Preah Ko ( km, ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ, "The Sacred Bull") was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of

Hariharalaya Hariharalaya ( km, ហរិហរាល័យ, Hariharalay) was an ancient city and capital of the Khmer empire located near Siem Reap, Cambodia in an area now called Roluos ( Khmer: រលួស). Today, all that remains of the city are the r ...

(in the area that today is called Roluos), some 15 kilometers south-east of the main group of temples at

Angkor Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. The temple was built under the Khmer King

Indravarman I Indravarman I ( km, ឥន្រ្ទវរ្ម័នទី១) was a ruler of Khmer Empire who reigned from Hariharalaya between 877/78 and 889/890 CE. Indravarman's ancestors According to the inscriptions of the Práḥ Kô temple, consec ...

in 879 to honor members of the king's family, whom it places in relation with the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deity

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

.art-and-archaeology.com
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Etymology

Preah Ko (Sacred Bull) derives its name from the three statues of sandstone located in the front of and facing the temple's central towers. These statues represent

Nandi Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

, the white bull who serves as the mount of

.Higham, C., 2001, The Civilization of Angkor, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,

History

After the Khmer king

Jayavarman II Jayavarman II ( km, ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី២; c. 770 – 850) (reigned c. 802–850) was a Khmer prince who founded and became the ruler of the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) after unifying the Khmer civilization. The Khmer Empire was the ...

founded the Khmer empire in 802 A.D., he finally established his capital at

, where he died.

was the nephew of

. When he ascended to the throne, he ordered the construction first of Preah Ko, which was dedicated in 879, and later of the temple-mountain known as the

Bakong Bakong ( km, បាគង ) is the first Khmer temple mountain of sandstone constructed by rulers of the Khmer Empire at Angkor near modern Siem Reap in Cambodia. In the final decades of the 9th century AD, it served as the official state tem ...

. It is likely that this building program was made possible by the king's peaceful reign and his ability to draw income from the expanding empire. A restoration of the towers took place in early 1990s, financed by German government.

Site

Preah Ko consists of six brick towers arranged in two rows of three towers each perched on a sandstone platform. The towers face east, and the front central tower is the tallest. The sanctuaries are dedicated to three divinized forefathers of Indravarman and their respective wives. The front central tower is dedicated to

, the founder of the Khmer empire. The tower to the left is dedicated to Prithivindreshvara, King Indravarman's father; the tower to the right to Rudreshvara, his grandfather. The three rear towers are dedicated to the wives of these three men.Ohio State University
The central towers all bear images of the

god

.Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd.,

Gallery

File:Preah Ko 2.jpg, File:Preah Ko 3.jpg, File:Roulos Group - 003 Preah Ko (8588894346).jpg, File:Roulos Group - 002 Preah Ko (8588893064).jpg, File:Roulos Group - 001 Preah Ko (8588892040).jpg, File:Preah Kô4.JPG, File:Gardien de porte du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6823876122).jpg, File:Gardienne du temple Lolei (Angkor) (6969557243).jpg, File:Gardienne du temple Lolei (Angkor) (6826225808).jpg, File:Gardienne du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6823876596).jpg, File:Fausse-porte du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6821828786).jpg File:Linteau du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6969999537).jpg, File:Chinhe Preah Ko Cambodia0602.jpg, File:Nandi Preah Ko Cambodia0573.jpg, File:Taureaux Nandin du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6967953405).jpg,

Footnotes

References