Ta Prohm
The building complex of Ta Prohm is an abandoned temple complex in Cambodia consisting of temples, monasteries, other smaller buildings and the surrounding wall with corner towers and gopurams ( entrance pavilion). It is located about two kilometers northeast of Angkor Wat, the most famous and largest temples in the area of Angkor.
History and religious significance
Later extensions was built Ta Prohm from the late 12th and into the 13th century, under the reign of King Jayavarman VII took place under King Indravarman II The original name was " Rajavihara " (Sanskrit ), which is also the designated use: .. The royal Monastery. Although Jayavarman VII and his mother, to whom he dedicated the facility, were Buddhists, can be found in Ta Prohm a variety of reliefs with scenes from Hindu mythology ( Krishna, Vishnu, from the Ramayana, etc.). After the completion of 260 gods and goddesses were worshiped in the shrines. The dedication of the temple took place in 1186 in honor of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist concept of " perfection of wisdom ". Like many of the temples at Angkor, Ta Prohm has thus an example of the syncretism of the former Khmer population.
A remarkable illustration shows the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, from the house of his parents and his hometown. He rides on a horse, with many gods bear its legs to muffle the sound of the hooves so that Gautama unnoticed can begin his search.
Architecture
The outer boundary wall of the plant encloses an area of about 60 hectares, of which the temple and its surrounding buildings occupy only one hectare. Beyond the outer wall there were around 3,140 villages with a total of 80,000 inhabitants. On the site itself lived primarily monks. A temple inscription is their number with 12,640.
Like everywhere else in Angkor were built of stone buildings reserved for religious purposes. The people, even the king, lived in houses made of wood. This is also the reason why only the temples survived the centuries, while all secular buildings fell to the tropical humid climate to the victim.
Ta Prohm was built in the early Bayon style, whose most striking feature is often several meters high towers with faces of the Bodhisattva Lokeshvara.
Ruins and strangler figs
A special position among the temples of Angkor and in the plans of visitors taking Ta Prohm one because of the dilapidated condition. The restorers and architects of the École française d' Extrême -Orient ( EFEO ), the first, which began in modern times to restore the temple, decided to leave a temple in the state in which they found him. The choice fell on Ta Prohm. The vegetation and the fallen bricks were removed only if and ensures that visitors are able to commit the facility. Particularly impressive are the strangler figs (Ficus virens ) and the even larger Tetrameles nudiflora whose roots whole building overgrown.
Others
The ruins were used as a backdrop for the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.