We woke up quite early today. Takshu has been quite unwell right from the beginning of the trip and today he’s feverish again. We’ve been controlling his bouts of temperature with liberal use of Paracetamol as well as Amoxycillin which I picked up just before catching the flight from Heathrow. Today is the last day of Amoxycillin and I’m slightly worried that he may have contracted that dreaded flu before leaving the UK. Anyhow, he’s a tough lad like his dad and is ready after a little tickling that makes him laugh. I’ve realized that he responds far better to laughter than to disciplined instructions. I have a wonderful breakfast which included noodles, fried rice, chopped and deep fried fish, shrimps, spring onions, coriander, fish stock, sweet-chilli sauce and palm sugar sprinkled on top. That’s the Khmer style – light, delicious and hassle-free. Ratha and Sukun were waiting for us. We first had to get photo-tickets worth $40 for a three-day pass. One day pass is $20 and a week-long pass $60. I realised soon that Angkor and its complex requires a week for a proper tour. After passing through the Angkor complex check-point, we were in front of the majestic east gate of Angkor Thom. This gate is one with a four-headed statue said to represent the benevolent Bodhisattva Lokesvara, who looks out to each cardinal direction. This was added after Bayon temple was built.
Angkor (Nakor) Thom (Great) means Megacity or Mahanagar. It was founded by Jayavarman VII in 1181 and was one of the largest cities of Khmer empire. He was a Buddhist who enforced a reversion into devout and assertive Hinduism for himself and his state, becoming destructive towards Buddhism, much as its followers had been to Hindu structures until then. It is square in size enclosed by a moat and a 8 m high wall running 3km on each side covering an area of 900 hectares. The moat is 100m wide and 5m deep. There are 4 gates 23m high on all four sides with an additional gate known as victory gate on the east. Its east gate is flanked by 54 almond-eyed devatas and round-eyed asuras (Gods and Demons respectively) each, 108 in all, churning the ocean represented by the water in the moat. Bayon the state temple of Jayavarman VII is situated in the centre of Angkor Thom. Inside the city are other important temples like Baphoun, Phimean Akas, Preah Pallilay, Preah Pithu, etc. It also has beautiful terraces of Elephants and Leper King.
The entrance is through the rainbow bridge over the moat. Its known as rainbow bridge as it connects the outside world to the inner sanctuary across the cosmic oceans. Much as a rainbow makes an ethereal connection between the viewer and his universe, so does this bridge. This symbolism permeates all Angkor’s temples, which are built on a stereotypical template derived from ancient Hinduism’s belief about how the universe was created. Legend has it that in time immemorial there was one continent only, called Jambudvipa. There were five oceans, each separated from the other by five mountain ranges until at the centre of it lay the continent. There was a divine tussle between the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) who churned the ocean by tugging and twisting a coiled serpent Naga Vasuki, which is looped around a thick protuberance with sheer sides, rounded at the tip, representing Mount Meru, a key landmark in Indian sacred geography. This tug of war is enacted in order to get Amrit, or divine nectar. Whosoever got the nectar and devoured it first was assured of control of earth. In the cosmic tug of war the demons were winning and had been able to infiltrate the team of gods, when Vishnu distracted them by turning himself into a beautiful Apsara called Mohini, allowing the Devas to turn the tables on demons and gain eternal control over Jambudvipa. This sequence, known as Samudra-manthan or churning of the sea is played out as balustrades of the road leading to the south gate. Various permutations of this narrative is depicted in Angkor wat, and other sacred places in south and south-east Asia.
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