Khmer Palace as 'Celestial palace of the Gods'(paper)

Dr Uday Dokras

Royal Palace Site (10th-13th centuries): The site of Angkor's royal palaces is of limited
architectural interest as none of the royal residences survive. The vast palaces and residential
dwellings that once stood here were built of perishable materials and, over the centuries, have
left so few remains that archaeologists cannot even be certain of their footprints. Nonetheless,
working with the surviving enclosure walls, gopuras (gateways) a few minor structures, and
the limited textual evidence provided by Zhou Daguan's 13th century account, it is possible to
sketch a rough outline of the significance of the site.

A palace, royal residence, and sometimes a seat of government or religious centre. The word
is derived from the Palatine Hill in Rome, where the Roman emperors built their residences.
As a building a palace should be differentiated from a castle, which was originally any
fortified dwelling. Palaces, because of the power of the patron and the money and labour
available for their construction, often represented the epitome (or in some cases, extreme
examples) of the architectural and social values of the culture and age in which they were
built. For this reason, they are of prime interest to archaeologists.

1
The earliest known palaces are those built in Thebes by King Thutmose III (reigned 1504–
1450 BCE) and by Amenhotep III (reigned 1417–1379 BCE) of Egypt. Excavations of
Amenhotep’s palace reveal a rectangular outer wall enclosing a labyrinth of small, dark
rooms and courtyards, a pattern broadly repeated in Eastern palaces of later ages. In Assyria,
for instance, much larger palaces were built at Nimrūd, at Nineveh, and at Khorsabad, where
the palace of Sargon II (reigned 721–705 BCE) extended over more than 23 acres (9
hectares), built on a platform within two sets of city walls and containing two huge central
courts and a disorganized mass of smaller courtyards and rooms.

East Asia’s more recent palaces, such as those in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the
imperial palaces of Japan, also consist of a series of buildings (in these cases, low pavilions
mostly of highly decorated wood construction) within vast walled gardens.

In the New World, palaces tended to be less complex, such as the Mayan governor’s palace at
Uxmal (c. 900 CE) and the Zapotec palace at Mitla (c. 1000 CE), which were one-storied
carved structures with many rooms. As in the East, though, these palaces were the centres of
government as well as the residences of the culture’s leaders.

The Royal Palace was first built by king Suryavarman I and used continuously from the 11th
to the late 16th century AD. During that period, the area was transformed and restored several
times. Recent excavations have revealed many remains, such as a 10th-century temple which
was built by a minister to Yasovarman I, was probably considered to be this minister's
residence.
Most of the royal palace buildings were constructed by using perishable materials because
they would have been non-religious in nature.

2
 East Gopura of the Royal Palace at Angkor
The rectangular place of the royal palace was surrounded by a 5 meters high laterite wall with
246 meters along the north-south axis and 585 meters along the east-west axis, covering an
area of more than 14 hectares. Five sandstone gopuras with steps served as the entrance to the
palace. Two gupuras are located on the south, other two are on the north, the largest one faces
to the east and aligned with the Elephant Terrace and Victory Gate. The first group of
buildings, built by king Suryavarman I, was surrounded by a moat on the east. The ground
inside the palace compound is 1.2 meters higher than outside that necessitating a double
course of stone on the exterior of the entrances and in some places, the ground has been
raised even higher.
The 5625 square meters pond, probably built by king Jayavarman VIII, is faced with
sandstone around its circumference. 13 tiers of steps descend 5.32 meters to the laterite
paving. A wall was built on the south and to a lesser extent on the west which probably retain
the embankment that extends to the pond from Phimeanakas. Dominating the pond on top of
the wall is a paved terrace.
The walls are completely carved with bas-reliefs the lower sections show marine lives, heads
of cow or horse, There are two rows of princes and naga princesses in the middle part which
is similar to Terrace of the Leper King that located above winged figures, male and female
guardian figures.
The East Pond
An 800 square meters sandstone pond, situated near the east gopura, was probably part of the
first palace.
A small pond and low terrace are located to the west of the Large Pond that both
connected by a laterite wall to the west northern gopura of the royal palace. The walls are
carved with fascinating bas-reliefs of a procession of people, elephants and horses above a
frieze of hamsas.
The cruciform terrace with round column and overhanging top was typically built in the
16th century AD.
The four small sanctuaries were constructed in the early phase, which evidenced by their
floor level. They are opening to the west and parallel to the southeast of the second part of the
Royal
Palace.

