May 28th 2009

As old as other famous Khmer temples from the Angkorian area, but lesser-known is Banteay Chhmar, or Narrow Fortress. At the center of this temple was one of the largest Buddhist monasteries of the Angkor period. However, nowadays, little remains. Banteay Chhmar is slowly being smothered by crawling trees—the temple is being taken captive by the jungle.

Banteay Chhmar is 63km north of Sisophon in Banteay Meanchey province. It was a city surrounded by a large moat and a 900m-long wall, and its bas-reliefs are believed to rival that of the Bayon, 150km away, in the Angkor Wat complex.

Although the jungle tries to subdue the grandeur of Banteay Chhmar, through small gaps in the trees, one large central tower can still be seen. It is adorned with four giant stone faces smiling out toward the compass points.

	Photo by: Moeun Nhean

It is not easy to visit this praasaat (temple) if you don’t have a guide. Long-neglected, it is difficult to navigate—especially during the rainy season—as collapsed walls make it hard to find a path.

Several boys, all barely in their teens, run over to our car at the entrance door to the temple. These will be our guides. Unlike the guides at the main Angkor temples, these children cannot speak English, but they have played over the temple and know the routes through the compound, clambering over the fallen walls and clinging trees.

However, the children know little about Banteay Chhmar’s history. They do not tell us of the damage done to the temple by Thai marauders, nor about the great pieces of sandstone pillaged as recently as 1998. But they do tell us stories related to the bas-reliefs on the walls—stories their parents and relatives have related to them.  They describe a carving of the sun eating an ox cart and in the center of the temple; the boys show us a carving of a hermit plucking a pin (a small guitar). On the eastern wall, there is a carving of a battle between the Khmers and Chams under the direction of the bold King Jayavarman VII and his son, Sintravarman.

UNESCO Khmer cultural expert Dr. Michael Tranet says Banteay Chhmar is similar in architecture and style to the Bayon temple.

Photo by: Moeun Nhean

“But this temple is different in other aspects, in that it is decorated with several kinds of excellent carvings including the god Avalokiteshvara. His 32 arms represent his actual 1,000 arms—a symbol of the great power of Mahayana-Buddhism,” Dr. Tranet says. The children point to the busy limbs of Avalokiteshvara.

He says the most significant carvings are on the lintels above the doors of the temple, describing a Vairosana Buddhist god who has four heads and eight ears listening to music. And, on the eastern wall, explains Dr. Tranet, carvings of the Khmer and Cham battle, show Khmer soldiers taking Cham soldiers prisoner. In this terrible battle, Jayavarman VII lost four loyal commanders and his son.

“Banteay Chhmar is a memorial to Sintravarman and the men who sacrificed their lives to save the country from the invading Chams,” Dr. Tranet says.

There are carvings of krut (the Indian mythical bird—garuda) believed to protect the temple from evil and to emphasize the great power of the then-kings. There are also rare carvings, not usually seen on other temples, of kinnari (legendary creatures with the body of a woman and the wings of a bird).

Photo by: Moeun Nhean

Director of Banteay Meanchey provincial cultural department Mr. Him Tim says Banteay Chhmar was once a large city, similar in layout to the compound of Angkor Wat, with a central tower and four smaller outer temples.

“In total, we have found 271 temples in Banteay Meanchey province. I believe this particular temple, Banteay Chhmar, was once a very sacred place,” Mr. Him says.

Khmer cultural expert Dr. Tranet says, “If we look back over the history pages of Cambodia during the magnificent Angkorian era—under the sacred shadow of Jayavarman VII—it is recognized that Banteay Chhmar was not only a place of worship, but also a capital city to rival that of Angkor.”

Dr. Tranet says Banteay Chhmar was a door to the famous capital of Angkor itself and a strategic city for the political management of Cambodia’s western and northwestern provinces, now provinces of Thailand.

Photo by: Moeun Nhean

Please direct media inquiries to:
GHF Press press@globalheritagefund.org or (650) 325 7520