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The Archaeoastronomy of the Phnom Bakhen
The Archaeoastronomy of the Phnom Bakhen
The study of the astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythologies, religions and world-
views of all ancient cultures we call archaeoastronomy. You may already know that many
of the great monuments and ceremonial constructions of early civilizations were
astronomically aligned. The accurate cardinal orientation of the Great Pyramid at Giza in
Egypt or the Venus alignment of the magnificent Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal in
Yucatan are outstanding examples. We learn much about the development of science and
cosmological thought from the study of both the ancient astronomies and surviving
indigenous traditions around the world.Some define it as-
‘The contemporary scientific study and theorization of surviving memorials
constructed prior to telescopes by students of the night skies planet-wide.
Such memorials might include writings and symbols engraved in stone or
primitive megalithic alignments for observing and celebrating Mother Earth's
seasonal rhythms. Intercontinentally, ancient seamen and expert navigators
curated databases aware of equinox, solstice and cross-quarter moments. This
field interprets how ancients grasped:
A— the Sun, stars and constellations with the placement or carving of paired
gnomon and target alignments,
B— comets, rhythms of the 5 visible planets, lunar eclipses, phases and
standstills,
or C— an anomaly such as a localized total solar eclipse, a planetary
occlusion by the Moon, a planetary conjunction, a supernova, an asteroid, a
meteor or an unidentifiable object. ‘
The golden age of Khemer architecture began with Jayavarman II. In his long reign of
67 years he built 3 capitals. Probably( and I think definitely so) he got inspiration from
his Javanese ancestors who had built the magnificent Prambanan temples.
1. Indrapura the Capital already exited when he came, it was followed by building
of
2. Hariharalaya. The next capital was amarendrapura 100 miles to North – West of
Angkor Thom.Shiva and Buddha were combined in the architecture of bantey
Chamar which he built.The 3 rd and last work of jayavarman II was.
3. Mahendraparavata or Phnom Kueon.2
In fact the entire stretch of South East Asia from Indonesia to Cambodia is
strewn with remains of Indian influence. Travelers would not have missed
that Bangkok’s airport is called Suvarnabhoomi and the entrance of the
airport depicts Amrit Manthan, the churning of the sea by devas to extract
the elixir of life. The Indian influence in Indonesia –whose tourist haven of
Bali is a Hindu majority province, is something that is fairly well know.
In the central tower, the topmost elevation has external axial dimensions of
189.00 cubit east-west, and 176.37 cubit north-south, with the sum of 365.37.
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This division of the almost exact length of the solar year into unequal halves
remained a mystery for some time until it was found to be connected with the
Satapatha Brahman.-a numbers for the asymmetric motion of the sun.
All these are, however, astrological terms also which underlines the fact that
astrological advanvces were so great that they linked this knowledge to
astronomy. To understand this let us study the connection between the two.
The Wat was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century
in Yasodharapura present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his
state.temple.
Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was
instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the
only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation.
The Khmer's adhered to the Indian belief that a temple must be built according
to a mathematical system in order for it to function in harmony with the
universe. Distances between certain architectural elements of the temple reflect
numbers related to Indian mythology and cosmology.
The scale of Angkor Wat enabled the Khmer to give full expression to religious
symbolism. The sheer size of the place leaves visitors in awe and the complex
designs illustrate the skills of long gone priest architects. Every spare inch has
been carved with intricate works of art. It is, above all else, a microcosm of the
Hindu universe. As a brilliant example of the synthesis of astronomy and
architecture at Angkor Wat, the solar axes of the temple lead directly to the
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central sanctuary, a sanctum sanctorum devoted to the supreme solar god,
Lord Vishnu. Vishnu manifests as one of the solar months, and the sun itself is
thought to be his emanation.
Although the Sun gains stature through its conjunction with the center of
Angkor Wat, Vishnu, and the king, it is worth noting that lunar alignments are
also recorded along the western and eastern axis of the temple. As the
measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space
of Angkor Wat, this divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated
chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate the king's power and to honour
and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above.
The solar and lunar alignments at Angkor Wat were alignments with the gods,
alignments that tied the nation to the heavens above, and alignments that
imbued the king with the power to rule by divine association.
Here are concrete astronomical observations you can see at Angkor Wat:
1. The rising sun aligning on equinox days with the western entrance of the
state temple, Angkor Wat.
2. The movements of the moon can be observed from a variety of positions
within the temple, and lunar cycles may have been recorded in the three sets of
libraries in the interior court.
