The East Baray ( km, បារាយណ៍ខាងកើត), or Yashodharatataka, is a now-dry

baray A ''baray'' ( km, បារាយណ៍) is an artificial body of water which is a common element of the architectural style of the Khmer Empire of Southeast Asia. The largest are the East Baray and West Baray in the Angkor area, each rectangu ...

, or artificial body of water, 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 Thailan ...

, oriented east-west and located just east of the walled city Angkor Thom. It was built around the year 900 AD during the reign of King Yasovarman. Fed by the

Siem Reap River The Siem Reap River (Steung Siem Reap; km, ស្ទឹងសៀមរាប) is a river flowing through Siem Reap Province, in north-west Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingd ...

flowing down from the Kulen Hills, it was the second-largest baray in the Angkor region (after the

West Baray The West Baray ( km, បារាយណ៍ខាងលិច, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ) or Baray Teuk Thla ( km, បារាយណ៍ទឹកថ្លា, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; "Clear Water Reservoir") is a baray, or reservoir, at Angkor, Cambodi ...

) and one of the largest handcut water reservoirs on Earth, measuring roughly 3.6 kilometers by 870 m and holding over 50 million cubic meters of water. Stones bearing inscriptions that mark the construction of the baray have been found at all four of its corners.Higham, C., 2001, The Civilization of Angkor, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, The labour and organization necessary for its construction were staggering: Its dikes contain roughly 8 million cubic meters of fill. Scholars are divided on the purpose of this and other barays. By some theories, they held water for irrigation, but no inscription has been found mentioning such a function. Other theories say that barays served primarily a symbolic purpose in Khmer religious life, representing the seas of creation that surround

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

, home of 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 ...

gods. The East Baray today contains no water; farmers till crops on its bed. But its outlines remain clearly visible in satellite photographs. In the middle of the baray is the

East Mebon The East Mebon ( km, ប្រាសាទមេបុណ្យខាងកើត) is a 10th Century temple at Angkor, Cambodia. Built during the reign of King Rajendravarman, it stands on what was an artificial island at the center of the now dry ...

temple, located on elevated ground that was an island in the days when the baray contained water.

References

Angkorian sites Angkorian sites in Siem Reap Province {{Cambodia-struct-stub