Bayon Buddhist Temple to Brahma (video)

Bayon (Khmer ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន or Prasat Bayon) is a richly decorated Khmer Buddhist temple in Angkor, Cambodia.

Thought to have been 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 [Great Brahma, Jaya Mountain, or Banyan (Bodhi) tree cluster] stands at the center of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom (Khmer អង្គរធំ) [1, 2].

Following King Jayavarman's death, the temple was modified and augmented by subsequent Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

Sakka deva indo (L) and Great Brahma (R)

Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers that jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak [3].

These faces have been associated with the historical Buddha Gautama (Shakyamuni or the "Sage of the Scythians/Shakyians) as well as the Brahmanical Hindu God Brahma.

The temple has two sets of bas reliefs. They present a combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes.

The main conservatory body, the JSA (Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor) 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) [4]. More

• Siem Reap and the rediscovery of Angkor
• LiDAR leads to discovery of more lost ruins
• Revealed: Cambodia's vast medieval cities hidden beneath the jungle (The Guardian)
• Laser scans unveil a network of ancient lost cities in the thick jungles of war torn Cambodia (NY Times)
• Ancient city of "Mahendraparvata" hidden beneath Cambodian jungle (Live Science)
• Archaeologists discover Lost City in Cambodian jungle (The Two-Way/NPR)