3. The bas reliefs of the third gallery can be understood in relation to the
movements of the sun, which establish their counterclockwise direction.
4. The measurements of the temple appear proportional to calendric and
cosmological time cycles.
“In conclusion for me, the most amazing aspects of the ancient Khmer
Civilization was their understanding of their place in the cosmos, and how the
placement of the temples mirrored so many of the celestial movements.
A real ancient observatory with it's knowledge embedded on it's self. Through
stone and art, they kept it all to be discovered again and again. “ 1
Mount Meru, in Hindu mythology, a golden mountain that stands in the centre
of the universe and is the axis of the world. It is the abode of gods, and its
foothills are the Himalayas, to the south of which extends Bhāratavarṣa (“Land
of the Sons of Bharata”), the ancient name for India. The roof tower crowning
the shrine in a Hindu temple represents Meru. As the world axis, Mount
Meru reaches down below the ground, into the nether regions, as far as it
extends into the heavens. All of the principal deities have their own celestial
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kingdoms on or near it, where their devotees reside with them after death,
while awaiting their next reincarnation.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and
the International Astronomical Union (IAU) jointly published a thematic study
on heritage sites of astronomy and archaeoastronomy to be used as a guide
to UNESCO in its evaluation of the cultural importance of archaeoastronomical
sites around the world, which discussed sample sites and provided categories
for the classification of archaeoastronomical sites.
1. http://linksthroughspace.blogspot.com/2014/02/cambodia-2014-
ancient-astronomy-angkor.html.. Angkor wat procession and scene of
battles.
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Overview of Context and Significance The Bakheng temple-complex,
constructed on the summit of a phnom (hill) in the center of the Angkor site, is
one of the most important and symbolic 10th century monuments at Angkor.
Consecrated in 907 AD Bakheng is part of an unparalleled architectural and
religious legacy of a group of monuments spanning five hundred years from the
10th to the 14th century. It is a dramatic expression of the genius of the
Khmer people and their king Yasovarman, with its integration of a symbolic
form with the natural landscape to create a physical manifestation of a Hindu
cosmological template of a perfect universe. Yasovarman named his new city
Yasodharapura, which remained the official name of the capital until the end of
the Angkor period. Yasovarman built the Eastern Baray soon after establishing
his capital Yasodharapura. The Eastern Baray (1.8 x 7 km) was part of the
cosmic vision of the Khmer religion. The waters of the river coming down from
the Phnom Kulen once gathered in this enormous reservoir, replenishing the
city. Although the water harvesting system has a functional aspect, not to be
underestimated is the religious significance in the context of setting and
ultimately spatial planning, which is balanced masterfully through building
masses, landscape elements and open space.
Phnom Bakheng was the first significant temple built at Yasodharapura, the
city which came be known as Angkor. It was constructed in the late 9th, early
tenth centuries as the state temple of King Yasovarman I, who moved the
capital here from Roluos, about 13 kilometers to the southeast. The site was
selected because the hill upon which the temple stands towers 70 meters above
the otherwise flat countryside. From here, Yasovarman could gaze upon his
capital city which covered at least four square kilometers, bounded by earthen
walls.
ORIGIN
The quincunx was originally a coin issued by the Roman Republic c. 211–200
BC, whose value was five twelfths (quinque and uncia) of an as, the Roman
standard bronze coin. On the Roman quincunx coins, the value was sometimes
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indicated by a pattern of five dots or pellets. However, these dots were not
always arranged in a quincunx pattern.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates the first appearances of the Latin
word in English as 1545 and 1574 ("in the sense 'five-twelfths of a pound or
as'"; i.e. 100 old pence). The first citation for a geometric meaning, as "a pattern
used for planting trees", dates from 1606. The OED also cites a 1647 reference
to the German astronomer Kepler for an astronomical/astrological meaning, an
angle of 5/12 of a whole circle. Jackson (1821) states that the word refers to
the pattern of trees in an orchard, but then uses it more abstractly for a
version of the orchard-planting problem involving patterns of points and lines
in the plane (for which the quincunx pattern provides the optimal solution for
five points).
Quincunx patterns occur in many contexts:
The flag of the Solomon Islands features a quincunx of stars./A quincuncial map/12th-
century Cosmatesque mosaic in the Cappella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily
Drawn by Timothy M Ciccone following Claude Jacques, Michael Freeman, and Jean Laur.of thr
Bakeng
James Joyce uses the term in "Grace", a short story in Dubliners of 1914, to
describe the seating arrangement of five men in a church service.
