Preah Vihear Temple

Preah Vihear Temple or Prasat Preah Vihear or Temple of Preah Vihear (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ, Prasat Preah Vihear) is a Khmer temple situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia and on the border of Kantharalak district (amphoe) in Sisaket province of eastern Thailand. In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, a majority of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia.

Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire's spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east, and was obviously built to serve the region to the north. The temple gives its name to Cambodia's Preah Vihear province, in which it is now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in Thailand's Sisaket province and through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nomenclature

Preah Vihear is transliterated into Thai as Prasat Phra Viharn or Prasat Khao Phra Viharn [In Thai the"Ph" is pronounced simply "p"]. Prasat (ប្រាសាទ) has the same meaning in Khmer,Thai, and Sanskrit ("castle", sometimes "temple"; in Sanskrit), and Khao is the Thai word for "hill" or "mountain" (in Khmer: "phnom" (ភ្នំ), Cambodians occasionally refer to "Phnom Preah Vihear" (ភ្នំព្រះវិហារ) as Thais usually refer to "Khao Phra Viharn"). The words "Preah" (ព្រះ) and "Phra" mean "sacred", and the words "Vihear" (វិហារ)/"Viharn" mean "shrine" (the central structure of the temple). In Thai, the word "khao" has recently (as of 2008) been omitted from the name in order to differentiate between the temple and the cliff it is built on. Thai mass media appear to have begun this convention. The word Vihear could be related to the Sanskrit word Vihara which means "abode."

The two versions of the name carry significant political and national connotations.

Location

The temple sits atop Pey Tadi, a cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains which straddle the border between Thailand and Cambodia. During different periods it has been located in Cambodia and Thailand in turn. Following Cambodian independence and the Thai occupation of the temple, it was listed as being in Bhumsrol village of Bueng Malu sub-district (now merged with Sao Thong Chai sub-district), in Kantharalak district of the Sisaket province of eastern Thailand. It is 110 km from the Mueang Si Sa Ket district, the center of Si Sa Ket province.

After the 1962 ICJ majority ruled that it belonged to Cambodia, it was listed as being in Svay Chrum Village, Kan Tout Commune, in Choam Khsant District of Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia. The temple is 1 40 km from Angkor Wat and 320 km from Phnom Penh.

Ancient history

Construction of the first temple on the site began in the early 9th century; both then and in the following centuries it was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in his manifestations as the mountain gods Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the empire's capital was at the city of that name. Today, elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century can be seen, but most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of the Khmer kings Suryavarman I (1002 -1050) and Suryavarman II (1113 -1150). An inscription found at the temple provides a detailed account of Suryavarman II studying sacred rituals, celebrating religious festivals and making gifts, including white parasols, golden bowls and elephants, to his spiritual advisor, the aged Brahman Divakarapandita. The Brahman himself took an interest in the temple, according to the inscription, donating to it a golden statue of a dancing Shiva.^{[citation needed]} In the wake of the decline of Hinduism in the region the site was converted to use by Buddhists.