The Bayon Khmer Buddhist Temple at Angkor in Cambodia The late 12th or early 13th c as the state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist king Jayavarman VII Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by subsequent Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. These faces have been associated with the Hindu God Brahma because of the four faces looking in different directions but archaeologists also associate it with Buddha despite the jewelry, crown marking which are not associated with Buddha. The Age of Jayavarman VII George Coedes, Angkor, 1963 The Bayon, central temple of Angkor Thom Mysterious! Work of Clearance by Ecole de Française in 1907 The First topographical maps made by Lieutenants Buat and Ducret of the Service Geographique : the correct location of the Bayon : the central temple and its connection with the four axial gates - gopuras (entrance gateways) The clearing of the monument by Commaille 1912-1914 : the monument is seen to have undergone a series of changes in the course of its construction : bizarre impression of accumulation and crowding- errors in calculation or a change of plan : the first plan of the Bayon did not include the enormous structure of central mass but on the same level : 16 small rooms, each with a passageway at either end, outer gallery, chapels containing statues Bayon Temple of the mysterious stone face towers Late 12th, early 13th century King Jayavarman VII In the center of Angkor Thom 13. The Bayon, central temple of Angkor Thom, built by Jayavarman VII, twelfth century. Forty-nine towers carved with gigantic faces on each of four sides, represent the omnipresent power of the god-king. Originally there were 49 towers, decorated with large carved faces looking into each of the four cardinal directions. Close to 200 faces, the largest ones being almost 2½ meters high, decorate the 37 remaining towers of the first and second enclosure. While most towers contain four faces, some only have three, and one tower only bears a single face, probably due to a lack of space. 14. Sculptured towers of the Bayon. ‘I looked up at the tree-covered towers which dwarfed me, when all of a sudden my blood curdled as I saw an enormous smile looking down on me, and then another smile on another wall, then three, then five, then ten, appearing in every direction.’ Pierre Loti. The Bas-relief on the outer wall and on the inner gallery is totally different On the outside is the world of men, of events in history On the inside is the epic world of gods and legends. The faces ornamenting the towers (Pierre Loti) “smiling down their flat noses, eyelids half closed, with a kind of decrepit femininity” Represented Brahma, with four faces—king’s administrative and religious power Enormous lingas sculpted with faces - somewhat phallic form The Bayon is Buddhist, the compassionate Bodhisattva Brahma- Creator of the Universe Siva- Spread blessings on every region in space Buddha of the Great Miracle duplicates himself in infinity Lokesvara (Avalokiteśva) faces in all directions (Buddhist sanctuary) Abstract – having ironic expression of pity, the same smile The god of Angkor was the king, the god-king, personified by a golden linga or Buddha Last Great King of Ankor, Jayavarman VII. One of greatest rulers of Cambodia. (1120 b. 1181 king. 1219 ) Angkor Tome - the Bayon 1903 Louis Finot published the Bulletin de l’Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient Biography The well-known inscriptions at Ta Prohm, Prah Khan, and Banteay Chmar Edicts on the hospital, the large stele found in 1916 at Angkor Thom Cham inscription at Mi-son He was the cousin of king Suryavarman II whose funeral temple is Angkor Wat Story of his wife Jayarajadevi : prayer for his husband’s return from the expedition against Champa—the ascetic practices of Brahmanism and later Buddhism After the queen’s death he married her older sister who was wise and intellectual Enormous statue of Buddha at the sanctuary An image of apotheosis representing King Jayavarman Vii in the form of Buddha 19. Siva between his two wives, Uma and Ganga, from Bakong, ninth century. This triple statue gives the effect of being carved from a single block of stone. Its simplicity is typical of early Khmer sculpture. 20. Elephant from Mebon Oriental, second half of the tenth century. All four corners of each layer of this pyramid are guarded by life-size elephants, typical of Khmer talent for using architectural sculpture. Terrace of Elephant 21. Bas-relief on inner wall of Terrace of Leper King, twelfth century, originally intended to be hidden. This inner wall represented the subterranean slopes of Mount Meru, which was supposed to extend as far into the underworld as it rose in the sky. – Hindu god, Yama, the god of death, Bayon style, Angkor Thom Leper King- discoloration and moss growing on it was reminiscent of a person with leprosy It also fits in with a Cambodian legend of an Angkorian king Ysovarman I who had leprosy (royal cremation site) The Terrace of the Leper King has carvings of nagas (dragons), demons and various mythic beings. The inner wall was built first, and the outer wall was added later covering the inner wall. Archaeologists excavated the inner wall in the late 1990s. 22. The co-called ‘Leper King’ was probably a god of death, who once held a staff in his right hand. This popular appellation is due solely to his linchen-covered body which gives the appearance of leprosy. Jayavarman VII may have suffered from leprosy, but this statue is not a representation of him. Inside the Royal Enclosure are several ponds simply known as the Royal baths, a place previously used for ritual washing. The basin called Sras Srang or Royal Bath Prajnaparamita “the Perfection of Wisdom” in Mahayana Buddhism A perfected way of seeing the nature of reality A personification of wisdom known as the “Great Mother” Ta Phrom, Angkor, Cambodia, threes growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it popular temples UNESCO inscribed it world Heritage list in 1992. the mausoleum of the queen mother, spiritual mother of Buddha Ta Phrom, Angkor, Cambodia Used as a location in the film Tomb Raider King Jayavarman VII to honor his father, Dharanindravarman II (430 images) Bodhisattva Lokesvara. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. 23. Balaha, the sacred horse, swimming through the central pool of Neak Pean, twelfth century. He is carrying the souls who cling to him to salvation in the central sanctuary. Between the heads of the two serpents there is a horse to which men cling. This is Balaha, a manifestation of the Compassionate Buddha, Avalokiteshvara. He is rescuing men from a shipwreck in the Indian Ocean. Portrait statues of Jayavarman VII Represented with the attributes of Buddha The prefix Jaya, ‘victory’ – buddha at the Bayon The title continue with the word mahanatha ‘the great saviour’ A term which could apply to Jayavarman Vii as he saved the kingdom ten years before driving the Chams from the country Consecration of the statues - a decisive point in the shift from the cult of the preceding reigns to Buddhism (from Hinduism) Jayabuddha – Buddhist version of the title given by the former kings to the lingas erected on their pyramids. Political authority of king + his religious dominance in all consecration of the Jaya buddhamahanatha in 23 cities The Bayon represented the focus of all the local sanctuaries and centralized the ‘double power’ Secular and divine 24. Jayavarman VII, National Museum, Phnom Penh, twelfth century. A number of similar statues have been found, and are also presumed to be his likenesses. Buddha Image In the Bayon, the central temple of the city of Angkor Thom The giant statue of Buddha- representing “Buddha-king” the Buddhist substitute for the former linga Devaraja or god-king of the earlier reigns Kilometric scale, appropriate to a great king Bayon Pantheon- both the family cults of the king and the provincial cults of the whole kingdom Reduced image of the kingdom Jayavarman Vii covered his kingdom with a network of roads, enhanced at regularly spaced intervals by rest houses for stopping (tram: resting place at end of a day’s travel) Rest houses – campaign for sanitation – 102 hospitals scattered (shelters for the sick-wooden structure) Jayavarman Vii’s hospitals Hospital is placed under the auspices of Buddha the Healer, Bhaishajyaguru Vaiduryaprabha ‘the master of remedies’ - one of the most popular Buddha Whose statue in the chapel adjoining the hospital. Not just medical issues but morality and religion “He felt the afflictions of his subjects more than his own”- aware of the burdens of his subjects Buddhist concept of sickness – moral purification + medical treatment
