Terrace of the Leper King

At the far northern end of the Elephant Terrace is a smaller terrace also facing the Royal Plaza. The terrace is named after the legend of the Leper King (a story depicted in bas-relief on an inner gallery of Bayon temple), as a result of a misinterpretation of the statue that was discovered on top of the terrace. Covered in lichen when western archaeologists first discovered it, the naked, androgynous statue is now generally believed to be Yama, the god of death or judgment in the underworld. The original terrace may have once been occupied by wooden structures that served as a courthouse or as the location of funerary pyres. The current statue as well as those surrounding it are replicas; the original statue of Yama now graces the gardens in the center of the National Museum in Phnom Penh. Stairs leading up to the terrace are located towards the rear of the platform on the north and south sides.

The small platform upon which the statues sit is surrounded by two 20 ft (6m) high retaining walls: one facing out towards the Royal Plaza and the other buried behind it, now excavated and accessible via a narrow corridor with entrances besides the north and south stairs.

Each of the two retaining walls is completely covered with carvings, featuring rows of bas-relief nagas, apsaras, and devatas, as well as sword and club wielding male figures that may represent Yama and/or his henchmen. These carvings are similar to those surrounding the royal baths near Phimeanakas, suggesting a construction date around the reigns of Jayavarman VII or VIII. The reason for the interior wall is unknown, though it may simply be that the second wall was added to buttress the terrace as the inner wall collapsed under the weight of the platform. Some have argued that the levels of bas-reliefs represent the heavens of Mount Meru and that the lowest levels of the interior wall, once entirely covered in earth, represent the depths of the underworld.