Latest / The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History / The Angkor Wat Bas-Reliefs: A Khmer Empire Epic in Stone
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- Lucas: Luna, we've talked a lot about Angkor Wat as a cosmic temple — Mount Meru in stone. But I want to zoom in on something we've only nodded at: the bas-reliefs. The galleries are covered in over a thousand square metres of carvings, and they're not just decoration. They tell stories — epics, battles, heaven and hell. Luna: I've seen photos, but I never really understood what I was looking at. Lucas: Exactly. So the main gallery, the outer wall of the third enclosure, has eight large panels. Two of them are the big ones: the Battle of Kurukshetra from the Mahabharata, and the Battle of Lanka from the Ramayana. But there's also a scene of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, and a judgement scene of Yama, the god of death. Lucas: Suryavarman II commissioned this in the first half of the 12th century, and it's clear he identified with Vishnu — Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu, not Shiva like most earlier temples. So the reliefs are a kind of political-religious statement: the king is the earthly embodiment of divine order. Luna: So the battle scenes are allegories for his own campaigns? Lucas: Partly. But they're also meant to be universal. Take the Kurukshetra panel: it's the climactic battle from the Mahabharata, where the Pandavas fight the Kauravas. The carvers show armies in precise detail — foot soldiers, chariots, elephants, archers. You can see the difference in armour and weapons between the two sides, and even the dying and wounded. Luna: Are the armies meant to look like Khmer soldiers? Lucas: That's the fascinating part. The soldiers are depicted in a mix of styles — some wear what looks like Indian-inspired armour, but many wear the short sarong and no helmet, which is how Khmer warriors are shown in other reliefs. The historians argue whether it's meant to be an Indian epic or a Khmer battle dressed up. Probably both. Lucas: And the scale is enormous. The panel is about fifty metres long. It's not just a static scene; it's a narrative. You walk along it and the action develops. The carvers used a technique called continuous narrative — the same characters appear multiple times in different parts of the panel, so you follow the story as you move. Luna: Like a comic strip, but in stone. Lucas: Exactly. And there's even a section showing the aftermath — the grieving women, the funeral pyres. It's incredibly moving. Now, the opposite panel shows the Battle of Lanka, where Rama fights the demon king Ravana. That one is more chaotic, with multi-headed demons and flying chariots. Luna: And the Churning of the Ocean of Milk — I've seen that one. It's so intricate, with all the gods and demons pulling the serpent. Lucas: Right. That panel is on the east gallery. It's a creation myth from the Puranas: the gods and demons churn the cosmic ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality. Vishnu is in the centre as Kurma, the turtle, supporting the mountain. The relief is crowded with figures — apsaras, animals, even the goddess Lakshmi emerging. It's a symbol of cooperation between good and evil for a greater purpose. Luna: But it's also about the king's role, isn't it? Maintaining cosmic balance. Lucas: Absolutely. Suryavarman II is presenting himself as the chakravartin, the universal ruler who upholds dharma. And the devaraja cult is still present — the king is the link between the human and divine realms. The reliefs reinforce that message. Lucas: Now, there's also a panel that scholars call the 'Heaven and Hell' scene. It shows Yama, the judge of the dead, with his assistants. Below, you see the blessed in paradise and the damned being tortured. It's a moral lesson, but also a reminder of the king's authority — he dispenses justice on earth as Yama does in the afterlife. Luna: That's intense. Were these reliefs meant for public viewing or just the priestly elite? Lucas: That's a good question. Angkor Wat was a temple, not a public square. Only the king, priests, and high officials would have walked these galleries. So the reliefs were teaching tools for the elite, reinforcing their worldview. But they also served as a permanent record of the king's piety and power. Lucas: And you know, these reliefs are also one of the best sources we have for everyday Khmer life. In the military scenes, you see details like how elephants were armoured, how chariots were constructed, what weapons were used. There are even scenes of musicians, dancers, and markets on other parts of the temple. Luna: So it's like