Latest / The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History / The Temple of Preah Khan: Angkor's Buddhist University
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about a lot of Angkor's biggest temples — Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Ta Prohm. But there's one that's just as massive, maybe even more fascinating in some ways, and it doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves: Preah Khan. Luna: I've heard the name, but I don't know much about it. It's not far from Angkor Thom, right? Lucas: Yeah, just a couple of kilometers northeast of Angkor Thom. It was built by Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century, right after he defeated the Cham and reclaimed Angkor. And here's the thing — Preah Khan wasn't just a temple. It was a functioning university and hospital complex. The name means 'sacred sword,' and it was built on the site of a decisive battle where Jayavarman VII supposedly fought the Cham, and where he later stored a sacred sword that became a symbol of the kingdom. Luna: So it's like a military memorial and a college rolled into one? Lucas: Exactly. The temple complex covers about 56 hectares, and at its peak it housed over 1,000 monks, scholars, and students. There were libraries, lecture halls, and even a hospital with over 100 doctors. The inscriptions at Preah Khan — and there are many — record all the day-to-day operations: the number of staff, the salaries, the rations, the medical treatments. It's an incredible window into how the Khmer Empire ran its institutions. Luna: And this was all Buddhist, right? Under Jayavarman VII's Mahayana influence? Lucas: Yes. The central sanctuary was dedicated to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, who Jayavarman VII identified with. In fact, the temple's original name was 'Nagarindra Yasodhara,' meaning 'the city of the holy sword,' and it was part of a network of temples that Jayavarman VII built to legitimize his rule through Buddhist symbolism. But Preah Khan also had a practical side — it functioned as a kind of administrative hub for the surrounding region. Luna: Was it similar to Ta Prohm, which was also a university? Lucas: Very similar. Ta Prohm was dedicated to Jayavarman VII's mother, and Preah Khan to his father. Both were built around the same time, and both had extensive libraries and schools. But Preah Khan is larger and, in some ways, better preserved. It also has a unique feature: there's a central hall with a ceiling that was originally painted red and gold, and the walls were covered in murals. Some of the Buddha images there were later defaced during the Hindu reaction under Jayavarman VIII, but you can still see traces of the original decoration. Luna: So the iconoclastic purge we talked about in the earlier episode hit Preah Khan too? Lucas: Yes, it did. Jayavarman VIII, who succeeded Jayavarman VII's son Indravarman II, was a devout Shaivite, and he ordered the destruction or alteration of many Buddhist images across Angkor. At Preah Khan, you can see where Buddha statues were chiseled away and replaced with Hindu motifs. But the temple itself remained in use for centuries, even as Theravada Buddhism gradually replaced Mahayana in the 13th and 14th centuries. Luna: So it's like a palimpsest of religious change. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes Preah Khan such a rich site for archaeologists. The Greater Angkor Project has been studying it for years. They've used LIDAR to map the surrounding area, and they've found that the temple was part of a vast urban grid, with roads, canals, and smaller shrines. Preah Khan was not isolated — it was a hub in a network of temples and settlements that stretched all the way to the Tonlé Sap lake. Luna: That must have required an enormous amount of resources. Lucas: Absolutely. The inscriptions tell us that the temple owned over 4,000 villages and employed tens of thousands of people as servants, dancers, and priests. There were also extensive rice fields and orchards that supported the community. The scale of it is mind-boggling. And you know, for listeners who've been coming along with us through these conversations about Southeast Asia — if you've gotten something out of them, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. It's at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Even a small contribution helps us keep researching and producing these deep dives. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. And we don't run ads, so listener support is how we keep the show independent. Lucas: Right. So back to Preah Khan — one of the most interesting aspects is the 'Hall of the Dancing Girls' or the 'apsara hall,' which has beautiful carvings of celestial dancers. But there's also a mysterious structure known as the 'House of Fire,' which might have been used as a crematorium or for fire rituals. The temple layout itself is a giant mandala, with concentric galleries and a central tower that represents Mount Meru. Luna: So it's like a three-dimensional cosmic diagram. Lucas: Exactly. And the carvings are not just decorative — they tell stories from Buddhist and Hindu mythology, including scenes from the life of the Buddha and the Ramayana. But unlike Angkor Wat, which focuses on Vishnu, Preah Khan's iconography is predominantly Buddhist, with Avalokiteshvara appearing again and again. There's also a famous stele at Preah Khan that records the founding of the temple and lists all the deities enshrined there. That stele is one of the longest inscriptions from the Khmer Empire. Luna: And what does it say about the hospital? I heard it was quite advanced. Lucas: Yes. The hospital was known as the 'Arogayasala,' and there were over a hundred of them throughout the empire, but the one at Preah Khan was especially large. The stele describes how the hospital had a staff of doctors, nurses, and attendants, and it stocked medicines made from herbs and minerals. There were also strict rules about cleanliness and patient care. It's really remarkable for the 12th century. Luna: It sounds like a precursor to modern public health systems. Lucas: In a way, yes. Jayavarman VII was clearly interested in the welfare of his subjects, not just in building monuments to himself. But there's a debate among historians about how much of that was genuine compassion versus political propaganda. Either way, the infrastructure he created was impressive. Luna: And what about the 'sacred sword'? Is that still around? Lucas: There's a legend that the sword — called the 'Preah Khan Reach' — was used by Jayavarman VII in battle and later kept at the temple. It's said to have mystical powers, and it appears in Cambodian folklore as a symbol of sovereignty. Today, there's a replica displayed in the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, but the original is lost to history. Luna: So the temple itself is named after a weapon that's no longer there. Lucas: That's right. But the temple still holds a lot of power — not just as a tourist site, but as a source of information about the Khmer Empire. Every year, new discoveries are made there. For example, in 2019, archaeologists found a previously unknown underground chamber using ground-penetrating radar. It might have been a crypt or a treasury. And there's still so much we don't know. Luna: It's amazing that even after all these years, there are still secrets buried in the jungle. Lucas: That's what makes studying Preah Khan so exciting. It's not just a ruin — it's a living archive. Every carving, every inscription, every stone tells a story. And we're only just beginning to understand it. Luna: I'm definitely putting it on my list for if I ever get to Cambodia. Lucas: You should. It's less crowded than Angkor Wat, and the sense of discovery is palpable. You can almost feel the presence of the monks who once studied there. It's a humbling experience.