Lobnerargues that in this context the pattern serves as a symbol both of the
wounds of Christ and of the Greek cross.
The Polish historian Feliks Koneczny used the term 'quincunx' to describe
five categories of human life which define civilisations, these categories
including truth and good on the spiritual side, well-being and health on the
physical side and beauty encompassing both sides.
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Hindu cosmology
Jain cosmology
According to Jain cosmology, Mount Meru (or Sumeru) is at the centre of
the world surrounded by Jambūdvīpa, in form of a circle forming a
diameter of 100,000 yojans. There are two sets of sun, moon and stars
revolving around Mount Meru; while one set works, the other set rests
behind Mount Meru.
Every Tirthankara is taken to the summit of Meru by Indra shortly after
his birth, after putting the Tirthankara child's mother into deep slumber.
There, he was bathed and anointed with precious unctions. Indra and
other Devas celebrated his birth.
Javanese Legends: This mythical mountain of gods was mentioned in
the Tantu Pagelaran, an Old Javanese manuscript written in the 15th-
century Majapahit period. The manuscript describes the mythical origin
of the island of Java, as well as the legendary movement of portions of
Mount Meru to Java. The manuscript explains that Batara Guru (Shiva)
ordered the gods Brahma and Vishnu to fill Java with human beings.
However, at that time, Java island was floating freely on the ocean,
always tumbling and shaking. To stop the island's movement, the gods
decided to nail it to the Earth by moving the part of Mahameru
in Jambudvipa (India) and attaching it to Java. The resulting mountain
is Mount Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java.
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Mount Semeru, a large active volcano on Java, is named after the
mount.
The five central towers of Angkor Wat, before a Hindu and later a Buddhist
temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru.
1. General view
2. Upper terrace
3. Stone tower and Angkor Wat far afield
King Yasovarman
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It is possible to see: the five towers of Angkor Wat in the west, Phnom Krom to
the southwest near the Grand Lake, Phnom Bok in the northeast, Phnom
Kulen in the east, and the West Baray. Phnom Bakheng was built in late ninth
to early tenth century by King Yasovarman dedicated to Siva (Hindi). Why is
Prasat kravan unusual?
The word “Kheng, or Khaeṅ” has rarely been used in the Khmer language, but
it is currently used in the Thai language. However, the word Kheng is found in
the Khmer Rāmakerti, in the scene of the giant Kūkhan, “ri Kūkhan khaeṅ
mohhimā rūp rū pabbatā”, “Kūkhan force, colossal, form similar to a
mountain…” and “khluon khloh khlāmṅ kheṅ beñ bāl, “youthful, force, power.”
Bakheng could be equivalent to the old Khmer vraḥ kheṅ, if the two particles
braḥ and pā are interchanged for writing as place names. We can say that braḥ
which is equivalent to pā, indicates a sacred vocabulary, and it could be equal
to the word “khaeṅ”, or it may have the meaning of the Linga.
There are several names of Phnom Bakheng in the ancient period, which are
found in the inscriptions. In the inscription of Sdok Kak Thom, it is clearly
affirmed that Yaśodharapura (the name of the ancient city of Angkor) was
established on the top of Phnom Bakheng by the king Yashovarman I (889-910
AD). The name of this mountain was also Yaśodharagiri (mountain
ofYaśovarman), Indrādri, and Madhyādri in the 12th century, and it was also
called by the old Khmer name Vnaṃ Kanṭāl (central mountain).
The inscription of Sdok Kak Thom mentioned the following: “ … vra ḥ pāda
paramaśivaloka oy vraḥ liṅga dvihasta saṃnal=ti sthāpanā āy vna ṃ kan ṭāl gi [t]i
sthāpanā āy bhadrapattana… which mean “The majesty king-Paramashivaloka
gives (him) two cubits high of unused (stone) from construction at Vna ṃ Kan ṭāl
for establishing royal Linga at Bhadrapattana.” Paramashivaloka established
the royal city of Śri Yaśodharapura, and took the Devarāja from Hariharālaya
to this city, and he subsequently established the Vnaṃ Kanṭāl (Central
Mountain) and installed a Linga in the center.56 The Phnom Bakheng
inscription, K. 684,57 informs us of the purchase of a piece of land for two
people (loñ) who were the devotees (pādamūla) of Vnaṃ Kanṭāl: “ (8) loñ prāṇa
pādamūla kamrateṅ (9) jagat vnaṃ kanṭāl ti vraḥ kamrate ṅ” The name of Vnaṃ
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Kanṭāl (Central Mountain) moreover clearly indicates the representative Mount
Meru, if we study the Sanskrit text. The temple itself that was built on the top
of the mountain (Phnom), presents the symbol of the mountain in the center of
the world, Meru or Sumeru of Indian cosmology.
