ancient temples

Apsaras are celestial beings (dancers) in Buddhist folklore. Images of apsaras and devatas are prominently found in Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm temples. Above, you can see that the figures are in very good shape. They’re even more outstanding when seen with your own two eyes.

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One of the many passageways in Angkor Wat leading to the main temple’s upper gallery, as seen from the outside. They are made of sandstones, segmented, with pediments decorated with classical Khmer architectural designs. These passageways or hallways lead to other galleries and enclosures.

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This is a small, make-shift shrine tucked inside one of the halls of the great Angkor Wat.
There are a lot of yellow and yellow-gold stuffs going on here – yellow incense sticks, candles, umbrella, and the spiral tree – all represent good luck, good karma, happiness and abundance. Local people who visit Angkor Wat never fail to light candles and incense sticks here and pray and give tribute to their great ancestors who built the majestic temples. Visitors also offer lotus flowers and fruits to the Lord Buddha and to their ancestors that they watch over them the whole year.

The smell of the incense and the smoke it gave off provided an ethereal feel, at least to me, when I visited Angkor Wat. It’s as if I stepped into another world… a mysterious, celestial place.

This is a maxi-card.Well, almost. It features the Prasat Preah Vihear, or the Preah Vihear Temple, located in the northern Cambodian province of Preah Vihear. It is a beautiful Hindu temple sitting on top of a mountain that straddles between the Cambodia and Thailand border. Please visit my Postcards Crossing blog for more info about Preah Vihear and postcards from countries around the world.

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An Apsara, in Khmer folklore, is a celestial being. Together with the devatas, they are “assigned” here on earth to fulfill their respective duties. The apsaras are celestial entertainers/dancers and they are always depicted as dancing (above) or poised ready to dance while the devatas are always standing still and facing forward in their role as temple guardians or watchers.

New apsaras and devatas come down to earth once a year, every Khmer New Year, to replace the ones that are already here. Images of these celestial beings are prominently found in Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, and Ta Prohm temples and most of them are of the apsaras. Archaeologists are still trying to uncover one of the mysteries surrounding Angkor Wat – why do women  dominate the largest religious structure on earth and who were these ancient Khmer women depicted in the temples?