TALES OF KRISHNA’S CHILDHOOD
GOPAS AND THEIR COWS
BABY KRISHNA DRAGGING THE HEAVY MORTAR
KRISHNA DEFEATING TWO ASURAS
KRISHNA KILLING
A DEMON
KRISHNA ON GARUDA
ANIRUDDHA BOUND BY
BANA’S SNAKE ROPES.
Central door of the
southern gopura.
3RD ENCLOSURE
KRISHNA FIGHTING
BANA TO RESCUE HIS
GRANDSON.
Central door of the
northern gopura.
3rd enclosure
DEVAS VERSUS ASURAS
DEVAS versus ASURASDEVAS versus ASURASS versus ASURA
KRISHNA ON GARUDA FIGHTS
THE ASURA BANA
KRISHNA LIFTING MOUNT GOVARDHANA
KRISHNA LIFTING MOUNT GOVARDANA
KRISHNA AND BALARAMA
KRISHNA KILLING CANURA AND MUSHTIKA
KRISHNA KILLING KAMSA
ANGKOR WAT
BANTEAY SREI
NORTH LIBRARY EAST PEDIMENT, ANGKOR WAT.
EPISODE FROM MAHABHARATA .
INDRA TRIES TO PUT OUT A FIRE IN THE KHANDAVA FOREST BY SENDING RAIN.
KRISHNA’S ARROWS PREVENT THE WATER REACHING THE GROUND
VISHNU IN HIS HORSE INCARNATION AS HAYAGRIVA
HOLDS THE HEADS OF THE DEMONS MADHU AND KAITABHA.
West lintel of the inner entrance pavilion
VISHWAROOPA, ANGKOR WAT
VISHWAROOPA,
PRASAT KRAVAN
MULTI-FACED IMAGES, BAYON, ANGKOR THOM
WHO IS THE 4-FACED FIGURE OF ANGKOR THOM?
JAYAVARMAN? PROBABLY, IN ORDER
TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH…
1. BRAHMA? – Unlikely. No stories or
attributes of the Creator are associated
with the 4 faces.
2. SHIVA? – Likely, because Bayon was a
Shiva temple, but no other Shaivite
attributes.
3. BUDDHA – LOKESHVARA? Likely,
because Jayavarman became a Buddhist,
but no Buddhist attributes.
THE 4-FACES TOP MOUNT MERU, WHICH MAKES UP THE 5 GATES OF ANGKOR
THOM. IN THE STORY OF THE SAMUDRA MANTHANA, MERU IS THE CHURNING
STICK. IT IS THE STORY OF VISHNU’S KURMA AVATARA
THE 4-FACED MERU IS FLANKED BY THE DEVAS AND ASURAS PULLING
THE 7-HEADED SNAKE ROPE VASUKI
IN ANGKOR WAT AND ALL RELIEFS OF THE SAMUDRA MANTHANA,
VISHNU STANDS ABOVE THE TORTOISE KURMA,
WHO IS THE CHURNING STICK
4- FACED HEADS MOST LIKELY TO BELONG
TO VISHNU
•
• IN THE WAR WITH BANA, KRISHNA HAS MANY
FACES AND HEADS
• ON THE WALLS OF THE BAYON IN ANGKOR
THOM, THERE ARE SCENES OF A 4-FACED,
MULTI-HEADED VISHNU STEALING THE
AMRITA DURING THE SAMUDRA MANTHANA.
• THE CULT OF VISHNU HAD OBVIOUSLY
ATTAINED GREAT INFLUENCE THAT KINGS
• THE MAHABHARATA REACHED
ENORMOUS POPULARITY IN SOUTH
EAST ASIA. IT BECAME LARGER THAN
LIFE
• EVEN TODAY, THE CITY CENTRES OF
JAKARTA, CAPITAL OF INDONESIA,
AND BALI HAVE A HUGE SCULPTURE
OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA.
• DANCE, DRAMAS AND PUPPET
SHOWS ON THE MAHABHARATA
KEEP THE STORY ALIVE AS AN
ARJUNA VIJAYA - BALI
ARJUNA VIJAYA - JAKARTA