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Banteay Srei: Angkor’s "Citadel of Women"
by John B. Haseman
Every visitor to the glorious ancient ruins of Cambodia is transfixed by the sheer splendor of the temples of Angkor. For some, Angkor Wat itself is the most captivating, with its huge size, the five great central towers, the glow of the setting sun on stone, and its marvelous carved stone friezes and sculpture. For others, perhaps the highlight is the enigmatic Bayon with the dozens of mysterious frozen faces carved into its towers; or the sensuous Ta Phrom temple, deliberately left to the mercies of entwining trees and vines and the insatiable appetite of the jungle.
But there is still more. Thirteen kilometers northeast of Angkor Thom is the isolated and lesser known temple of Banteay Srei. This splendid gem of a temple, small and set aside from the larger and better known temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, may be the most beautiful of them all.
Banteay Srei -- which means "Citadel of Women" in the Khmer language -- was featured extensively in "coffee table" books about Angkor Wat that were published before the 1970s. But war affected access to this temple more than others in the region around Angkor. For more than 30 years during and after the Indochina war the area in which Banteay Srei is located was cut off from visitors for security reasons. It remained unvisited by a generation of foreign tourists.
Banteay Srei was built in the year 967 AD, during the reign of King Rajendravarman. Built of pink sandstone instead of the grey stone that dominates at the other temples of Angkor, Banteay Srei is the most intricately carved of all temples at Angkor. Experts believe that the temple was built as a tribute to the art of wood-carving, since many of the motifs are identical to wood motifs found in the architecture and decor of the period. For instance, door frames and some of the roof eaves are carved to imitate the details of traditional wood building motifs.
Banteay Srei sits alone in the countryside. It is small in scale and size, nestled against a forest backdrop. In its architecture it marks a transition from multi-level temples like Angkor Wat to a single-level design. The temple complex consists of an outer entry way, a long main causeway with parallel out-buildings, then an inner gateway with a moat and walls surrounding the temple buildings.
The temple itself consists of a central set of three shrines, with two out buildings commonly called "libraries" symmetrically sited facing the shrines. Visitors are surprised by the small size of Banteay Srei Temple. The buildings are petite, especially compared with the huge structures of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. The main doorways of the shrines are under five feet in height, part of the reduced scale of the temple design.
Every square inch of surface on the shrines and the libraries is intricately carved. Even the outer gateways feature fine carvings, especially on the lintels and pediments over the doorways. The refined touch of the carvings is particularly beautiful, reminders of the lovely decorative wood carvings found in Thailand, Burma, and elsewhere in Cambodia. Interwoven motifs of interlocked flowers and leaves, as well as complex geometric patterns, are everywhere, and set off the absolutely exquisite larger carved scenes from Hindu and Buddhist history and culture.
A major characteristic of the shrines at Banteay Srei are the many carvings of male and female figures. The female figures at Banteay Srei represent female deities, unlike the dancing apsaras common at Angkor Wat and the Bayon. The male figures are temple guards. Each of the male and female figures has its own niche on the three shrines of the temple.
The carved scenes at Banteay Srei are particularly fine. One scene shows the evil Rahwana with a spear in one hand, kidnapping Sita, the wife of the good King Rama. Similar mural-like carvings, stunning in their complex details and masterful workmanship, fill the pediments above all the doorways of the three shrines and two libraries.
Another elaborate pediment scene shows a royal processional. In the center are two figures appearing to be two young boys, actually Krishna and his younger brother Balarama, surrounded by wild animals. Everyone is rejoicing at the coming of the rains, represented by detailed diagonal lines above. Above them all is Indra, the Sky God, giver of rain, riding atop his three-headed elephant, Erawan. Figures of Indra and Erawan are found throughout the intricate workmanship at Banteay Srei.
Although security is much improved in Siam Reap Province and around the huge Angkor complex visited by foreign tourists, it is still important to keep security in mind in planning a visit to Banteay Srei. Foreign embassies in Phnom Penh, as well as guides in Siam Reap, advise tourists to visit Banteay Srei in groups, with an armed escort. The logistics of this can be easily arranged by any tour guide or hotel in Siam Reap. The system can be irritating because of the extra charge demanded to cover the "costs of security" (figure $US 50.00 per person). It is explained that there is no longer a threat from the Khmer Rouge but that there are "bandits" who prey on unaccompanied tourists.