Glossary of temple terminology

Spiritual guide, teacher, instructor of religious mysteries.

Rising sun (suffix) .

Multi-headed elephant; India's vehicle.

Amrita

The drink of immortality that was created by the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Ananta

see Vasuki.

Anastylosis

Method of restoring a monument; can imply dismantling and rebuilding the structure using the original methods and materials.

Angkor

From the Sanskrit nagara (holy city). In Thai is nakhon and in Cham nagar. Ancient capital in Cambodia: was the main centre of the Khmer Empire from AD 802 to 1432.

Angkor Thom

The 'great' city. Built by Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century . It is positioned north of Angkor Wat (the temple of the Bayon at its centre). At its peak this was the largest city in the world and the centre of a great empire.

Apsara

Sanskrit for a heavenly female dancer attentive to kings, gods and heroes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apsaras adorn the walls of Angkor Wat

Ashrama

A retreat for ascetics or hermits who devote themselves to preparing for the next life.

Asura

Demon, enemy of the gods, with god-like power that represents the forces of evil.

Avalokiteshvara

('the Lord who looks down from above') (see Lokesvara).

Avatar

Sanskrit term for the incarnation of a deity in a different form. Refers to the descent of Vishnu (reincarnation) .

Balarama

The elder twin brother of Krishna; Vishnu's eighth avatara .

Baluster

Short posts or pillars that support a rail and forms a balustrade.

 

 

 

 

A fine balustrade on the North causeway of Beng Mealea

Banteay

Fortress or citadel. It has been applied to temples because of their encircling walls.

Baray

Sanskrit for reservoir, lake.

Bas-relief

Sculpture in low relief. The figures project less than half the true proportions from the background.

 

 

 

800m of bas-relief carvings line the gallaries of Angkor Wat

Bodhi tree

Enlightenment tree: Buddha became enlightened while meditating under it.

Bodhisattva

Boeng

lake.

Brahma

God part of a trinity with Shiva and Vishnu. The creator of the world and universe.

Brahmin

The priestly class in Vedism and Hinduism.

Brahmanism

The early religion of India that emanated from Vedism.

Buddha

Compassionate being who has attained spiritual enlightenment. Gautama Siddhartha was the first Buddha, he lived in the sixth century BC.

Buddhism

The Buddhist religion that adheres to the basic principles of non-violence, compassion, and generous works.

Chakravartin

Universal sovereign; a title for the supreme king or universal overlord. From the Sankrit term for one who turns the wheel of the law.

Cambodia

South-east Asia country, bounded by Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand.

Causeway

Raised road.

Chakra

The "wheel" of the Buddha symbol of immortality and power; solar-disc; disc-like weapon of Vishnu

Champa

An ancient Indianised state and rival of the Khmer Empire. It was situated in an area corresponding approximately to present-day south and central Vietnam. It existed from the second century to the fifteenth century. the Chams A people speaking an Austronesian language who occupied southern coastal Vietnam and were often enganged in war with the Khmer.

Chenla

see Zhenla. Chinese for the states that occupied Cambodia from about AD 550 to 800.

Corbel

Khnmer method of spanning an opening used for vaults. Overlapping arrangement of stones, each course projecting one third beyond the one below.

Churning of the ocean milk

Hindu myth where gods and demons pull on Vasuki, a snake coiled round Mount Mahendra, to churn the ocean of milk and produce the elixir of immortality.

Deva

(feminine = devi) (devata in Sanskrit); deity that is often a guardian. Heavenly or divine.

Devaraja

Cult instituted by Jayavarman II in AD 802 in Cambodia: the king was an emanation of a god and would be reunited with that god upon death; usually represented in Khmer art as Shiva, symbolising the spiritual and royal essence of the Khmer king .

Dhuli jen

Ddvarapala

Guardian at the entrance to a temple often standing and holding a club.

Dvaravati

Mon kingdom in Thailand from approximately the sixth or seventh century to the eleventh century.

Fan

Title for overlords or kings of Funan in Chinese histories. Equivalent of pon in Khmer.

Funan

Chinese name for an ancient Indianised kingdom, probably the predecessor to Angkor; located in the lower Mekong basin; although it existed in the first century AD, its zenith was the fifth century; in the seventh century it was eclipsed by the state of Zhenla.

Garuda

A mythical creature depicted in Khmer art with a human body and birdlike wings, legs and a thick curved beak with bulging eyes; his lower body is covered with feathers and he has the claws of an eagle; Vishnu's vehicle.

Gopura

Gateway to a temple in south India; entrance pavilion in enclosure walls around a temple. Often found in Khmer architecture.

Guru

Spiritual guide.

Hamsa

Sacred goose; Brahma's mount

Hanuman

In the Ramayana, chief of the army of monkeys.

Hari-Hara

('Hari' = Vishnu; 'Hara' = Shiva) Deity combination of these two gods. Seen as a synthesis of the two Hindu cults. The figure is depicted with Vishnu's tiara on one side and Shiva's plaited locks on the other.

Hinayana Buddhism

The 'Small Vehicle'; school of Buddhism, predominant religion in Cambodia in the 15th century; more commonly called Theravada Buddhism.

Hinduism

Religion and social system of the Hindus; popular in Cambodia especially from the first century to the 12th century.

Hotar

Priest .

Indra

Hindu god of war and tempests (from the east)..

-isvara

intrinsic q ualities of Shiva (suffix).

Jaya

Sanskrit word for victory (prefix).

 

 

 

 

 

Jayavarman VII's head at Angkor Thom. Here 'Jaya' (victory) is combined with the suffix 'varman' (protector)

Jyan

Weight measure.

Kailasa

Mythical mountain in the Himalayas and the abode of Shiva.

