Preah Khan Temple is located in Siem Reap provice about 2 kilometers north-east of Angkor Thom on the Grand Circuit.
The temple was built in the second half of the 12th century in AD 1191 by King Jaya-varman VII, dedicating to his father Dharanindravarman.
The Buddhist complex covers 56 hectares served as the nucleus of a group that includes Neak Pean and Ta Som, located 4 kilometers long Jayatataka Baray – the last of the great re¬servoirs to be built in Angkor.
Preah Khan is a huge, highly explorable monastic complex. Full of carvings, passages and photo opportunities.
It originally served as a Buddhist monastery and school, engaging over 1000 monks. For a short period it was also the residence of King Jayavarman VII during the reconstruction of his permanent home in Angkor Thom.
Preah Khan means ‘sacred sword.’ In harmony with the architecturally similar Ta Prohm, which was dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s mother, Preah Khan is dedicated to his father.
Features of note: like most of Jayavarman VII’s monuments, the Buddha images were vandalized in the later Hindu resurgence. Some Buddha carvings in the central corridor have been crudely carved over with Bodhisattvas, and in a couple of odd cases, a lotus flower and a linga.
Also note the cylindrical columns on the building west of the main temple. It is one of the only examples of round columns and may be from a later period.
The inscription indicates that Preah Khan was built on the battle site where King Jaya-varman VII finally defeated the Chams.
