Kravan Temple

                                                                     Kravan Temple

Kravan Temple, located south of Srah Srang Angkor in history, is located east of the capital of Yasodhapura during the reign of King Hasivarman I. (900-921 AD) in the era of Phnom Bakheng in the 10th century.

The temple has five brick towers built on a single block, arranged in a straight line. Four towers collapsed due to natural atmospheric pressure and age. The five towers of this temple face east, with one tower having a staircase and one entrance Also. The five towers are all different in size, with the central tower being the largest and the two towers on either side the largest. Slightly smaller, and the last tower on either side is smaller.

The ancestors of Khmer architects built temples in this form in relation to the authority of the gods and of mankind. This means that in the construction that is moving forward, what is in the middle in front of them all play an important role. Mostly for leading or commanding the entourage. As for the life of the deities, the kings, the people, the animals, the plants, the objects on either side are all companions, only those companions are Different status.

For the architecture in the Phnom Bakheng period, there is a slight decline due to the use of brick material to build a temple that is wrong. From Phnom Bakheng temple during the reign of Yasovarman I (889-900 AD) in the late ninth and early tenth centuries . Phnom Bakheng is full of sandstone and has the most beautiful carvings.

The reason for the decline in the architectural construction of this Khmer temple is due to disputes within the royal family. When Yasovarman I died, he had two sons, Ream Hasivarman I (900). - 922 AD) and younger brother King Isanvarman II (922-925 AD). At that time, there was a king with him named Jayavarman IV, who was the brother-in-law of Yasovarman I. With the son of King Yasovarman I, he decided to leave the capital of Yasothon to establish a new capital. The other is the "capital of Koh Ker or Chok Kok Kiri or Kork Koki" which is located 70 kilometers northeast of the city. Angroy Sothapura, carrying with him the doctrine of the Devaraja, revered the penis of Preah Iso in large numbers (as in Khmer art in the Koh Ker period, already mentioned).

In the tower of Kravan temple, there are many sculptures such as the image of Vishnu riding a garuda with precious hands such as the magic circle, the snail, the stick Art and the ball represent the earth. Another of the most striking sculptures is "The Great Transcendence of the Three Worlds", which tells the story of Vishnu deity and Pali in the three-step world of Vishnu. Not only that, Kravan temple also has sculptures about the marriage of Vishnu and Princess Lakmei. This temple was built by the ancient architects to honor the Hindu religion as a whole.

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