters long) enclosed the slop of the hill, but today is mostly broken. The third wall is of laterite (100 meters wide by 200 meters long) on the top of the hill.

 SYMBOLISM
Well! On the hill we can see the footprint on Buddha from 16th century. It’s enclosed in the cement and covered with a timber-roof. Next, on the right of the east entry tower of the third wall we see a stele from the same time of the temple. In the courtyard there are two libraries of sandstone opening to the west and on the wall of these libraries are identified by the rows of diamond-shape holes. The temple stood on a square pyramid base is (76 meters for each side), which had 5 tiers and the total height is 13 meters high. Each side of the base has a steep stairway. Seated lions flanked each side of the stairway. There are 44 brick towers around the base of the temple. 12 stone towers on each of the 5 tiers and there are 5 towers on the top level (1.6 meters high by 31 meter for each side) making a total of 109 towers in replica of (The Mountain Meru). And 12 stone towers on the different levels are represented to the 12-year-cycle of the animal zodiac. Excluded the central tower, the number of the 108 towers that symbolized the attitude, (Buddha 56, Dhama 38, Sangha 14). (Buddha: father 21, mother 12, brother 6, relative 7 and teacher 10). And another idea is that for the 108 pieces of the rosary or the 4 lunar phases with 27 days in each phase (crescent, half moon, oval shape and full moon).

 TOP LEVEL
There are 5 towers on the top level, 4 towers at the corners and one tower in the middle which contained “Devaraja Linga”, called Sri-Yaso-Dhare-Svara. This tower opened to all 4 directions and was covered by the timber-roof. And inscription (15 lines) is visible on the left-hand side of the north door dating from the king Jayavarman 5th (968-1001). It also mentioned about the construction of the king Yasovarman 1st. inside the main tower, they excavated a hole of 2 meters in depth that found a sarcophagus (0.8 meter wide by 1.4 meters long and 0.7 meters high), Mr. George Soedes said. The others 4 towers kept the Lingas too. Female divinities are decorated in the corners of the main tower.