Materialization Of Hindu Cosmology In The Form Of Architecture In Angkor Wat
Introduction
Angkor Wat when translated, refers to be a “City Temple” which is located in a town settlement north of Siem Reap in Cambodia. The region is also a place that houses numerous present-day remains of Khmer Empire Capitals and Relics. The temple was built by the late Khmer ruler in the early 12th century, Suryavarman ll, during his reign from 1113 to 1150AD.
The main function of Angkor Wat was to serve as a state temple to proclaim protection from the gods of the Hindu religion and a symbol of legitimizing his power. Eventually, parts of the temple were altered or added on to serve as the Khmer ruler’s mausoleum after his passing. However, the temple has since gone through many changes in terms of its function and symbolism in the context of the people in Siem Reap and around the world which were led by the physical make-up of the building and spatial arrangement of the building.
Physical attributes of Angkor Wat
To start off, the moat surrounding Angkor Wat has a perimeter which measures up to 5 kilometres, a width of 190 metres and a depth of 4metres which acts as a base to keep the stability of temple’s foundation as well as prevention of the groundwater to change in erratic levels. Second, the outermost enclosure covers a length of 1025metres, width of 800 metres and a height of 4.5 metres. The wall is flanked by gates on either side. The temple is entered from the main entrance of the outer wall through the avenue which has a length of 475 metres and width of 9.5 metres. Third, the cruciform galleries leading to the inner enclosure are 2 metres wides. They are placed in a fashion that is divided by axial galleries which results in four quadrants forming in the middle resulting in naves and side-aisles of 2.4 metre width. Fourth, the inner enclosure from the cruciform galleries covers a perimeter of 120 metres by 98 metres.
Next, it leads up to the central area where the quincunx of towers is located whereby the central area covers a length and width of 52 metres by 52 metres. Lastly, the central tower located at Angkor Wat has a height of 65 metres.
The summit of the central tower to the ground has a height of 213 metres. Spatial arrangement of Angkor WatAngkor Wat, identified as a complex, is made up of many components. Angkor Wat can be classified into 3 levels, mainly consisting of an outer enclosure on the first level, inner enclosure on the second level and a central structure on the third level. The outer enclosure consists of a moat with east and west access points towards to the central structure.
A series of elements were structured sequentially in a way for the King’s visit to the temple. As it concerned royalty and devotion to the religion, the avenue was such that it starts off having a grand entrance of crossing the outer causeway of the moat. The outer enclosure was shaped in an elongated rectangular form which housed four main wings namely, the northern, eastern, western and southern wings. Each of the wings had specific galleries/shrines facing outwardly. Second, it leads up to an inner causeway with sculptured ‘Naga’ balustrades, which is accompanied by two pavilions and rectangular ponds at the sides. Thirdly, there is raised terrace shaped in a cruciform manner which leads to a lower gallery into the inner enclosure at the second level of Angkor Wat. To surmise this avenue, the series concerns elements such as gateways, a raised causeway, halls, basins and the central tower as the focal points.
On the third storey/central sanctuary where the uppermost terrace is also located, there are five towers which form a quincunx filling the space. The central tower placed centrally is constructed as the highest compared to the other four located at the corners of the terrace. The four corner towers are then branched out further into galleries.
Circulation
To start off, the temple must be accessed from either the western or eastern causeways to get to the central sanctuary or temple. Next, it involves passing through an entrance gate which contains three towers and five doors and towards the outer enclosure. The outer enclosure contains many galleries which progress downwards to the corresponding stairways that can also be accessed from the second floor in their individual entrance pavilions. The entrance pavilions are linked to a central tower through another gallery.
There are stairways constructed laterally located at the corner towers which leads to the inner enclosure at the second storey. Within each gallery, there are libraries surrounding it. The structure of the gallery facing the west is split up into three different sections. Each section links the first and second storey to a corresponding stairway which comes from one of the lower cruciform galleries. Due to the nature of the complexities within the cruciform gallery connections, it creates four small courtyards. From the inner enclosure, a stairway leads up to the entrance of the central tower whilst being skirted by 2 shrines.