IN BUDDHISM Mount Meru (also Sumeru (Sanskrit) or Sineru (Pāli)
or Kangrinboqe) is the name of the central world-mountain in Buddhist
cosmology. Etymologically, the proper name of the mountain
is Meru (Pāli Meru), to which is added the approbatory prefix su-, resulting in
the meaning "excellent Meru" or "wonderful Meru".
The concept of Sumeru is closely related to the central Mount Meru of Hindu
cosmology, but it differs from the Hindu concept in several particulars.
The 80,000 yojana square top of Sumeru constitutes the Trāyastriṃśa "heaven"
(devaloka), which is the highest plane in direct physical contact with the earth.
The next 40,000 yojanas below this heaven consist of sheer precipice,
narrowing in like an inverted mountain until it is 20,000 yojanas square at a
heigh of 40,000 yojanas above the sea.
From this point Sumeru expands again, going down in four terraced ledges,
each broader than the one above. The first terrace constitutes the "heaven" of
the Four Great Kings and is divided into four parts, facing north, south, east
and west. Each section is governed by one of the Four Great Kings, who faces
outward toward the quarter of the world that he supervises.
40,000 yojanas is also the height at which the Sun and Moon circle Sumeru in
a clockwise direction. This rotation explains the alteration of day and night;
when the Sun is north of Sumeru, the shadow of the mountain is cast over the
continent of Jambudvīpa, and it is night there; at the same time it is noon in
the opposing northern continent of Uttarakuru, dawn in the eastern continent
of Pūrvavideha, and dusk in the western continent of Aparagodānīya. Half a
day later, when the Sun has moved to the south, it is noon in Jambudvīpa,
dusk in Pūrvavideha, dawn in Aparagodānīya, and midnight in Uttarakuru.
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The next three terraces down the slopes of Sumeru are each longer and
broader by a factor of two. They contain the followers of the Four Great Kings,
namely nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and kumbhāṇḍas.
The names and dimensions of the terraces on the lower slopes of Sumeru are
given below:
16,000
Karoṭapāni 10,000 yojanas 80,000 yojanas
yojanas
Below Sumeru, in the seas around it, is the abode of the Asuras who are at war
with the Trāyastriṃśa gods.
Certain traditional Buddhist ideas about the world are incompatible with
modern science and have been abandoned by numerous modern Buddhists.
One of the most well known of these ideas is Mount Meru. According to Donald
S. Lopez Jr., "the human realm that Buddhist texts describe is a flat earth, or
perhaps more accurately a flat ocean, its waters contained by a ring of iron
mountains. In that ocean is a great central mountain, surrounded in the four
cardinal directions by island continents."
As Lopez notes, as early as the 18th century, Buddhist scholars like Tominaga
Nakamoto (1715–1746) began to question this classical Buddhist cosmography,
holding that they were adopted by the Buddha from Indian theories, but that
they were incidental and thus not at the heart of Buddha's teaching. While
some traditional Buddhists did defend the traditional cosmology, others like
Shimaji Mokurai (1838–1911) argued that it was not foundational to Buddhism
and was merely an element of Indian mythology. Others like Kimura Taiken
(1881–1930), went further and argued that this traditional cosmography was
not part of original Buddhism.
The issue of Mount Meru was also discussed by modern Buddhist
intellectuals like Gendun Chopel and the 14th Dalai Lama. According to
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Choepel, the Meru cosmology is a provisional teaching taught in accord with
the ideas of ancient India, but not appropriate for the modern era. Similarly,
the 14th Dalai Lama writes that "my own view is that Buddhism must abandon
many aspects of the Abhidharma cosmology". The Dalai Lama sees the
falsehood of this traditional cosmology as not affecting the core of Buddhism
(the teaching of the four noble truths and liberation) since it is "secondary to
the account of the nature and origins of sentient beings
[1] Let’s look for Meru upon the pages of Mahabharata and let’s see what this
great epic has to say about this topographical entity. It may be noted that we
have already, though cursorily, proposed the Bhubaneswar Model of Meru
Parvata in the Article “Scenario : The Sida River of Buddha Era”, one of the
series “Easternization and The Brown Arya”. So, our findings on Meru upon the
pages of Mahabharata would have to be seen with reference to this Meru Model
as well.
