Kbal Spean

Relief representation and lingas on a rock in the river

Kbal Spean , also known as the River of a Thousand Lingas , is an archaeological site in Angkor . It consists of rock reliefs and lingas in the Stung Kbal Spean stream, a tributary of the Siem Reap, and is not far from Banteay Srei in the Phnom Kulen National Park in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap . The processing and decoration of the rocks began in the middle of the 11th century under the rule of the Khmer king Udayadityavarman II. Kbal Spean is on the tentative list for the world heritage in Cambodia as part of the sites in Phnom Kulen .

history

Several Lingas in the form of a quincunx to a Mandala arranged

During the reign of Udayadityavarman II, hermits lived at Stung Kbal Spean , who cut 150 m reliefs with divine figures and symbols in the rocks in the stream and practiced animistic rituals to worship the water. This dating can be derived from inscriptions, one of which refers to a minister under Suryavarman I, the predecessor of Udayadityavarman II. In 1059 the ruler came to Kbal Spean to consecrate an important linga here . The site was forgotten in the course of history and was only rediscovered in 1968 by Jean Boulbet. In 1992, Kbal Spean was placed on the tentative list for Cambodia as part of the Phnom Kulen sites . It was not until the late 1990s, after the landmines were cleared from the Cambodian civil war , that Kbal Spean was safely accessible again. In April 2003 a large relief depicting Vishnu was probably the victim of a robbery excavation .

layout

In the middle of the rock relief the lying Vishnu, to the right of it Shiva and companion on Nandi

The rock reliefs are designed in the Baphuon style. A particularly striking relief shows Vishnu lying on the serpent Ananta, the most powerful naga , while his wife Lakshmi is massaging his legs. On Ananta, the deity moves across the ocean of milk . A lotus flower , on which Brahma sits, rises from Vishnu's navel . On the same stone slab, Shiva and her companion can also be seen riding Nandi .

At a point without a slope, where the stream flows very slowly, there is a large field of lingas. In the center is a group of five lingas arranged in the shape of a quincunx . Like the temple towers of the inner Angkor Wat , they symbolize Mount Meru .

A further 40–50 meters downstream is a small rock island in the middle of Stung Kbal Spean immediately in front of a waterfall. There are also several reliefs to be found there, one of which shows Shiva and Parvati riding on Nandi. On the eastern bank of the brook is a larger group of reliefs, the central element of which, the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic, which is rarely found in Angkor , was destroyed or stolen. Above it is a crocodile, the meaning of which is not clear.

literature

• Marilia Albanese: Angkor. Art Guide of the National Geographic Society . G + J / RBA GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-937606-77-4 , pp. 128, 129 (Italian: I tesori di Angkor. Translated by Wolfgang Hensel).
• Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques: Ancient Angkor . 2nd Edition. River Books Ltd, Bangkok 2003, ISBN 974-8225-27-5 , pp. 216-219 (English)
• Dawn F. Rooney: Angkor. Cambodia's wondrous Khmer Temples 6th edition. Odyssey Books & Guides, Hong Kong 2011, ISBN 978-962-217-802-1 , pp. 260, 261 (English)

Web links

Commons : Kbal Spean  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Site des Kulen on UNESCO's tentative list (French)

Coordinates: 13 ° 41 ′ 11 "  N , 104 ° 0 ′ 55.7"  E