Symbolism of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat turned out to be a complex of huge magnitude in order to encompass many elements of symbolism towards the religion and the Khmer ruler of which can be mainly dissected into its spatial planning, bas reliefs, spatial circulation and its construction methods. That said, Angkor Wat was primarily constructed as a state temple for Hinduism, but it was not meant for congregation. Instead, it was constructed and planned to be the “homes” for the gods. To achieve this symbolism towards the gods, Angkor Wat was oriented in a precise manner of 13.41 degrees north in terms of latitude and the axis the chamber of the central tower is located on is 13.43 cubit long. The precision of the building’s orientation and layout were directly translated from the ancient Sanskrit of the Mandala. The chamber where the statue of Vishnu was shown to be placed according to those coordinates in alignment to the latitude of Angkor Wat and the axis of Earth. In addition, the towers surrounding the chamber also served as an essential role in terms of symbolism astronomically.
Additionally, from the figure, the temple/central structure is being encircled by the moat. By doing so, it recreates the analogy of having Meru as a focal point oceans and continents arranged in a concentric manner in terms of following the Hindu cosmology. These five towers were built to correspond to the peak of Mount Meru, which was said to be the centre of Hinduism. This phenomena of having 4 other smaller towers surrounding a central summit tower was coined as a quincunx. Even though Angkor Wat encompasses many elements, it can be said that the area where the central sanctuary stands commands the highest regard in terms of hierarchical order as it constructed as the summit of the entire complex as it housed many significant motifs, objects and spaces in there.
Angkor Wat was also covered significantly with numerous bas reliefs and sculptural carvings to portray Hindu mythology which was storied together with the circulation and composition within the temple complex. The reliefs were planned and conceived towards the four cardinal directions of the temple. These reliefs can be said to be interrupted by gopuras and towers located at the corners of the temple.
First and foremost, in the southern area where the western gallery is located, the relief depict the battle between the ‘Kuruksetra’, ‘Kauravas’ and ‘Pandavas’ which depicts divisional illustrations of the ‘Mahabharata’, as one of the earliest forms of Sanskrit literature. It consists of a panel which shows a procession of identifiable figures such as mercenaries and musicians being carried by horse led chariots. The bas reliefs were also carefully sculptured by craftsmen giving an appearance of granite.
Second, in the south west corner, a pavilion is decorated by relief scenes of four branches. The scenes represented the story of ‘Ramayana’, a poem in the Hindu mythology which narrates the struggles of a prince named Rama in a bid to save his princess from danger. The sequence was as followed together with reliefs.
Third, in the western part of the complex where the south gallery lies, acts as a historical part the temple in dedication to the ruler ‘Suryavarman II’. This gallery can be seen to be imperative towards the ruler’s intention of proclaiming and legitimizing his rule over the area during that period. For instance, a single panel of reliefs would be 90 metres in length.
Not to mention, it showed many illustrations of armies, chiefs, elephants which were dressed surrounding the king. The king is then seen to be armed with weapons and carried by a palanquin contained by a sacred flame. The procession is then preceded by musicians, guards and jesters. Fourth, in the eastern part of the complex where the south gallery lies, represents the heaven and hell paradigm of the Hindu mythology.
Heaven and hell are represented by two different registers which is also lined by short inscriptions. For instance, hell is shown be an eternal damnation with illustrations of executioners and ferocious beasts bent down against unfortunate souls. Some of the tortures included having their bones broken, a person’s body cleaved into two and thieves exposed to extreme temperatures. On the other hand, heaven was represented to have people living a lavish lifestyle in palaces. Fifth, in the southern part of the complex where the east gallery lies, represents a scene of the ‘churning of sea of milk’. This scene represents the origins of immortality in Hinda mythology.
The reliefs can be seen to have shown depictions of a serpent in a background before engaging the churning. Sixth, in the northern part of the complex where the east gallery lies, represents the victory Vishnou won over the mythical beings of asuras. Flanked by the sides are armies of asuras engaging in a battle with warriors towards the center of the panel. Seventh, in the eastern part of the complex where the north gallery lies, represents the victory of Krishna over Bana. It can be identified with a depiction of Krishna which is shown to have eight arms and tiered heads. Krishna is accompanied by his companion Agni, a god of fire also shown to have multiple arms togethers with parades of armies.
