Krol Ko () at

Angkor Angkor ( , 'capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura (; ),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Languages. The Catholic Uni ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, is a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple built at the end of the 12th century under the rule of

Jayavarman VII Jayavarman VII (), known posthumously as Mahaparamasaugata (, c. 1122–1218), was king of the Khmer Empire. He was the son of King Dharanindravarman II (r. 1150–1160) and Queen Sri Jayarajacudamani. He was the first king devoted to Buddhism, ...

, in his

Bayon The Bayon (, ) ( ''BAI-on'') is a richly decorated Khmer temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII (), the Bayon stands at the centre of Jaya ...

architectural style. It is north of

Neak Pean Neak Pean (or Neak Poan) (, "the entwined serpents") at Angkor, Cambodia is an artificial island with a Mahayana Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray, which was associated with Preah Khan temple, built during the reign of Ki ...

. The name 'Krol Ko' is a modern term meaning 'The Park of the Oxen' and likely has no connection to its historical use. While speculative, it may have served as a chapel at a hospital site, as its layout is identical to the four hospital chapels found outside

Angkor Thom Angkor Thom ( ; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom ( ), located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire, Khmer Empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman V ...

(the 'Chapel of the Hospital' to the east, Ta Prohm Kel to the south, Tonle Sgnout to the north, and another site now in ruins to the west). Placement of a hospital close to Neak Pean would have made sense as Neak Pean was constructed as a representation of the waters of the mythical lake Anavatapta, which were thought to help the attainment of salvation amongst those deceased. Seven of the temple pediments at Krol Ko feature Lokeshvara, a boddhisattva who, in Khmer Buddhist belief, was entrusted with healing powers. Lokeshvara is commonly associated with hospitals. Krol Ko10

An interesting feature of Krol Ko is that while it was built as a Buddhist temple, it contains reliefs depicting a scene from the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

, which are medieval Hindu scriptures more contemporary than the classical Rigvedas. The left of the building shows

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

raising the hill Govardhana to shelter shepherds and their flocks from a thunderstorm raised by

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. This relatively contemporary Purana-Govardhana story displays Indra's submission to Krishna, despite Indra being viewed as the supreme deity in the Rigvedas. In Buddhism, Indra remained as the superior deity and was even venerated as a protector of the Buddhist faith whilst worship amongst the Hindu population shifted towards Shiva, Durga, Vishnu and Krishna since the medieval period. It is therefore striking that the Govardhana tale, a tale that tells of Indra's inferiority to Krishna, is depicted in an otherwise Buddhist temple. This indicates a lack of rivalry between the Buddhist and Hindu populations residing within Angkor, contrary to India, where Buddhism was deemed as heretical amongst many Hindus due to its renunciation of the caste system. The caste system was never entirely adopted by the Khmer civilization and other South-East Asian civilizations. The approximate location of the site is 13.468189' N, 103.895401' E (WGS 84 map datum).

References

External links

* {{Angkorian sites Buddhist temples in Siem Reap province Angkorian sites in Siem Reap province 12th-century Buddhist temples