Travel 010 : Cambodia : 25 Dec : Banteay Samre and Pre Rup

Coming back into the inner circle, my next stop was Banteay Samre.

The temple has multiple layers and each layer has four entrances.  Above most of the entrance gates, many Hindu epics scenes are sculptured. One here is a battle scene

The last stop for the Chrismas was Pre Rup. Here I watched the sun set from the peak of this pyramid structure.  Chrismas day ended with Pre Rup.

Travel 009 : Cambodia : 25 Dec : Banteay Srei

Next stop was Banteay Srei temple.  I crossed this temple on my way to Kbal Spean at about 9am and I saw many tourist buses.  But, when I came back at about 11.30, there is very little crowd in this temple.  This is the first temple I saw on my trip that is different from other temples in many ways.  The area is small, the actual buildings so tiny that a normal man cannot go into the individual sanctuaries.  But, most of the sculptures carved here are very clear and very striking.  As each is carved on a small wall (compared to the Angkor Wat bas-reliefs), it is very detailed and clear.

One with Indiran on his vahana (Vehicle) Ayravadham (three faced elephant)

 One with the Narashimha avatar of Vishnu (lion face and human body)

One with Shiva and Parvathi on the Nandhi.

One with Krishna's kalinga nardhanam (dancing on the snake kalinga)

One with the Natarajar (the dancing form of Shiva)

One with Ravana shaking the mount kailash with Shiva and Parvathi on top of it.
















It is a good blend of various form of both Shiva and Vishnu.