RECLINING VISHNUThe Khmer kings were exceedingly
powerful and possessed enormous wealth. A now-fragmentary statue
(FIG. 6-29) portraying Vishnu lying on the cosmic ocean testifies to
both the luxurious nature of much Khmer art and to the mastery of
Khmer bronze casters. The surviving portion is about 8 feet long. In
complete form, at well over 20 feet long, the Vishnu statue was among
the largest bronzes of the ancient and medieval worlds, surpassed
only by such lost wonders as the statue of Athena (FIG. 5-46) in the
Parthenon and the 120-foot-tall colossus of the Roman emperor
Nero (see “The Golden House of Nero,” Chapter 10, page 259). Orig-
inally, gold and silver inlays and jewels embellished the image, and
the god wore a separate miter on his head. The subject of the gigantic
statue is the same as that carved in relief (FIG. 6-20) on the Deogarh
Vishnu Temple. Vishnu lies asleep on the cosmic ocean at the mo-
ment of the creation of the universe. In the myth, a lotus stem grows
from Vishnu’s navel, its flower supporting Brahma, the creator god.
In this statue, Vishnu probably had a waterspout emerging from his
navel, indicating his ability to create the waters as well as to create
Brahma and protect the earth. The statue was displayed in an island
temple in the western baray (reservoir) of Angkor.
ANGKOR WATFor more than four centuries, successive kings
worked on the construction of the site of Angkor. Founded by In-
dravarman (r. 877–889), Angkor is an engineering marvel, a grand
complex of temples and palaces within a rectangular grid of canals
and reservoirs fed by local rivers. Each of the Khmer kings built a
temple mountain at Angkor and installed his personal god—Shiva,
Vishnu, or the Buddha—on top and gave the god part of his own
royal name, implying that the king was a manifestation of the deity.
When the king died, the Khmer believed that the god reabsorbed
him, because he had been the earthly portion of the deity during his
lifetime, so they worshiped the king’s image as the god. This concept
of kingship approaches an actual deification of the ruler, familiar in
many other societies, such as pharaonic Egypt (see Chapter 3).
Of all the monuments the Khmer kings erected, Angkor Wat (FIG.
6-30) is the most spectacular. Built by Suryavarman II (r. 1113–
1150), it is the largest of the many Khmer temple complexes. Angkor
Wat rises from a huge rectangle of land delineated by a moat measur-
ing about 5,000 4,000 feet. Like the other Khmer temples, its pur-
pose was to associate the king with his personal god, in this case
Vishnu. The centerpiece of the complex is a tall stepped tower sur-
rounded by four smaller towers connected by covered galleries. The
five towers symbolize the five peaks of Mount Meru, the sacred moun-
tain at the center of the universe. Two more circuit walls with galleries,
towers, and gates enclose the central block. Thus, as one progresses in-
ward through the complex, the towers rise ever higher, in similar man-
ner as the towers of Khajuraho’s Vishvanatha Temple (FIG. 6-23) but in
a more complex sequence and on a much grander scale.
Throughout Angkor Wat, stone reliefs glorify both Vishnu in his
various avatars and Suryavarman II. A detail of a relief (FIG. 6-31)
on the inner wall of the lowest gallery shows the king holding court.
Suryavarman II sits on an elaborate wooden throne, its bronze legs
rising as cobra heads. Kneeling retainers, smaller than the king be-
cause they are lesser figures in the Khmer hierarchy, hold a forest of
umbrellas and fans, emblems of Suryavarman’s exalted rank. In the
reliefs of Angkor Wat, religion and politics are united.6-29Vishnu lying on the cosmic ocean, from the Mebon temple on an island in the western baray, Angkor,
Cambodia, 11th century. Bronze, 8long.
This fragmentary hollow-cast bronze statue was originally more than 20 feet long and inlaid with gold, silver, and
jewels. It portrays Vishnu asleep on the cosmic ocean at the moment of the universe’s creation.1 ft.176 Chapter 6 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BEFORE 1200