Po Nagar is a Cham temple tower founded sometime before 781 and located in the medieval principality of Kauthara, near modern Nha Trang in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is dedicated to Yan Po Nagar, the goddess of the country, who came to be identified with 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 ...

goddesses Bhagavati and Hariti, and who in Vietnamese is called Thiên Y Thánh Mẫu.

History

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

dated 781 indicates that the Cham King Satyavarman regained power in the area of "Ha-Ra Bridge", and that he restored the devastated temple. From this inscription can be deduced that the area previously had come under temporary foreign dominion, and that foreign vandals had damaged the already existing temple. Other steles indicate that the temple had contained a mukhalinga decorated with jewelry and resembling an angel's head. Foreign robbers, perhaps from

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, "men living on food more horrible than cadavers, frightful, completely black and gaunt, dreadful and evil as death" had arrived in ships, had stolen the jewelry and had broken the

linga A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, wher ...

. Though the king had chased the robbers out to sea, the treasure had been lost forever. The steles also indicate that the king restored the linga in 784.Maspero, G., 2002, The Champa Kingdom, Bangkok: White Lotus Co., Ltd., The Cham military leader Senapati Par, under the reign of Harivarman I, made endowments in 817. Senapati made attacks on the Khmers under

Jayavarman II Jayavarman II (; – 850, reigned –850) was a Khmer prince who founded and became the ruler of the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) after unifying the Khmer civilization. The Khmer Empire was the dominant civilization in mainland Southeast Asia from t ...

. Harivarman I was succeeded by his son, Vikrantavarman III, who also made endowments. A

dated 918 by the Cham King Indravarman III states an order to build a golden statue to the goddess Bhagavati. Later steles report that the original gold statue was stolen by the Khmer's Rajendravarman II in 950, and that in 965, the king Jaya Indravarman I replaced the lost statue with a new stone one. A stele dated 1050 says that offerings of land, slaves, jewelry, and precious metals were made to the statue by Jaya Paramesvaravarman I. Paramabhodisattva made "rich offerings" in 1084 after reuniting the country. Jaya Indravarman III gave the temple a Shivalinga and a Shrishana Vishnu in 1141 and another donation in 1143. In 1160, Jaya Harivarman I "offered rich gifts". An inscription states

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, ...

of the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

, "took the capital of Champa and carried of all the lingas." Later steles indicate the celebration of a cult in honor of the goddess Yan Po Nagar, as well as the presence of statues dedicated to the principal deities of

Buddhism 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 ...

. In the 17th century, the

ese people occupied Champa and took over the temple tower, calling it Thiên Y Thánh Mâu Tower. A number of Vietnamese legends regarding the goddess and the tower have come into being.

Site

The Po Nagar complex is situated on Cù Lao Mountain. It consists of three levels, the highest of which encompasses two rows of towers. The main tower is about 25 m high. The temple's central image is a 1.2m tall stone statue of the goddess Yan Po Nagar sitting cross-legged, dressed only in a skirt, with ten hands holding various symbolic items. According to Vietnamese scholar Ngô Vǎn Doanh, these attributes show that Yan Po Nagar was identified also with the

goddess Mahishasuramardini or Durga, the slayer of the buffalo-demon. Another sculpture of the goddess Mahishasuramardini may be found in the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

above the entrance to the temple: it depicts the four-armed goddess holding a hatchet, a lotus and a club, and standing on a buffalo. This sculpture belongs to the Tra Kieu style of Cham art from the end of the 10th century or the beginning of the 11th century.Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers'', p.215.

References

;Bibliography * Coedès, George, ''The Indianized States of Southeast Asia''. Honolulu: East-West Center Press, 1968. * Ngô Vǎn Doanh, ''Champa: Ancient Towers''. Hanoi: The Gioi Publishers, 2006. Chapter 14: "Po Nagar Tower: The Temple of the Goddess of the Country," pp. 187 ff. * Trần Kỳ Phương (2009): The Architecture of the Temple-Towers of Ancient Champa. in Hardy, Andrew et al. (ed): Champa and the Archaeology of Mỹ Sơn (Vietnam). NUS Press, Singapore

External links

Information about Po Nagar
{{Champa topics Yang Po Inu Nagar Taha 8th-century religious buildings and structures Hindu temples in Vietnam Buildings and structures in Nha Trang Tourist attractions in Khánh Hòa province 8th-century establishments in Vietnam

History

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See also

References

External links