Bayon Temple (ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន)

 The Bayon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayoăn [praːsaːt baːjŏən]) is a richly decorated Khmer Buddhist/Hindu temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII (Khmer: ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧), the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ). Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by subsequent Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. These faces have been associated with the Hindu God Brahma because of the four faces looking in different directions but archaeologists also associate it with Buddha. The temple has two sets of bas-reliefs, which present a combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main conservatory body, the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the Baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat (Khmer: ប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្ត). 

History

The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor (Khmer: ក្រុងអង្គរ), and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily to worship Brahma, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm. Originally a Mahayana Buddhist temple, the Bayon was the centerpiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of monumental construction and public works, which was also responsible for the walls and nāga-bridges of Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ) and the temples of Preah Khan (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះខ័ន), Ta Prohm (Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម) and Banteay Kdei (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយក្តី).

The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII, himself (Khmer: ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧). Scholars have theorized that the faces belong to the Bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara. Others have argued that the faces, arranged in four, resemble those of Brahma. The two hypotheses need not be regarded as mutually exclusive. Angkor scholar George Coedès has theorized that Jayavarman VII stood squarely in the tradition of the Khmer monarchs in thinking of himself as a "devaraja" (God-king), the salient difference being that while his predecessors were Hindus and regarded themselves as consubstantial with Shiva and his symbol the lingam, Jayavarman VII was a Buddhist. 

Alterations following the death of Jayavarman VII

Since the time of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon has undergone numerous additions and alterations at the hands of subsequent monarchs. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer empire reverted to Hinduism and its state temple was altered accordingly. In later centuries, Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion, leading to still further changes, before the temple was eventually abandoned to the jungle. Current features which were not part of the original plan include the terrace to the east of the temple, the libraries, the square corners of the inner gallery, and parts of the upper terrace. A large number of Hindu sculptures and artifacts were destroyed and replaced by Buddhist artifacts and statues such as the large number of Shiva Lingams destroyed and stories shown in sculptures from Hindu religious texts as a way of converting the temple from Hinduism to Buddhism. 

Architecture

The architectural style of Bayon is distinctly different from Angkor Wat and other temples in the Angkor complex and it has undergone numerous modifications and additions during its history. Unlike the magnificent façade of Angkor Wat, Bayon doesn’t look terribly impressive from a distance. You can’t fully appreciate its beauty until you enter the temple.

Most of the Angkor temples are constructed with features oriented in the four cardinal directions, but Bayon’s face towers seem to point every which way. While most of the towers do have four faces, some have only two or three, while the central tower has many more. The number of face towers is seemingly random, and there is some dispute about how many towers were included in the original design of the temple. Some believe there were 49, and others say it was 54. One theory holds that there was one tower for each of the 54 provinces in the Khmer empire at the time of the temple’s construction, symbolically keeping watch over all the inhabitants of the kingdom. However, the ravages of time have left only 37 of the towers standing today.

There are two richly decorated galleries which serve as enclosures to the temple – the outer gallery depicting scenes from battles and other historical events as well as images of everyday domestic life, and the inner gallery primarily illustrating mythological tales. The beautiful bas-relief carvings feature an astonishing level of detail, including more than 11,000 figures. The inner gallery, added by the Hindu King Jayavarman VIII, is elevated above ground level, and the upper terrace, which holds over 200 of the famous giant faces, is one level higher. A circular central tower rises 43m high.  

REFERENCE:  siemreap.net, wikipedia.org