Phnom Krom
Encyclopedia
Phnom Krom is a 140 m high hill close to Siem Reap
, Cambodia
.
Phnom Krom hill is very rocky; local legend has it that the rocks were exposed by the monkey general Hanuman
during a hunt for medicine in the Ramayana
epic. The area beyond the temple’s west gate affords a spectacular view of the Tonle Sap
lake.
ian temple on top of the hill. It is a Hindu
shrine dedicated to Shiva
, Vishnu
and Brahma.
The temple in was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman
(889 A.D.-910 A.D.).
Oriented toward the east, the hilltop temple is enclosed by a wall built of laterite
blocks. Along the walls' top runs a cornice. Gates bisect the walls at each of the four cardinal directions. Just inside the east gate are four small buildings arrayed in a north-south row, possibly formerly used as crematoria. Inside the walls on the north and south sides are three halls, now collapsed. The temple’s focus is three towers, also in a row running north to south. They sit atop a platform reached by staircases of seven steps. The southern tower is dedicated to Brahma, the central to Shiva, the northern to Vishnu. They are built of sandstone
; much of their carving and detail has been lost to erosion.
Phnom Krom is the southernmost of three hilltop temples built in the Angkor region during the reign of Yasovarman. The other two are Phnom Bakheng
and Phnom Bok
.
, a narrow-gauge French colonial railway that was most likely constructed to take stone quarried on the now defunct quarries on Phnom Krom to Siem Reap
.
Siem Reap
Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor region.Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Location
Phnom Krom is located to 12 kilometers southwest of Siem Reap town.Phnom Krom hill is very rocky; local legend has it that the rocks were exposed by the monkey general Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
during a hunt for medicine in the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
epic. The area beyond the temple’s west gate affords a spectacular view of the Tonle Sap
Tonlé Sap
The Tonlé Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....
lake.
Angkorian temple
There is an AngkorAngkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
ian temple on top of the hill. It is a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
shrine dedicated to Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
and Brahma.
The temple in was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman
Yasovarman
Yasovarman I was an Angkorian king who reigned in 889–910 CE.-Early years:After the death of Indravarman I, a succession war was fought by his two sons. It's believed that the war was fought on land and on sea by the Tonle Sap. In the end Yasovarman I prevailed. Because of his father had sought...
(889 A.D.-910 A.D.).
Oriented toward the east, the hilltop temple is enclosed by a wall built of laterite
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
blocks. Along the walls' top runs a cornice. Gates bisect the walls at each of the four cardinal directions. Just inside the east gate are four small buildings arrayed in a north-south row, possibly formerly used as crematoria. Inside the walls on the north and south sides are three halls, now collapsed. The temple’s focus is three towers, also in a row running north to south. They sit atop a platform reached by staircases of seven steps. The southern tower is dedicated to Brahma, the central to Shiva, the northern to Vishnu. They are built of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
; much of their carving and detail has been lost to erosion.
Phnom Krom is the southernmost of three hilltop temples built in the Angkor region during the reign of Yasovarman. The other two are Phnom Bakheng
Phnom Bakheng
-See also:* Angkor* Architecture of Cambodia* List of archaeoastronomical sites by country-References:* Goloubev, Victor. Le Phnom Bakheng et la ville de Yasovarman. Bulletin de l'EFEO , 33 : 319-344....
and Phnom Bok
Phnom Bok
Phnom Bok is a hill in the northeast of Eastern Baray in Cambodia, with a prasat of the same name built on it. It is one of the "trilogies of mountains", each of which has a temple with similar layout...
.
Phnom Krom railway
Phnom Krom was at the southern end of the Phnom Krom railwayPhnom Krom railway
The Phnom Krom railway was a narrow gauge railway that ran approximately 6 miles from the town of Siem Reap, Cambodia in the north to the temple hill of Phnom Krom in the south...
, a narrow-gauge French colonial railway that was most likely constructed to take stone quarried on the now defunct quarries on Phnom Krom to Siem Reap
Siem Reap
Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor region.Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market...
.