Kala

Creature with bulbous eyes, human or lion's nose, two horns, clawlike hands and a grinning face.

Kalkin

see Vishnu.

Kamratan

High religious title, superior to a kamsten.

Kamsten

Religious title.

Khleang

"Emporium", monument whose purpose is still unclear. There are two fine examples opposite the terraces of the elephants and leper king in Angkor Thom.

Khion glan

Title given to the chief of the warehouse.

Khion karya

Chief of corvee labour.

Khion visaya

Official responsible for land ownership.

Khmer

(Kh) Ancient indigenous people of Cambodia: the language of Cambodia.

Knum

Slave or junior kinsman.

Kpon

Feminine figure for ancestral or local deities.

Krishna

One of the avataras of Vishnu and hero of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Lakshmi

Spouse of Shiva and goddess of beauty, created in the churning of the ocean of milk.

Laksmana

Brother of Ramachandra (see Ramayana).

Laterite

Basic building material from red residual soil in humid tropical and subtropical regions that is leached of soluble minerals abundant in Cambodia and north-eastern Thailand. The rock has a porous texture but becomes extremely hard over time in contact with the air, thus making a substantial and lightweight building material.

 

 

 

Laterite wall in Banteay Srei temple

Linga

Phallic symbol of Shiva and his role in creation.

Lintel

Crossbeam resting on two upright posts.

Lokapala

(Hindu mithology) Protector of one of the eight directions of the earth.

Lokeshvara

(Lord of the World) Compassionate bodhisattva concerned with mankind.

Mahabharata

Great Indian epic on a civil war in north India.

Mahayana Buddhism

The 'Greater Vehicle'; a school of Buddhism that extended the early teachings; flourished in Cambodia, particularly in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

Mandara

Mythical mountain in the Himalayas pole for the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Makara

Sea animal with the body of a reptile and a big jaw and snout that is elongated into a trunk.

Mantrin

King's counsellor or minister.

Mebon

Island temple.

Meru

Home of the gods. Mythical mountain at the centre of the Universe and axis of the world around which the continents and the oceans are ordered.

Mratan

Official appointed by the king in central and regional administration.

Mratan klon

Official appointed to govern a place or region.

Mratan kurun

Higher official appointed to rule a region.

Mucilinda

Naga king; shelter of Buddha while he was meditating during a storm.

Naga

Serpent-god (cobra) of the waters; seven or nine-headed with a scaly body. Protector of the Angkorian state.

First used in Bakong temple in Hariharalaya

 

 

 

Here seen forming the balastrade on a Jayavarman VII bridge still used as the main road from siem Reap to Phnom Penh

Nandi

'The Happy One'. White bull, mount of Shiva.

Nirvana

Goal of Buddhists seen as the f inal liberation from the cycle of rebirths.

Pala

Weight measure.

Pali

Language derived from Vedic Sanskrit.

Pediment

Fronton: triangular upper portion of a wall above the portico.

Phnom

Mountain.

Pon

Hereditary (from a man to his sister's son) high title. In use until the early VIII century AD, for a local leader who had authority over land and livestock.

Pilaster

Column on the side of an open doorway that projects slightly from the wall.

Praman

Administrative territory under the king's jurisdiction.

Prasat

Tower

 

 

 

 

 

The 12 towers of Prasat Suor Prat opposite the Elephant Terrace in Angkor Thom

Preah

Holy. Preah khan: sacred sword.

Psar

market

Rahu

Demon with a monster's head and no body. Thought to be the cause of eclipes by swallowing the sun and moon.

Raja

King.

Rakshasa

Demon who lives in Lanka (Sri).

Title for great adviser.

Rama

Hero of the Ramayana, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu.

Ramayana

Sanskrit epic poem, composed around 300 BC, describing the adventures of Ramachandra and Sita.

Ravana

King of the rakshasas, with ten heads and twenty arms, who abducted Sita and battled against Rama in the Ramayana.

Rishi

Sanskrit for sage, ascetic, or hermit. Represented meditating crosslegged.

Sakti

Energy of a female deity consort of the god.

Sampot

Cambodian garment covering for the lower body

Sanskrit

With Pali root of modern Khmer language.

Sesa

see Vasuki.

Shiva

Hindu god of creation and destruction.

Sita

Rama's wife. See Ramayana.

Spean

Bridge.

Srah

Pond.

 

 

 

The beautiful Srah Srang to the East of Ta Phrom

Srei

Woman.

Sresthin

Middle grade official.

Sruk

A small territorial division, possibly the size of a village.

Stung

River.

Sugriva

Monkey king (Ramayana).

Surya-

Name prefix for sun.

Ta

Ancestor.

Tamrvac

Agents for the government in the provinces.

Tanub

Dyke.

Theravada Buddhism

Religion found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. It follows the early Buddhist teachings .

Tonle' Sap

'sweet water' (tonle'=large river) the largest lake in SE Asia, linked with the Mekong River by the Tonle Sap River.

Upanisads

Ancient religious texts from India.

Vap

Title meaning father.

-varman

Shield or protector (name suffix).

Vasuki

(Ananta, Sesa) Serpent upon which Vishnu reclines or sits.

Vedas

Hymns and prayers Indo-Aryans of northern India (second millennium BC).

Vihara

Sanctuary, temple.

Visaya

Territorial area.

Vishnu

The Hindu god of compassion and preservation.

Vrah guru

Senior minister responsible for religious foundations.

Vyapara

Official appointed by the king responsible for boundaries.

Wat

Siamese for 'temple'

Yaksha

Male deity, guardian with bulging eyes, fangs and a leering grin.

Yoni

Female fertility symbol at the base of the linga.

Zhenla (Chenla)

Chinese name given to a state that existed in Cambodia from the sixth century to the eighth century.