Hariharalaya ( km, ហរិហរាល័យ, Hariharalay) was an ancient city and capital of the Khmer empire located near Siem Reap,

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 ...

in an area now called

Roluos Roluos, also Phumi Roluos Chas, is a small town and khum (commune) of Svay Chek District in Banteay Meanchey Province in north-western Cambodia. It is located on road 56, 24km north of Sisophon. Villages * Baek Chan Thmei * Khvav Kaeut * Stu ...

( Khmer: រលួស). Today, all that remains of the city are the ruins of several royal temples:

Preah Ko Preah Ko ( km, ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ, "The Sacred Bull") was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of Hariharalaya (in the area that today is called Roluos), some 15 kilometers south-east of the main ...

, 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 ...

Lolei Lolei ( km, ប្រាសាទលលៃ) is the northernmost temple of the Roluos group of three late 9th century Hindu temples at Angkor, Cambodia, the others members of which are Preah Ko and the Bakong. Lolei was the last of the three tem ...

.Higham, C., 2001, The Civilization of Angkor, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd.,

Etymology

The name "Hariharalaya" is derived from the name of

Harihara Harihara (Sanskrit: हरिहर) is the fused sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) from Hindu theology. Hari is the form of Vishnu, and Hara is the form of Shiva. Harihara is also known as Shankaranarayana ("Shankara" ...

, a

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 prominent in pre-Angkorian

. The name "Harihara" in turn is a composite of "Hari" (one of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

's names listed in Vishnu sahasranama) and "Hara" (meaning the Hindu god

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 ...

). Cambodian representations of Harihara were of a male deity whose one side bore the attributes of

and whose other side bore the attributes of

. For example, the deity’s head-covering consisted of a mitre-type hat (the attribute of Vishnu) on one side and as twisted locks of hair (the attribute of Shiva) on the other. Alaya is a sanskrit word meaning "temple," or "home," so Hariharalaya can mean the home of the deity Harihara or the home of a temple dedicated to the deity Harihara.

History

Toward the end of the 8th century A.D., the Cambodian 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 ...

conquered vast territories near the great lake Tonle Sap. For at least part of this time, he established his capital at Hariharalaya. However, when he declared himself the universal monarch of the country in 802 A.D., he did so not at Hariharalaya, but at

Mahendraparvata Mahendraparvata ( km, មហេន្ទ្របវ៌ត) is an ancient city of the Khmer Empire era in Cambodia. The existence of the city has been known for decades, but much of it lay concealed by forest and earth. The city was uncovered ...

on the Phnom Kulen Plateau. Later, he returned the capital to Hariharalaya, where he died in 835.

was succeeded by

Jayavarman III Very little is known about Jayavarman II's son and successor, Jayavarman III ( km, ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី៣), or Vishnuloka, the second ruler of Angkor. The future Khmer king, Yasovarman I Yasovarman I ( km, ព្រះបាទយ ...

and then by

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 ...

, who were responsible for the completion of the royal temple mountain known as the

and the construction of Indratataka

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 ...

.Coèdes, George (edited by Walter F. Vella; translated by Susan Brown Cowing). ''The Indianized states of Southeast Asia''. University of Hawai`i Press. 1986. . p.110ff

consecrated the temple’s dominant religious symbol, a

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary '' murti'' or devotional ...

called Sri Indresvara (the name is a combination of the king’s name with that of Shiva), in 881. Indravarman I also constructed the much smaller temple today called

("Sacred Bull"), dedicated in 880. In 889, Indravarman I was succeeded by his son

Yasovarman I Yasovarman I ( km, ព្រះបាទយសោវរ្ម័នទី១) was an Angkorian king who reigned in 889–910 CE. He was called " Leper King". Early years Yasovarman was a son of King Indravarman I and his wife Indradevi. Yaaso ...

, who constructed the temple of

(the name may be a modern corruption of "Hariharalaya") on an artificial island in the middle of Indratataka. Yasovarman also founded a new city at the site of Angkor Thom north of modern Siem Reap and called it Yasodharapura. Yasovarman made the new city his capital and constructed a new royal temple mountain, known as the Bakheng. Yasodharapura was to survive until the 1170s when it was sacked by invaders from Champa.Freeman and Jacques, p.9ff.

References

* Freeman, Michael and Jacques, Claude. ''Ancient Angkor''. River Books. 2006. . * Falser, Michael. ''The Pre-Angkorian Temple of Preah Ko. A Sourcebook of the History, Construction and Ornamentation of the Preah Ko Style''. White Lotos Publication. Bangkok 2006. (200 pages, )

Footnotes

{{reflist, 2 Hindu temples in Cambodia Archaeological sites in Cambodia Former populated places in Cambodia Buildings and structures in Banteay Meanchey province 800s 1st millennium in Cambodia

Etymology

History

See also

References

Footnotes