Middle of the old Royal Palace

Royal Palace Site (10th-13th centuries): The site of Angkor's royal palaces is of limited
architectural interest as none of the royal residences survive. The vast palaces and residential
dwellings that once stood here were built of perishable materials and, over the centuries, have
left so few remains that archaeologists cannot even be certain of their footprints. Nonetheless,
working with the surviving enclosure walls, gopuras (gateways) a few minor structures, and
the limited textual evidence provided by Zhou Daguan's 13th century account, it is possible to
sketch a rough outline of the significance of the site.

Angkor's first royal palaces were built by King Rajendravarman in the 10th century when he
moved the capital here from Koh Ker. The temple-tower of Phimeanakas, near the center of
the palace grounds, was built around that time. About 200 years later, the prolific builder
Jayavarman VII modified the site by adding a layer of earth 1.2 meters deep. He probably

3
also commissioned the so-called Terrace of the Elephants immediately to the east of the site.
Together with the enclosure walls, this created a striking set of axes marking the center of
Jayavarman VII's town of Angkor Thom which served as the center of the empire. The north-
south axis established by the Terrace of the Elephants was matched about 200 meters to the
east by a line of eight towers now known as the Prasat Suor Prat. In between the terrace and
the towers stood a vast parade ground of unknown function, though it may have been used for
military reviews and other ceremonial purposes. Perpendicular to the parade ground, and on-
axis with the east entrance to the palace grounds, was the central perron (projecting stairway)
that pointed east toward the Angkor Thom's Gate of Victory (one of the two east-facing gates
to the city). As all of these structures survive, the visitor can experience the scale of the
spectacle that must have greeted Zhou Daguan when he arrived in the very same square some
700 years ago and vividly recounted glimpses of the capital at the height of its prosperity.

A visitor to the palace would have ascended the central perron and entered the palace grounds
through the east gopura. This gate, which survives, was built in the Khleang style which
flourished from 968-1010, and is considered a representative example of that design
(unfortunately, many of its decorative elements have not survived). Running out from the
gate to the north and south were a set of walls averaging five meters in height that formed the
boundary of the royal palace. The enclosed area—measuring 600 x 260m—was serviced by a
further four gates, two of each located to the north and south. A twenty-five meter wide moat
surrounded the perimeter walls on all sides; it may have been as much of a fire break as a
defensive feature. Other than the royal palace dwellings, the most notable structure was the
temple-pyramid of Phimeanakas. A handful of smaller stone buildings also survive in
fragmentary form at the southeast corner of the site.

On the north side of the palace grounds are several small basins, some of which were recently
refilled with water. The largest of these, at north-center, measures 50 x 145 meters and is
faced with 13 sandstone terraces descending several meters into the ground. The upper levels
of the terraces are decorated with mythical creatures including nagas, naginis, sea monsters,
and male and female garuda. Next to the terrace, to the east, is a smaller basin measuring 30 x
50 meters. When it was excavated in the mid-20th century, archaeologists discovered
important artifacts such as gold rings and wooden beams in pristine condition.

To the west of the basins very little survives apart from one stone foundation which contains
a frieze decorated with horses, elephants, people, and hamsa (sacred geese). The far west side
of the palace site, now covered in dense foliage and little-visited, is the probable location of
the inner halls of the palaces where Jayavarman VII, his relatives, and the royal harem
(perhaps numbering thousands of women) likely resided. Of the palace chambers, Zhou
Daguan, who visited the Khmer Empire in August 1296, had this to say:

"The royal palace, the officials' residences, and great houses all face east. The palace lies to
the north of the gold tower with the gold bridge [Bayon], near the northern gateway. It is
about five or six li in circumference. The tiles of the main building are made of lead; all the
other tiles are made of yellow clay. The beams and pillars are huge, and all are carved and
painted with images of the Buddha. The rooms are really quite grand-looking, and the long
corridors and complicated walkways, the soaring structures that rise and fall, all give a
considerable sense of size." (Harris, location 970).

4
No definitive source indicates the ultimate fate of the palace's numerous wooden structures. It
is noted that Zhou's estimate of five or six li (2.5 to 3 kilometers) is not consistent with the
present layout of the laterite walls, which measure 1.7 kilometers, suggesting that he may
have included the open plaza and terraces to the east of the palace.
If the Abridged Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya is to be believed, Angkor was sacked by
Ramesvara, the son of the Ayutthayan (Thai) King U Thong (r. 1350-69), sometime in the
1350s. As the Chronicle notes that "The Kambuja capital was taken and many families were
removed to the capital Ayudhya". It can be surmised that the palace was overrun no later
than this time. According to Jacques Dumarçay, the coup de grâce may have taken place in
1431 when the city was again overrun by Ayutthayan forces despite Khmer efforts to convert
the royal palace and the adjacent Baphuon temple into a fortified area. Dumarçay notes that

5
when the Portuguese historian Diego do Cuto (1543-1616) visited Angkor, he "could only see
incomplete buildings and barely mentions the location of the new palace, which however,
was not far away."

