Ta Prohm was originally called Rajavihara, which means Royal Temple. It was built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was the most prolific builder of all the Angkor Kings, which is quite a distinction when one considers the number of temples erected during the Empire’s golden age. The majority of the sites on the Little Circuit were constructed during his reign.

Jayavarman VII’s rose to power as one of the Empire’s greatest generals. Prior to his ascension to the throne, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, another empire based in present day Vietnam and one of the primary rivals of the Khmer Empire. When the neighboring Chams overthrew the Empire and killed the King, Jayavarman VII led the effort to recapture the Empire. Jayavarman VII vanquished the Chams in 1181 and made his claim to the throne. He ascended the throne after this successful campaign, preserving the Khmer Empire while establishing his rule. Then, Jayavarman VII boldly established Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion. His first wife was a devoted Buddhist and is thought to have largely influenced his decision. While it is cynical to question the religious convictions of Jayavarman VII, it should be noted that his decision also had some significant political benefits as well. His move to make Mahayana Buddhism the state religion effectively removed power from the Hindu aristocracy, who were his primary rivals within the empire. It should be noted that he didn’t outlaw Hinduism, but his change reduced much of the power afforded to his rivals through the Hindu caste system. One province in the south rebelled against this decision, but the rebellion was quickly suppressed. Jayavarman VII effectively consolidated power and became the primary shaper of Angkor.

The relationships between Hinduism and the various sects of Buddhism are quite complicated. Hinduism is the elder religion, and in fact, the Buddha began as a Hindu. He saw the suffering caused by excess and searched for a solution. Initially he believed the suffering could be relieved through an ascetic life of self-denial, but he later came to believe that such a life was a dead end and that there was another way. In the Buddhist philosophy, the end of suffering is not achieved by the denial of desires, but rather by the freedom from attachments that cause desire. To achieve this freedom, he developed the Four Noble Truths and established the Eightfold Path, which guides followers down what is called The Middle Way, as it lies between hedonism and asceticism. Since Buddhism’s roots lie in Hinduism, many stories and traditions are shared between the two. Since Buddhism is rooted in Hindu beliefs, you will see a lot of similar imagery between temples dedicated to the different faiths.

Buddhism has split since the time of the Buddha, with the primary division being between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Most of modern day Southeast Asia including the people of Cambodia practice the form of Buddhism known as Theravada, which is often translated as meaning “The Ancient Teaching” and is the older of the two religions. King Jayavarman VII was a proponent of Mahayana Buddhism, which translates as “Great Vehicle”. Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism are sects of Mahayana Buddhism that are well known in the West. The proponents of Mahayana Buddhism see it as holding greater insights into the Buddha’s Dharma, or great truth.

As Ta Prohm was built during a time when Mahayana Buddhism was the state religion, the primary deity of the temple is different than most other Angkor temples. The temple is dedicated to Prajnaparamita, which is not actually a deity per se, but rather a Mahayana scripture dedicated to the perfection of wisdom. The scriptures rest on two primary tenets. The first states that one should be a bodhisattva, or Buddha-to-be. A bodhisattva strives to attain total knowledge for the sake of all beings. The second tenet is that there is no such thing as a bodhisattva. The true acceptance of these contradictory tenets is the perfection of wisdom.

A stele is a carved stone column that commemorates important events. Discovery of a temple’s stele is often integral to piecing together its true history. The stele found in Ta Prohm dates the construction of the temple to 1186 and claims that the temple was home to over 12,500 people, including 18 high priests and 650 dancers. More than 80,000 people lived outside the temple grounds. Jayavarman VII established the temple as a Mahayana monastery and university, which further explains why the temple is dedicated to the Prajnaparamita, the scriptures of wisdom. The representation of the Prajnaparamita in the temple was modeled after Jayavarman VII’s mother, and the temple is also meant to honor her. Satellite temples on the ground were dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s guru and his older brother, and another nearby temple, Preah Khan, honors his father. His father’s image is used to represent Avalokitshvara, the primary deity of that temple, who is the bodhisattva of compassion.
Though his building campaign undoubtedly required much effort from his people to serve as laborers, his focus as king was on his people. Most of his early constructions were hospitals, rest houses, and reservoirs. His later buildings were the ones dedicated to his family and himself. Led by his Buddhist faith, his goal as king was to relieve the suffering of his people.

