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Temples

Temple

Preah Khan Temple

Location
Address: Road 4, Siem Reap

Opening hours
Start: 07:30
Close: 17:30

Preah Khan (Khmer: !"#ទ!ព&ខ(ន; "RoyalSword") is

a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century
for King Jayavarman VII to honor his father. It is located
northeast of Angkor Thomand just west of the
Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was
the centre of a substantial organization, with almost
100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in
design, with a basic plan of successive
rectangulargalleries around a Buddhist sanctuary
complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous
later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan
has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees
and other vegetation growing among the ruins. Preah
Khan was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory
over the invading Chams in 1191. Unusually the modern
name, meaning "holy sword", is derived from the
meaning of the original—Nagara Jayasri (holy city of
victory). The site may previously have been occupied by
the royal palaces of Yasovarman II and
Tribhuvanadityavarman.

The temple's foundation stela has provided

considerable information about the history and
administration of the site: the main image, of the
bodhisattva Avalokiteśvarain the form of the king's
father, was dedicated in 1191 (the king's mother had
earlier been commemorated in the same way at Ta
Prohm). 430 other deities also had shrines on the site,
each of which received an allotment of food,
clothing,perfume and even mosquito nets; the temple's
wealth included gold, silver,gems, 112,300 pearls and a
cow with gilded horns. The institution combined the
roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were
97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers
and 1000 teachers.

Preah Khan Temple

© 2023 Angkor Enterprise

The Angkor Ticket Office (Angkor Enterprise) is the only

place where you can purchase entrance tickets for the
Angkor Archaeological Park. Tickets purchased
elsewhere are not valid. The ticket office is located on
Road 60, 4km away from Siem Reap’s center.

Ministry of Economy and Finance

Apsara Authority

Ministry of Tourism

Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts

The number of foreign tourists purchasing

Angkor Pass

523,600
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