The Khleangs
The Khleangs are two buildings of unknown purpose on the east side of the Royal Square
in Angkor Thom, Cambodia, located just behind the twelve towers of Prasat Suor Prat and
separated by the royal route that leads from the Angkor Thom Royal Palace to the Victory
Gate. They are oriented along the north-south axis. The two were not built at the same time—
the northern building (North Khleang) was built under King Jayaviravarman and the southern
(South Khleang) under his successor Suryavarman I but they are of similar design (although
South Khleang is slight narrower).
They have given their name to the Khleang style, which is characterised by relatively
simple lintels with a central kala. Other buildings in the style are Phimeanakas and Ta Keo.
Rectangular sandstone buildings set opposite the Elephants Terrace, behind the Prasat Suor
Prat. ‘Khleang’ means ‘storeroom’ but it is unlikely that this was the function of the
structures, A royal oath of allegiance is carved into the doorway of one Khleang indicating
that they may have served as reception areas or even housing for visiting noblemen and
ambassadors. The North Khleang was built in wood under Rajendravarman II and then rebuilt
in stone by Jayavaraman V, probably before the construction of the South Khleang. The
Khleangs are unremarkable upon close inspection but picturesque from a distance, standing
among the Prasat Suor Prat.
Thai Conquests and Destruction of Palaces

As the Tai moved into mainland Southeast Asia, they came in contact with peoples
speaking Mon-Khmer languages who had long inhabited the region. Indian traders traveling
to China during the early centuries of the 1st millennium CE had carried Hindu and Buddhist
beliefs and practices to some of those peoples, including the Mon, who lived in what is
now Myanmar. The Mon were the first people in mainland Southeast Asia to
adopt Buddhism. Between the 6th and 9th centuries the Mon established several small
Buddhist kingdoms within the area encompassed by present-day southern Myanmar and
central Thailand. From what are now the towns of Nakhon Pathom and Lop Buri in central
Thailand, they extended their power eastward across the Khorat Plateau, northward as far

6
as Chiang Mai, and northeastward into what is now Laos. Those Mon kingdoms are
collectively called Dvaravati. The Dvaravati period is noted for its artwork, particularly its
Buddhist sculptures and votive images made of terra-cotta or stucco.

This movement into mainland Southeast Asia, they also encountered

the Khmer of Cambodia. Between the 9th and the 13th century, Khmer rulers expanded their
domains from their capital at Angkor, establishing an empire that, at its height
under Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–c. 1220), extended over approximately half of modern
Thailand. Whereas Mon kingdoms were predominantly Buddhist in character, Khmer
civilization—which found its supreme expression in the great temple complex at Angkor—
was heavily influenced by Hindu ideas and practices. The Tai borrowed from the Khmer
many elements of Indianized culture, including royal ceremonies, customs followed at the
court, and especially the Indian epic Ramayana, which influenced not only literature but also
classical dance. Even in modern Thai culture the legacy of the Indianized culture of Angkor
is still evident.

By the beginning of the 13th century, the Tai were starting to place pressure on both the Mon
and Khmer empires. The Tai had settled throughout the Chao Phraya basin, and a Tai ruler
was established as far south as the principality of Nakhon Si Thammarat, on the Malay
Peninsula. Through Nakhon Si Thammarat a dynamic new form of Buddhism, Theravada,
had entered mainland Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka. Theravada Buddhism was carried by
monks not only to areas under Mon or Khmer rule but also to the new Tai principalities that
were beginning to emerge. Sukhothai and Lan Na (Lanna), the first major Tai kingdoms in
Thai history, were Theravada Buddhist.

Sukhothai and Lan Na

Buddhist sanctuary, 13th century, Sukhothai, Thailand.

The kingdom of Sukhothai, situated in the upper Chao Phraya basin, was founded in the mid-
13th century when a local Tai ruler led a revolt against Khmer rule at an outpost of
the Khmer empire. Under its first two rulers, Sukhothai remained only a small local power.

