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Angkor Wat Bas Relief? Astonishing!
The Order of Viewing The ReliefThe reliefs are meant to be seen in a counter-clockwise direction. Each section of the bas relief depicts a story; and most of them are about battles between the gods and the demons.
1. The Battle of Kurukshetra The scene is taken from the Mahabharata text, where Kauravas (from the left) and Pandavas (from the right) battle each other in a fierce fight. You can see the procession at the base of the panel, where musicians, foot-soldiers and warriors on horses and elephants advance to the center of battlefield. At the center panel where the battle is being fought the hardest, you'll see wounded soldiers, horses and chiefs. Some part of the relief has been polished by visitors hands for many decades, leaving it shinier than the rest. 2. The Army of Suryavarman II This Angkor Wat bas gallery is dedicated to Suryavarman II, the king who built the Angkor Wat temple. This battle procession relief is carved into a single panel that is 90 meters long, and is one of the better artwork compared to the other bas relief. The king is seen riding on an elephant, wearing a royal crown and equipped with a battle axe, encircled by servants who were busy fanning and holding up umbrellas. At the bottom part of the panel, you'll see palace women joining the processions. Further down the panel, you'll also see mercenary Thai warriors and Brahmin priests in the march. 3. Heaven and Hell This panel is interesting. The upper part describes life in heaven, and the lower part life in hell. The panel is 60 meters long, and shows Yama, the God of the dead, sitting on a buffalo, assisted with his two assessors, Dharma and Sitragupta. There are 36 short inscriptions, which tell us that there are 37 heavens and 32 hells. Life in heaven is shown by the rich palaces, the flying Apsara nymphs and lavish draperies. Life in hell is all about torture, which was rather gruesome with its breaking of bones, use of hot irons, and piercing heads with nails.
4. Churning of the Ocean of Milk The most magnificent of all Angkor Wat relief. It shows 92 gods and 88 demons fighting for the elixir of immortality, and a snake caught up in the middle. The gods held the tail, the demons held the head, while the snake coils itself around Mt. Mandala. Each time the gods and demons pull their side, the mountain turned and the ocean churned. According to one of the stories, the demons and gods were actually working together in creating the elixir. Once the elixir was created, the gods tricked the demons and took the elixir for themselves. Not giving up, one of the demons managed to sneak in to the god's residence, drank the elixir down to this throat, before Wishnu beheaded him. Because of the immortal elixir, the demons survived, but possessing only the head, with no body. 5. Vishnu Conquers the Asuras (Demons) One of the inferior carvings, depicting Vishnu riding a Garuda (a mythical bird), slaying all demons. Two armies approach from both sides to the middle, where Vishnu sends them running after wreaking havoc.
6. Krishna and the Bana, the Demon King Supposedly this is the worst of all the Angkor Wat relief, but you can be the judge. The scene depicts Visnu, incarnated as Krishna with eight arms and multiple heads, riding a Garuda and confronting Bana at this palace. Krishna was assisted by Agni, the god of Fire in putting out the defensive fire that surrounds Bana's castle. After the capturing Bana, in the end Krishna plead for Bana's life to Shiva at Mt. Kailasa, where goddess Parvati and the elephant god Ganesha was also present.
This Angkor Wat bas relief shows a battle scene of 21 gods fighting the asuras (demons). Here you'll see gods and their elements. Vishnu on his garuda, Yama the god of the dead on a chariot pulled by oxen, Shiva ready with his bow, Brahma on the sacred goose, Surya the god of sun standing on a sun disc, Indra standing on his elephants with four tusks, and Skanda the god of war perched on his peacock. 8. Battle of Lanka (Ceylon /Sri Lanka) Showing scenes from Ramayana in Mahabharata, whereupon Rama tries to rescue his wife Sita, from Ravana (the kidnapper). You'll see Rama standing on the shoulders of Hanuman, the monkey god, with Lakhsmana (Rama's brother) and Vibishana (a giant) behind him. On the opposite, Ravana is standing on this war chariot, which is pulled by lions. This panel is one of the prettiest carvings of all the Angkor Wat bas reliefs.. If you are familiar with the Ramayana story, you'll be interested to know that there's a Cambodian version of it. Is It Better To Know The Story Before Visiting?I definitely think so. When I first saw these bas relief, I regret not knowing the stories beforehand, because that meant I had to listen to the tour guide explaining the scenes. If only I knew more about the story, I could appreciate the relief better and just enjoy them without being distracted. Then there's also the case of information overload, which was not entirely pleasant. Thus, to ensure maximum viewing pleasure, it is much better knowing about the scenes beforehand. If you can also set aside a good chunk of time for the bas relief, that would be ideal. When you go through these carvings in a hurry, not only you'd miss the pleasure of taking in the details, you'll also won't remember much of it by the end of the day. And even if you take pictures, viewing them in person is so much better! I love these detailed tree carvings. © G. DodsonTake your time in enjoying the relief. Do not rush, because you'd want these images embedded in your mind. Why? Because they're so pretty, of course! Plus, it's not everyday you get to visit Angkor Wat Cambodia. Other than Angkor Wat bas relief, there is another great place to see more wall to wall bas reliefs, and that is at Bayon. If the Angkor relief depicts the 'life' of the gods, the Bayon reliefs show you the life of the common people. It's very telling, and like a journey back to the ancient times. You'll see fishermen fishing, women cooking, and children playing! It's just amazing what great things that the ancient Khmer people have left us.
Angkor Wat History - A Brief Overview The Angkor Wat Temple In Cambodia
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If I could do it over, I'd definitely read more about these relief before visiting.
So In Short...
