According to legend, nearly 1000 years ago, as laborers struggled to hoist massive sandstone blocks to the upper level of King Jayavarman V’s state-temple, a storm blew in.
A flash of lightning pierced the sky, striking the temple, and construction was halted as a result of this inauspicious omen. Or perhaps the king died before the temple was completed. Either way, this colossal, incomplete sandstone temple is one of the most impressive pyramids built by the kings of Angkor.
One of the most striking Mount Meru inspired state temples, Ta Keo was commissioned by Jayavarman V, who selected an unusual location for his state temple, some distance from the royal palace enclosure where he had the phimeanakas built.
Ta Keo was the first temple mountain to be constructed entirely of sandstone, and while it remains undecorated, its boxy, unfinished appearance simply highlights the magnitude of the temple itself, including the massive blocks of particularly dense sandstone that were used to build it.
Inscriptions at the temple mention the year 1007 as a construction date, which is around the time that Jayavarman V is thought to have died. The death of the king is a more reasonable explanation for why the temple was left incomplete than the inscription found elsewhere suggesting a lightning strike was interpreted as a bad omen.
The modern name of the temple, “Ta Keo,” is generally interpreted as “Ancestor Keo” but the temple was also referred to as “The tower of crystal or glass”. The original name was likely that of the Shiva-linga that would have been enshrined in the central sanctuary. Stylistic similarities and later inscriptions that mention the name Hemasringagiri, “The Mountain with Golden Peaks,” suggesting that the upper towers of both Ta Keo and Phimeanakas, which also carries the title of ‘golden tower,’ were both completed by Suryavarman I, who was responsible for many temple reconstructions.
While there are certain design features of Ta Keo that were hitherto unemployed at earlier pyramid-temples, Ta Keo still features a quincunx of five towers at its summit, all of which are eastward facing and represent the peaks of Mount Meru, home of the gods.
Orientation
If returning along the path from Ta Nei, you will walk out of the woods on the eastern side of the temple towards which it is oriented. If you come via tuk-tuk, you are likely to be dropped off on the west side and should walk around to the east side prior to ascending the pyramid. The first view of Ta Keo from the east, after walking out of the woods is particularly impressive and is best photographed early in the morning.
The eastern approach begins with square boundary stones that lead directly to the temple steps. While stairways at each of the cardinal directions lead up the three platforms to the summit, the eastern stairs may seem steep, but those from the north, west, and south are dangerously steeper. (Perhaps Jayavarman V perished after slipping on the stairs during a rain storm!)
Atop the third platform are a quincunx of towers, each of which sits upon its own raised platform, the central prasat a towering 72 feet (21 m) high above the ground.
Once you reach the summit, while the towers are generally unadorned, the magnitude of the blocks used to build the towers is awe inspiring; the precision with which the stones were cut allowed the builders to construct the temple without molding. You may notice some sandstone carving, though this is minimal. The density of the sandstone made it difficult to carve, which may be another reason the temple was never finished by subsequent kings. Entering the central sanctuary, you will find a small shrine to Buddha, though the temple was almost certainly originally built to honor Shiva. The summit is a decent place to watch the sunset.