Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century AD as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu by Khmer King Suryavarman II. Its architecture represents Hindu cosmology and Mount Meru, the abode of Hindu gods. Later it became a Buddhist center under a king who adopted Buddhism. Key features include five towers representing Mount Meru's peaks, galleries symbolizing Hindu gods, and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu epics. Its architectural symbolism aimed to recreate heaven on earth and make religious beliefs more tangible.

1. ANGKOR WAT
RELIGION INFLUENCES

2. • Angkor Wat was built by
the Khmer King
Suryavarman II, as his state
temple in the capital city of
Angkor.

3. • It was dedicated to the
Hindu God, Vishnu.

4. • Though, initially a Hindu
temple, it became an
important Buddhist
religious center, under the
rule of Srindravarman who
adopted Buddhism as the
state religion.

5. • the temple is depicted as
Mount Meru, the abode
of Hindu Gods.

6. The wall represent the mountains and the moat represents the
oceans at the edge of the universe. A stone causeway leads through
the Hindu universe to the temple home of the gods from the west.
The temple complex itself is a series of buildings on rising terraces
like the slopes of a mountain.

7. • The five towers
represent the five
peaks of Mount Meru.
The round towers mark
out the corners and the
center of the
innermost square of
the complex. Like the
mountain peaks they
represent, the towers
are pointed on top.

8. • The three galleries are
believed by some to
represent Brahma -
the creator according
to Hindu mythology,
the moon, and Vishnu
the Hindu god who is
supposed to be the
preserver of all forms
of life.

9. • Although the temple follows the basic
principles of Khmer architecture, unlike
other temples built around the same
time, the Angkor Wat faces the west.
• Some believe that this deviation from
the usual orientation of Khmer temples
towards the east, is because it is
dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is
associated with the west direction.
• However, some other scholars believe
that orientation towards the west
direction reflects Suryavarman II's
desire to use the temple for personal
funerary purpose.

10. • Under the southern
tower is a statue
of Vishnu, known as Ta
Reach, which may
originally have
occupied the temple's
central shrine

11. • Connecting the outer gallery
to the second enclosure on
the west side is a cruciform
cloister called Preah
Poan (the "Hall of a
Thousand Gods").

12. • Buddha images were left in
the cloister by pilgrims
over the centuries,
although most have now
been removed.
• This area has many
inscriptions relating the
good deeds of pilgrims,
most written in Khmer but
others in Burmese and
Japanese.

13. • Three sets of steps on
each side lead up to
the corner towers and
gopuras of the inner
gallery.
• The very steep
stairways represent
the difficulty of
ascending to the
kingdom of the gods

14. • The inner walls of the
outer gallery bear a
series of large-scale
scenes mainly depicting
episodes from the
Hindu epics the
Ramayana and
the Mahabarata.

15. • Angkor Wat is decorated with
depictions
of Apsaras and Devata; there
are more than 1,796
depictions of devata in the
present research inventory
• An Apsara is a female spirit of
the clouds and waters in
Hindu and Buddhist
mythology
• Deva is the Hindu term for
deity.

16. • The temples of Ankgor Wat uses architectural features in order represent various ideas of
Hindu Cosmology; all contribute to the re-creation of the heavenly world on Earth. In
constructing Angkor Wat to represent religious beliefs, the Khmer people literally built
heaven on Earth. By creating a tangible representation of what is believed to have happened
in the past, the past becomes more real and more concrete to viewers and believers alike.