Firstly, we shall lay down the actual Mahabharata-Meru findings one by one
along with some collateral classical and/or plausibly-historical information,
and short remarks, if necessary, which will be later reflected upon and
analyzed in steps, in order to elicit surer historical implications and inferences.
“Snakes and divine medicinal plants are plentiful in this region. The latter adds
to its beauty. The Meru Mountain covers (includes) Svarga. It remains
unthinkable (unreachable) for common men. This tract is crossed by several
rivers and endowed with thick plantations. Its natural beauty includes great
flocks of twittering birds of numerous species.”
It may be noted that Vasistha “is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic
rishis. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis) of Ancient India.
Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of Rigveda. Vasishtha
and his family are mentioned in Rigvedic verse 10.167.4 and in other Rigvedic
mandalas and in many Vedic texts. … Yoga Vasishtha, Vasishtha Samhita, as
well as some versions of the Agni Purana and Vishnu Purana are attributed to
him” [wikipedia].
This fact about this great river contradicts and undoes the rumor that
“Sarasvati dried up in a desert”.
The other mentions about Sarasvati in the same Parva need to be noted as
these are too important clues to Meru’s topology. Sloka-60-61 of the same
Parva talks about the Tirtha incident at the confluence of Sarasvati and Sagara
(Ocean). This Tirtha has been connected to Svarga-Loka.
We are noting down these bits of information for possible future use in settling
Meru-Sarasvati topology with respect to Bhubaneswar Model of Meru Parvata
(Meru Mountain).
The following excerpts represent short classical descriptions of these two giant
topological elements of the ancient-most part of Modern India.
“Sarasvati River was one of the rivers mentioned in the Rig Veda and later
Vedic and post-Vedic texts. The Sarasvati River played an important role in
Hinduism since Vedic Sanskrit. The first part of the Rig Veda is believed to
have originated when the Vedic people lived on its banks.” [wikipedia]
“Mount Meru is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist
cosmology and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical
and spiritual universes.” [wikipedia]
Coming back to the Parva-82, the sequence of the numerous Tirthas that
Pulastya reckons one by one and narrates before Bhishma couldn’t include
ones separated by very great distances. The style of narration implies that
these Tirthas could belong to one geographical domain of a diameter not
exceeding a hundred miles or so.
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We may take this opportunity to note down these Pulastya-enumerated Tirthas
for future reference. These are : Puskara, Jambumarga, Tandulika-ashram,
Agastya Sarovara, Kanva-ashram, Dharmaranya, Yayati-patana, Mahakala-
tirtha, Koti-tirtha, Bhadra-vata, Narmada River, Dakshina Samudra,
Charmanvati River, Arbuda aka Himalaya-putra, Vasishtha-ashram, Pinga-
tirtha, Prabhasa-tirtha, Sarasvati Samgama aka Varuna-tirtha
(Samudra/Ocean), Varadana-tirtha, Dvaraka, Pindaraka-tirtha, Sindhu
Samgama aka Varuna-tirtha, Dami-tirtha, Vasudhara-tirtha, Sindhuttama-
tirtha, Bhadratunga-tirtha, Shakra-Kumarika-tirtha, Renuka-tirtha, Pancha-
Nada-tirtha, Yoni-tirtha, Vimala-tirtha, Vitasta-tirtha, Vadava-tirtha aka
Sapta-Charu-tirtha, Maniman-tirtha, Devika-tirtha, Kama-tirtha, Dirgha-
Satra-tirtha, Vinasana-tirtha, Chamasodveda, Shivodveda, Nagodveda,
Shashayana, Kumarakoti-tirtha, Rudrakoti-tirtha.
The two Tithis (calendar days of ceremonial observance), viz. Kartika Purnima
(Fullmoon of the month of Kartika) and Chaitra Sukla Chaturdasi (14th day of
the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra), that we came across in the
narrations about the various Tirthas are too noteworthy. These could serve as
clues in our endeavor to finetune the identity of Meru.
The features of Meru that have surfaced in this section of our discussion
invites Kuakhai-Daya River of Bhubaneswar, a distributary of Mahanadi-
Kathajodi River of Modern Odisha, to be the erstwhile Sarasvati in the
Bhubaneswar Model of Mount Meru. We are not in a haste to conclude
anything now. We shall continue to gather evidences.
Figure https://rgdn.info/en/mirovaya_gora._v_mifah_i_legandah_mira
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