Bat Chum
Encyclopedia
Bat Chum is a small temple built by Kavindrarimathana, a learned Buddhist minister of khmer
king Rajendravarman, at the middle of the 10th century. It is located about 400 meters south of Srah Srang
, at Angkor
, Cambodia
.
It consists of three inline brick towers (in poor conditions at present), standing on the same platform, surrounded by an enclosure and a moat, with a single gopura to the East.
On the door jambs there are Buddhist
inscriptions that mention Kavindrarimathana, the "architect" (or official in-charge for construction) who built Srah Srang, East Mebon
and maybe planned the temple-mountain of Pre Rup
.
Maybe it was originally an induist
temple: during the excavations in 1952, in the northern and central towers flagstones showing a yantra
were found, which George Coedès
was able to reconstitute and link only with extreme difficulty to the buddhist divinities mentioned on door jambs.
In every tower there is a different inscription signed by three different persons. The last verse of all three names equally the elephants as "dyke breakers".
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
king Rajendravarman, at the middle of the 10th century. It is located about 400 meters south of Srah Srang
Srah Srang
Srah Srang is a baray at Angkor, Cambodia, located south of the East Baray and east of Banteay Kdei.-History:It was dug in the mid-10th century, by initiative of Kavindrarimathana, Buddhist minister of Rajendravarman II...
, at Angkor
Angkor
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"...
, 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...
.
It consists of three inline brick towers (in poor conditions at present), standing on the same platform, surrounded by an enclosure and a moat, with a single gopura to the East.
On the door jambs there are Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
inscriptions that mention Kavindrarimathana, the "architect" (or official in-charge for construction) who built Srah Srang, East Mebon
East Mebon
The East Mebon is a 10th Century temple at Angkor, Cambodia. Built during the reign of King Rajendravarman, it stands on what was an artificial island at the center of the now dry East Baray reservoir....
and maybe planned the temple-mountain of Pre Rup
Pre Rup
Pre Rup is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built as the state temple of Khmer king Rajendravarman and dedicated in 961 or early 962. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite and sandstone construction....
.
Maybe it was originally an induist
Induism
The Siddharism or Induism is a Social Philosophy given by the Pathinen Siddhars for this earth around 43,71,101 B.C. in Divine Tamil Language.The Induism of the Siddhars holds and professes the...
temple: during the excavations in 1952, in the northern and central towers flagstones showing a yantra
Yantra
Yantra is the Sanskrit word for "instrument" or "machine". Much like the word "instrument" itself, it can stand for symbols, processes, automata, machinery or anything that has structure and organization, depending on context....
were found, which George Coedès
George Coedès
Georges Cœdès was a 20th century scholar of southeast Asian archaeology and history. Coedès was born in Paris to a family of supposed Hungarian-Jewish emigres. In fact, the family was known as having settled in the region of Strasbourg before 1740. His ancestors were working for the royal Treasury...
was able to reconstitute and link only with extreme difficulty to the buddhist divinities mentioned on door jambs.
In every tower there is a different inscription signed by three different persons. The last verse of all three names equally the elephants as "dyke breakers".