a visual encyclopaedia of the Khmer Empire. Lucas: Exactly. And they're remarkably well-preserved because Angkor Wat was never completely abandoned. Buddhist monks maintained it, and later kings restored parts. But the reliefs are fragile — sandstone erodes, and the tropical climate takes a toll. Conservation is ongoing, and it's expensive. Luna: Speaking of which — I know it's a bit of a shift, but we get a lot of listeners who ask how they can help keep shows like this going. And actually, the same principle applies: small, consistent support makes a huge difference. Lucas: It really does. This is a history show — no ads, no corporate backing. A couple of dollars a month from listeners is genuinely what keeps these episodes coming. If you've gotten something out of our conversations about Southeast Asia, you can toss something in at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's that simple. Luna: And every little bit goes straight into research, recording, and keeping the thing ad-free. So thank you to anyone who does. Lucas: Alright — back to the reliefs. So one of the most debated panels is the one that shows a historical procession. It's on the south gallery: a royal army on the march, with the king on an elephant, surrounded by soldiers, musicians, and courtiers. Most scholars think it depicts Suryavarman II himself, leading a campaign. Luna: Is it from a specific war? Lucas: It might be his expedition against Champa in the 1140s, or against Dai Viet. We don't know for sure, but the relief includes Khmer troops alongside what look like Chinese mercenaries or allies — there are figures with Chinese-style beards and hats. So it's a rare glimpse of Khmer military multiculturalism. Luna: And next to it, there's a scene of a royal audience, right? The king seated on a throne? Lucas: Yes — the so-called 'Court Scene'. The king sits cross-legged on a raised dais, surrounded by parasols, women with fans, and officials. It's a classic image of Khmer courtly life. And interestingly, the king is shown with a sacred fire altar nearby, linking his temporal power to divine sanction. Luna: It's like a political advertisement carved in stone. Lucas: Exactly. The entire temple is a statement. Suryavarman II wasn't just building a religious monument; he was building a legacy. The reliefs ensure that his name and his deeds are remembered for centuries. And they have been — just not always the way he intended. Luna: What do you mean? Lucas: Well, later Hindu kings added inscriptions, and Buddhist monks later modified some of the reliefs. For example, some images of Vishnu were recarved as Buddha. So the reliefs are a palimpsest of Khmer religious history. They show the shift from Vaishnavism to Mahayana Buddhism and later to Theravada. Lucas: One of the most poignant alterations is in the Churning of the Ocean panel. Originally, the central figure was Vishnu as Kurma. But later, a Buddha image was added in the centre, effectively reinterpreting the scene. This kind of adaptation shows how the temple remained a living religious site. Luna: It's amazing that so much of it survives. The detail is incredible. Lucas: It is. And the conservation work continues. The German Apsara Conservation Project, for instance, has been cleaning and stabilising the reliefs since the 1990s. They've removed biological growth and salt deposits that were damaging the stone. It's painstaking work. Lucas: But here's a detail I love: in the Battle of Kurukshetra panel, there's a scene of a warrior being thrown from his elephant. The elephant is mid-stride, the warrior is falling, and his arm is still raised with a spear. It's so dynamic. The carvers understood movement and anatomy brilliantly. Luna: Were these carvers local or imported from India? Lucas: We think most were Khmer, trained in a local tradition that had absorbed Indian influences. But there's evidence of shared motifs across Southeast Asia. The reliefs at Angkor Wat have parallels with those at Borobudur in Java, for example. There was an artistic dialogue across the region. Luna: So the Khmer weren't just copying Indian epics. They were making them their own. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes Angkor Wat's reliefs so special. They're not just illustrations of foreign stories. They're a Khmer interpretation, infused with local aesthetics, political messages, and religious meaning. They're a window into the mind of an empire. Luna: I'll never look at a photo of Angkor Wat the same way again. Lucas: That's the hope. Next time, I'd love to dive into the reliefs of the Bayon — they're a whole different world, with scenes of everyday life and naval battles. But that's for another episode.