Banteay Kdei

As with most temples at Angkor, Banteay Kdei is oriented east; the eastern exterior gopura (entrance gate) is located just across from the platform on the west bank of the small reservoir, Srah Srang. The face towers and the surrounding laterite wall at Banteay Kdei, as well as those at Ta Prohm, appear to have been built later than the structures within the moat-enclosed areas of both temple complexes.

As you pass through the eastern tower gate of Banteay Kdei, note the 6-foot-tall (2 m) Garuda sculptures in the corners beside the entryway. The Garuda, a mythological half-man, half-bird, served as the mount for Vishnu. The northern, interior Garuda of the east gopura is the best preserved of the four, though those at the western entrance are in better condition.

After a short distance through the wooded temple grounds you will pass the ruins of two small structures before arriving at a rectangular causeway adorned with guardian lions and naga balustrades that spans the moat. Just beyond this terrace is the original outer gopura, cruiciform in design, with a central entranceway. As you enter the central chamber note the small Garudas just beneath the corbel-arch ceiling that are similar to those at Preah Khan. In this chamber, you will come upon a seated Buddha, which was not part of the original temple. Sometime after the death of Jayavarman VII, most Buddhist imagery in the kingdom was systematically destroyed. Evidence of this can be seen on the walls around the seated Buddha, particularly in the small chamber to the north. Buddha images lightly carved in the walls have been either chipped away, or crudely converted into Hindu images; the one just west and north of the seated Buddha having been given a third eye, to transform him into a seated Shiva!

Perhaps also related to this iconoclasm, Banteay Kdei was the site of an astonishing discovery: In 2001, 274 fragmentary and intact images of the Mahayana Buddhist Triad: the Buddha, the Boddhisatva Lokesvara, and the Pranjnaparamita were discovered in a pit near the building to the northeast of the aforementioned landing. That the images were all in a single pit, covered with large sandstone blocks, suggests they were either hastily disposed of or buried for their preservation during the backlash against Buddhism following Jayavarman VII’s death. 264 of the statues have been restored, 101 of which are on display at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk Museum and others in the newer Angkor National Museum.

After passing through the gopura you will come upon a naga-lined causeway that leads to the now roofless Hall of Dancers. Before entering, note the guardians carved into the sandstone: a scowling Asura (demon) to your right and a more sublime Deva (god) to your left. There are even the remnants of free-standing statues of such guardians outside the doorway, the first appearance of such occuring at this temple and at Preah Khan, where intact statues can be found.

The Hall of Dancers may once have been the site for ritual dances, a theory arising from the apsara dancers carved into the pillars of the room that once supported a wooden or tile-covered corbel roof. Both Preah Khan and Ta Phrom have similar halls and their inscriptions mentioned hundreds of dancers within the populations that served those temples.

As you continue through the final two gopuras leading to the central sanctuary, notice the guardians beside the series of doorways and the light relief on the interior walls of the corridors and doorways. As you enter the central sanctuary there is further evidence of the anti-Buddhist backlash: the doorways are riddled with pockmarks and several windows and doorways sealed. It has been rumored that Pol Pot took refuge within the central sanctuary during the civil war. Nonetheless, there is little of interest in the central sanctuary area other than a bas-relief featuring the Buddha: look for a westward facing fronton above the doorway just prior to the western interior gopura (the one that houses a square pedestal for a linga). This image was likely spared destruction because the chamber housing it was enclosed in a wooden roof that hid the carving.

Complete your tour of Banteay Kdei by continuing through the western, exterior gopuras, the first of which is partially collapsed but makes an excellent photo opportunity of a large silk-cotton tree growing atop the southern flank. As you pass through the exterior gopura, capped with the Lokesvara face tower, check out the intact Garudas whose claws are gripping nagas, the Garuda’s mortal enemy. Finally, as you drive north, away from the temple, notice the small lotus shaped tiles atop the exterior wall. Nearly 45,000 of these tiles on the walls surrounding Banteay Kdei and other Buddhist temples once featured small Buddha images that were chipped away as part of the iconoclasm mentioned earlier.