Preah Pithu (, ) is a group of five temples 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 ...

. In fact they were in all probability not designed as a group. Despite their ruined state, the remains have good decorative carving and their semi-wooded setting is attractive and peaceful.

The site

The temples are located in

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 ...

, north-east of the

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 ...

, in front of Tep Pranam. The temples are near but they weren't built in the same period, except for two of them, so there is no apparent order. They're identified by letters: T, U, V, W and X. "X" 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, it remained unfinished and is probably the latest. The others are

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 ...

. The five temples are in bad conditions, upper levels are ruined, but their carvings are interesting and the site is rather peaceful, wooded and scarcely crowded. A moat, often dry, surrounds some of the temples. They were cleaned first by Jean Commaille in 1908, then by Henri Marchal from 1918 to 1920.

Temples "T" and "U"

They were built together quite for sure, as they are on the same W-E axis and are surrounded by a single moat. They're oriented to the west, having a cruciform terrace on two levels with

nāga In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

s balustrades as entrance. The temple "T" has a sandstone enclosure, which measures 45 by 40 meters, and has two gopuras on the main W-E axis. The sanctuary, on a 3-levels ornated platform 6 meters high, has a chamber which sheltered a large

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 ...

on its pedestal. The fragments of the lintel of western door, on the ground, show a stylized depiction of the "Churning of the Sea of Milk", while the walls are decorated with

devata ''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human ac ...

s and floral motifs, Bayon style. The temple "U" is similar to "T", but smaller and simpler. Its enclosure is 35 by 28 meters. It has no gopura. The lintel of west door shows the

Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...

, with

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

dancing on a ''kala''-head between

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

and

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

. The internal walls are sculpted with

dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the Gada (mace), ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue i ...

s and the blind arches at the base of pillars are typical of Angkor Wat period. On the northern lintel there is another depiction of the "Churning of the Sea of Milk".

Temple "X"

Temple "X" stands on a large terrace, 4 meters high, about 100 meters east of temple "U". It is straight reachable from there if the moat is dry. It is similar in design to the former temples but is larger and incomplete in its decorations. "X" is a buddhist temple: on the walls of the sanctuary chamber there is a double row of sculpted

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

s. Even the lintels show buddhist motifs. However the most interesting remains, depicting famous Siddharta's cutting of the hair, are not in place. Towards the east, the laterite terrace is surrounded by ''semas'', delimiting the sacred area.

Temple "V"

Outside the residual moat, north of temple "U", there is temple "V". It is oriented to the East, where it opens with a double vestibule, and has no enclosure. On the West it has a causeway which ends with a 40 meter long cruciform terrace, leading into NE corner of the Royal Square. Its sanctuary chamber, standing on two-tier sculpted basement, is the largest of the group, having a square side of 3.80 m, and hosting a large 1.5 m linga. Its external decorations, in Angkor Wat style, are incomplete.

Temple "Y"

Temple "Y" has no basement or stairways and stands on an earthen platform, north of "V". It was dated between Angkor Wat and Bayon. Oriented to the East, it has a long ''

mandapa A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...

'' as entrance, linked by a vestibule to a 3.5 m by 3.0 m sanctuary chamber, which hosted a linga 0.95 m tall. The larger chamber has mostly collapsed, but on its western side there are two remarkable half-frontons, which depict the defeat of the asura Bana by

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 ...

to the north and the three giant steps of

Vamana Vamana (, ) also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (, ), and Balibandhana (), is an Dashavatara, avatar of the Hinduism, Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the first Dashavatara in the Treta ...

to the south. Glaize, 1993, p.128

Gallery

File:Preah Pithu29.JPG, Western closure temple "Y" File:Preah Pithu34.JPG, Temple "V" File:Preah Pithu25.JPG, Double row of sculpted Buddhas in sanctuary chamber of temple "X" File:Preah Pithu T Monks - Siem Reap.jpg, Adolescent monks at temple U File:Preah Pithu T glimpse.jpg, Glimpse of Temple T - Preah Pithu

Notes

References

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