King Rajendravarman's state temple has three tires rising to 12m (40ft), topped by five brick towers. From the enormous brick sanctuaries at the east gateway to the out standing views the countryside from the top, Pre Rup impresses. Visit early or late in the day to better appreciate how the laterite in this temple's construction confers the a warm-toned and harmonious atmosphere.
Approaching from the east you encounter five towers aligned north-south within the outer enclosure, most likely added by the succeeding king, Jayavarman V. It appears the builders never completed the sixth tower, just to the north of the east gateway. Pass through the gateway to arrived in front of a stone 'cistern' that was likely the base for statue of Nandi, Shiva's bull but has unfortunately given rise to legend of funerary rites connected to the temple's contemporary name of 'changing body'. It highly unlikely that cremations ever took place in a temple dedicated to Shiva.
From the top tier look down upon a series of galleries that line inside of the first enclosure wall on the ground floor and the 12 small sanctuaries on the second level. In the northeast corner of the ground floor there is a small laterite square pavilion often associated with ashrama and it is thought that a religious hermitage may have stood on the side of this temple's construction.
The five brick towers arranged in a quincunx are not in as good condition as those at nearby East Mebon. The corner towers were dedicated to Shiva,Uma,Visnhu and Laksmi, decorated with male guardians for the eastern towers and devatas for the western towers.
Pre Rup's southwest tower retains rare stucco cladding and a representation of Saraswati, the consort of Brahma. The eastern side of the northeast tower also shows Varaha, the boar avatar of the Vishnu, who recovered the Earth after the demon threw him into cosmic ocean.
Noted: Local folklore have variation on the original of the contemporary name Pre Rup. It is said this temple has rejuvenating powers. One story pass down the generations has it that an elderly king is rumoured to have remained in Pre Rup once for three months and finally reappeared as much as younger man.
5 окт 2024
