ART 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Bayon, Jayavarman Vii, Angkor Thom
Document Summary
Tended and occupied by buddhist monks after the fall of the dynasty. Commemorative temple to him and to vishnu. Religion was a hindu cult of ruler worship, with some aspects of buddhism. Form is of mt. meru, sacred mtn in hindu cultue. Moat surrounded mini city, long walkway to city itself. Corbeled galleries with reliefs of avatars of vishnu. Gods and demons engaged in 1000 yr battle to secure immortal elixir. Ask help of vishnu when kept failing, who told them to work together. Churning sea of milk and making elixir. Gateways surround the bayon, a mt meru form of temple. Causeway depicting the churning of the sea of milk. Faces of jayavarman, all oriented to compass points. Ruler was both ruler and bodhisatva (divine) 2672 relief panels, if laid end to end would be 6 km long. Images of people behaving properly and badly in relief. At very top is open, like enlightenment.