7
However, its third ruler, Ramkhamhaeng (reigned c. 1279–98), extended Sukhothai power to
the south as far as Nakhon Si Thammarat, to the west into present-day Myanmar, and to the
northeast as far as Luang Prabang in modern Laos. Not all these territories were conquered by
force; many became vassal or tributary states to Sukhothai based on kinship ties or personal
loyalty, and they were linked to it in a loose confederation.

Ramkhamhaeng is renowned not only for extending the territory under Sukhothai control but
also for leaving a remarkable stone inscription, considered by most scholars to contain the
earliest example of writing in any Tai language. Written in 1292 and utilizing Khmer script
adapted to the sounds and tones of Tai speech, it pictures the Sukhothai kingdom as
prosperous, active in trade, and benevolently governed by a paternal monarch. According to
the inscription, the state taxed its citizens modestly, treated all subjects (including non-Tai)
equally, and provided justice for all.

The Sukhothai period, from the mid-13th to the mid-15th century, is noted for its sculpture
and pottery. Graceful bronze sculptures of the Buddha, especially those showing him in the
walking position, are typical of the period. The celadon ware made at Sukhothai and
nearby Sawankhalok was exported throughout Southeast Asia.

Sukhothai was not the only Tai state in Southeast Asia during this period. In the mid-13th
century in what is today northern Thailand, a Tai ruler, Mangrai (reigned c. 1259–1317; from
1292 to 1317 in Chiang Mai), conquered the ancient Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya and built a
new capital at Chiang Mai. Under Mangrai and his successors, Lan Na—with Chiang Mai as
its capital—became not only powerful but also a centre for the spread of Theravada
Buddhism to Tai peoples in what are now northeastern Myanmar, southern China, and
northern Laos. Under Tilokaracha (reigned 1441–87), Lan Na became famous for its
Buddhist scholarship and literature. During the 16th century Lan Na was conquered by the
Burmese and incorporated into the Burman empire, where it would remain until the late 18th
century.

Phimeanakas Prasat Phimean Akas, 'celestial temple') or Vimeanakas Prasat Vimean

Akas at Angkor, Cambodia, is a Hindu temple in the Khleang style, built at the end of the
10th century, during the reign of Rajendravarman (from 941 to 968), then completed
by Suryavarman I in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple. On top of the
pyramid there was a tower, while on the edge of top platform there are galleries.

8
Phimeanakas is located inside the walled enclosure of the Royal Palace of Angkor
Thom north of Baphuon. Phimeanakas in (Prasat Phimean Akas) means celestial temple, it is
located in the middle of the old Royal Palace, aligned with King Jayavarman VII’s Victory
Gate and to the west side of the Terrace of Elephants. The Hindu temple symbolizes a Sky
Palace and used to be a place to worship the gods. The three tier pyramid is smaller than
other temple in the Angkor area but has an impressive height of about 40m, including the
platform and remaining gallery on top.

Phimeanakas had walls surrounding it made from Laterite with 600m length, 300m width,
and 5m height. There are five gates, whereas the east gate used to be the most important.
Here the king, ministers and common people would enter the temple. The north gate was
used for transport purposes only. The steps on all stairs are ornamented with Garudas figures.
Inside the temple are two pools which were used for bathing, one for male and the other one
for female visitors.

Nāga, a serpent-spirit with nine heads lived in the Phimeanakas temple

Phimeanakas is associated with a legend that tells us the story of a golden tower on top of the
pyramid. In the tower it is said that a serpent-spirit with nine heads, called Nāga, used to live
there. Each night he would turn and appear as a woman. The king ascended the stairs of the
temple every night to lie with the Nāga princess (One wonders how he had any energy left
after the climb). If Nāga did not appear, it meant that the days of the king were counted.

The temple was the focal point of Suryavarman I's capital. The buildings there from his reign
are enclosed by a wall 600 by 250 m, with five gopuram, and include the Southern and
Northern Khleangs.
The tower was originally crowned with a golden pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it in his
report. According to legend, the king spent the first watch of every night with a woman
thought to represent a Nāga in the tower, during that time, not even the queen was permitted
to intrude. Only in the second watch the king returned to his palace with the queen. If the
naga who was the supreme land owner of Khmer land did not show up for a night, the king's
day would be numbered, if the king did not show up, calamity would strike his land.[
One of the stele states Jayavarman VII, while on a military expedition in Champa, learned
that his father Dharanindravarman II had died, and "returned in great haste to aid
King Yasovarman II. Jayavarman's second wife, Indradevi, "...composed in impeccable

9
Sanskrit the inscription...panegyric of her sister" Jayarajadevi, which included biographical
detail of Jayavarman VII.

10