Next to it shows Krishna on knees in front of Shiva asking him to spare Bana his life after his victory. Eighth, in the western part of the complex where the north gallery lies, there is another scene in depiction of a battle. This time it shows a scene in which devas pit in a battle against the asuras. The battle is portrayed in a series of numerous duels whereby gods are seen to be struggling in a battle with an asura. The gods were namely, Kubera, Skanda, Vishnou, Kalanemi, Yama, Shiva and Varuna. From this it can be seen that the number of panels and reliefs had a direct relationship with number of gods in the Hindu mythology. Last but not least, in the northern part of the complex where the west gallery lies, represents the battle of Lanka. It is represented by a depiction of Rama who is offered help by his allies in order to recapture his princess. The enclosed areas (Pyramid) after passing through the inner causeways create a spatial and visual experience that only Angkor Wat possesses.
As Dumarcay mentions, “it is no longer based on proportional reductions, but on breaks in the lines of sight created by the different enclosures which formed screens separating one part of the structure from another.”. This principle starts of with having the overall profile imitating a lotus bud. By doing so, it causes architectural lines to break and stand out from the tangential profile. For instance, being able to have a complete view of the whole temple when one passes the entrance. The eye is then drawn the spectacle of the towers in a lateral fashion. In first glance, it only allows the observer to view all the towers at once from certain angles. Also, specific stairways have been designed in the first to fourth floors as the stairways act as important cardinal viewpoints towards spaces such as the courtyards, galleries and ponds of the complex.
Part of Angkor Wat’s architectural innovation success was how it had been integrated in its construction. An example of it would be how the roof of the galleries were built a height in order conceal the foundations of the higher floors. It was done in a way so that the line of sight from an observer would be led from the galleries to the temple’s summit. To add on, the design was able to unify numerous elements (columns, towers, rooflines, steps) from the building as the outline of the building show little changes except elements that were needed to emphasize its hierarchical order. It was also important to unify the elements which occur repetitively so achieve links from monument to another. The execution of the complex was done using the grey-black sandstone material. The material was also prevalent in many ornamental artefacts during that era as well, not to mention Angkor Wat.
Also, the material has properties that are able the withstand the magnitude of the complex, this includes strength, cementitious materiality and compactness. On top of its physical attributes, the stones were bind together with joints which were difficult to find without the usage of mortar. The stones are bind by mortise and tenon joints, dovetails or gravity. To add on, most of the construction elements were carved on.
Conclusion
The construction of Angkor Wat in the 12th century instructed by the late Khmer ruler Suryavarman ll, can be seen as a well thought out attempt to materialize Hindu cosmology in the form of architecture due to several factors such as the physical attributes, spatial arrangement, circulation and symbolism. However, Angkor Wat has since changed in terms of its functionality from the 14th century onwards. The change of functionality can be seen as Angkor Wat being a state temple only to house holy figures of Hinduism then to a king’s burial ground and finally to a place of worship and congregation for Buddhism after the Khmer empire collapsed. This change started when the Siams/Thais came over to the Siem Reap area. The introduction of the Thais was mainly due to the invasion from Ayutthaya, present-day Thailand. The invasion caused many significant architectures in the Khmer region to be abandoned including Angkor Thom.
When the Cambodians came back to the area to re-appropriate the place of Siem Reap including Angkor Wat, it can be seen that the model used in the construction of Angkor Wat does not apply to the present-day context of religious practices in Cambodia. Firstly, there was a shift from the Hinduism to Buddhism in the local population as many different Buddha figures, sculptures and reliefs were introduced throughout Angkor Wat. Secondly, many of the spaces were actually designed towards being a containment for inscriptions and Hindu bas reliefs and a place fit that is used as a king’s tool for legitimizing his power in the political office. For instance, most of the pavilions and towers could only be accessible by linear galleries and small stairway.
The pavilions and towers were also segregated by layers of enclosures with different levels creating a sense of separation from each element of the complex. By virtue of such spatial arrangement, it would not be conducive for present-day Buddhist practices. These practices included congregation for prayers. Thus, it can be concluded Angkor Wat is not able to adapt and suit the needs of the present-day religious practices as it can be seen that the building although conserved and well-kept, only to have moments where Buddhist statues and figures can be seen.
