Prasat Suor Prat
Towers of the Cord Dancers
PRASAT SUOR PRAT
Reign
Period
Religion
Highlights
Period
Religion
Highlights
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Jayavarman
7th
1181 - 1120
Buddhist
The symetry of the 12 towers
1181 - 1120
Buddhist
The symetry of the 12 towers
Prasat Suor Prat means “Temple of the Rope Dancers”. They say that in the old days there were ropes connecting all these 12 towers, and that people dance or do some exhibition on these ropes.
Towers all lined up
This is probably not really accurate though, and some researchers don’t agree about the towers being used for entertainment. Today, none of the ropes remain, only the sandstone and laterite towers.
A
more credible use of these towers was known through from Zhou Da
Guan, the Chinese emissary. He reported that these towers were used to resolve disputes.
Whenever there’s a conflict between two people, both persons are locked up inside the towers for several days, and whoever came out without disease or sickness would be declared the winner or the righteous party.
The other person who caught on fever, ulcers or any kind of sickness would be the wicked person. They call this whole system the “celestial judgment”.
So in short...
Although these twelve temples are best seen from the distance, you can walk up close to these towers, and it’ll give you a personal view of them. Plus, after visiting these small temples, you can go right ahead and visit the Khleangs right behind them.
Where would you like to go next?
Go to the next Angkor Thom temple:
The Khleangs.Return to Angkor Thom temples, for a list of other sites that you can easily visit. Angkor Thom complex is much larger than the Angkor Wat complex. However, unlike Angkor Wat, it houses several 'smaller' temples instead of just one.
Return from Prasat Suor Prat to Holiday in Angkor Wat (homepage)
