Neak Pean is a quiet beautiful temple in Angkor Archaeological Park in an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray.
Temple
Info
Neak Pean (The entwined serpents), is an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray, which was associated with Preah Khan temple, built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. It is the "Mebon" of the Preah Khan Baray (the "Jayatataka" of the inscription).
Neak Pean is one of the temples in the Grand Circuit in the Angkor Archaeological Park that normally after finished the visit of Preah Khan, you will go to the north and turn right to the east to get there and it is about 3.5 km from the Preah Khan temple.
On the rainy season, much of the temple area is flooded. A wooden walkway over the waters leads to the central sanctuary, which is fenced off to protect it from further decay.
The temple area on the island in the center of the Jayatataka Baray is enclosed by a square laterite wall measuring 350 meters wide, which were contained a number of ponds. While the outer ponds have gone, the central pond and four surrounding ponds remain.
The central pond of Neak Pean symbolizes lake Anavatapta, a lake located in the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology. At each of its four sides are a smaller pond (Srah) and a chapel connecting the large central pond with the surrounding ones.
The four chapels were used by pilgrims who would wash away their sins in the cleansing waters of the central pond. In each chapel, there is a stone gargoyle in a different shape, namely ahead of a King, an elephant, a lion, and a horse. Through their open mouths flowed water that filled that chapel’s small basins with the healing waters from the central pool. Each of the chapels contains a base, on which the main idol stood. Several depictions of Lokeshvara can be found inside the chapels.
In the center of the central pond is a circular island with a diameter of 14 meters, on which stands the sanctuary. The sandstone sanctuary is set on a circular stone base, encircled by two Naga snakes, guarding the East entrance of the temple. At the other end (West) their tales intertwine, from which the temple derives its name; Neak Pean translates to “the entwined snakes”.
Originally the sanctuary had doors on each of the four cardinal directions. At one point three of them were closed, leaving just the East entrance. The false doors were adorned with large carved depictions of Lokeshvara, believed to possess the powers of healing. On the pediment over the East entrance is a depiction of the Buddha. The image of the Buddha that was enshrined inside the sanctuary is no longer there.
Scattered around the central sanctuary are several Lingas (the representation of Shiva), and Yonis (the female counterpart of the linga). In front of the East entrance stands a statue of the flying horse Balaha, often partly submerged in the rainy season.
For the etymology and history: Neak Pean, some historians believe that Neak Pean represents Anavatapta, a mythical lake in the Himalayas whose waters are thought to cure all illness. The name is derived from the sculptures of snakes (Naga) running around the base of the temple structure. Neak is derived from the Sanskrit word Naga "They are Nanda and Upananda, two nagas traditionally associated with Lake Anavatapta.
Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes (the ancients believed that going into these pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease); it is one of the many hospitals that Jayavarman VII built.
It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. Four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind. Each is connected to the central water source, the main tank, by a stone conduit "presided over by one of Four Great Animals (Maha Ajaneya Pasu) namely Elephant, Bull, Horse, and Lion, corresponding to the north, east, south, and west quarters.
The stone conduits in the little pavilions are fashioned to represent the heads of the Four Great Animals...the only exception being that on the east, which represents a human head instead of a bull's. Originally, four sculptures stood on the floor of the lake. The only remaining statue is that of the horse Balaha, a form of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, saving sailors from the ogresses of Tamradvipa. The temple on the lake was originally dedicated to Avalokitesvara.
Temple
Facts
Name- Neak Pean temple (The Buddhist temple on a circular island in Jayatataka Baray).
Completed: Second half of the 12th century:
Builder: Jayavarman VII
Cultures: Khmer Empire
Affiliation: Hinduism
Deity: Buddha
Location: In the center of the Jayatataka Baray, East of Preah Khan about 3.5 km.
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