The primary archaeological organization that has been responsible for untangling the mysteries of the temples of Angkor is the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient, more commonly referred to as the EFEO. This French institute is devoted to the study of Asian cultures. Founded in 1900. it conducted its first studies in Saigon. Angkor Wat quickly became one of its focuses and has remained so ever since, although with a conspicuous gap. The organization began extensively restoring temples in the early 20th century. Since most had been completely abandoned for hundreds of years at that point, restoration often meant wrestling the temples from the clutches of the jungle. But the condition of Ta Prohm was deemed too beautiful to change. It was decided that Ta Prohm would be left in its current state, as a “concession for the general taste for the picturesque.”

Ironically, much restoration has been undertaken to preserve this appearance of neglect. In recent years, the ongoing labor has become more intrusive. While a few spots are less picturesque as a result, the only other option is waiting for the walls to crumble, and possibly the grand trees to fall with them. The architecture of the Khmers, while quite impressive, has not stood the test of time as well as other comparable architectural traditions. Their buildings have fallen prey to two main flaws. First, the Khmers sometimes did not stagger their blocks. Where the edges lined up, whole walls could be toppled by structural movements caused by shifting sands or gigantic tree roots. Also, the Khmers never developed a true arch. They used a false-arch technique known as corbelling. Large stones were stacked reaching successively inwards until they touched. This false arch was much heavier and not as stable as a true arch and resulted in many collapses.

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The original name of the temple was ‘Hema-sringagiri’, meaning ‘The Mountain with Golden Peaks’. It is one of the few temples where you can still see mae ji, as the female devotees of Buddha are known. They are recognizable by their shaven heads and white garb. In past years, they tended the Buddhist shrines that had been placed in the often Hindu temples. More recently, due to the influx of tourists, one sees less of the mae ji and more of the locals dressed up in traditional garb to pose for photos. The mae ji can be considered female monks, but that is not quite accurate. The mae ji occupy a place between the monks and lay people. Many sects of the Buddhist faith allow women to be ordained, and their numbers are growing, but those rights have still not been extended to women in this area of the Buddhist world. Still, they take the same vows of faith that the male monks do. In the temples they often sell incense sticks to be presented to the shrine they tend.

The climb to the top of the temple is an arduous one, especially in the hot sun. The east-facing stair is the easiest of the four, yet still quite steep. Take great care if you decide to go all the way to the top of the 22-meter-high temple. The temple plan is straightforward: the stairs on each side lead directly up each level, eventually leaving you at the top where you can enter the central tower.

You probably won’t be able to notice just from looking or walking around, but the temple is slightly asymmetrical. The third level is slightly west of center, and the southern edge is slightly wider than the north edge. It is unknown if these variations were intentional or not. However, it was intentional that Jayavarman V built his state temple in a place other than the center of his capital, though the significance of this is unknown.

In accordance with the symbolism of Mt. Meru, the third level is the most holy place. One of the kings succeeding Jayavarman V, a man named Suryavarman I, gave the temple as a gift to Yogisvara Pandita, one of the religious leaders of the time. Despite the esteem that others felt for this yogi, the man himself used only the lower two levels and considered himself unworthy of the highest level. If you make it to the top, you will see that it is a special place, with a great view over the treetops and even a glimpse of the very tip of Angkor Wat to the southwest, though it’s easy to miss.

The central tower that is accessed by the long flights of stairs does not have a roof. The absence makes the room of the central tower seem like it has a skylight and, along with the unfinished carvings, is evidence that Ta Keo was left incomplete. Scholars believe that it was just too ambitious a project for its time. This certainly may be true, but it must also be considered that the temple builders experienced a big setback during construction.

Work was interrupted when lightning hit the crowning stone. In Khmer culture, this was a very inauspicious occurrence. A ceremony had to be held to cleanse the temple of the bad luck, and new stone had to be ordered. The stone was high-quality sandstone known as grauwacke, which had to be cut and shipped in. This setback may very well have made the building project too much to finish.

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