The Bayon, Buddhist Shrine, Angkor, Cambodia
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The Bayon
Although the Bayon is a Buddhist shrine, it
utilizes some features from the cosmology of
Hinduism.
It was built by King
Jayavarman VII circa 1190 A.D.
Built smack in the middle of the walled city
of Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple was meant to
represent the crossroads between earth and
heaven. Each side of the Angkor Thom runs
precisely south to north and west to east.
The Bayon is famous for its large faces made
of stone representing the bodhisattva
Buddhist deity, Avalokiteshvara (the Buddha
of Compassion). Each one faces outward and
keeps watch at each point
of the compass. Believed to
be the image of Jayavarman, the large
smiling image has been called Southeast
Asia’s “Mona Lisa”. Each of the 51 small
towers which surround Bayon has its own set
of 4 faces on top.
Two lengthy walls surround the Bayon and
each one boasts an impressive collection of
low relief scenes depicting historical as
well as mythological events. More than
eleven thousand figures carved in stone
cover the entire length of the wall which
spans 1.2 kilometers. It is believed that
all the figures carved into the wall were
gilded and painted in gold but since then
this impressive feature has faded over the
years.
