Ta Prohm Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម)

Ta Prohm Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាព្រហ្ម)

Ta Prohm temple is located about 1 kilometer east of the Victory Gate, southeast of Ta Keo temple. Its rampart is near the northwest corner of the rampart of Banteay Kdey temple. The temple was built in AD 1186 by King Jayavarman VII, dedicating to his mother. Shrouded in jungle, Ta Prohm temple is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic aura. Trunks of trees twist amounts stone pillars.  Fig, Bayan and Kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over, under and in between the stones, probing walls and terraces apart, as their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof above the structure.

The Sanskrit inscription on stone tells something about its size and function. Ta Prohm owned 3140 villages. It took 79365 people to maintain the temple including 18 high priests, 2740 officials, 2202 assistants and 615 dancers.  Among the property belonging to the temples was set golden dishes weighing more than 500 kilograms, 35 diamonds,  40 620 pearls,  4540 precious stones, 876 veils from China, 512 silk beds and 523 parasols. 

 

The monastic complex of Ta Prohm is a series of long, low building standing on one level connected with passages and concentric galleries framing the main sanctuary. A rectangular, laterite wall, which is 700 by 1.000 meter enclose the entire complex. The east entrance is signaled by a gopura in the outer rampart of the temple. There is a sandstone hall just north of the gopura known as the Hall of Dancers which is distinguished by large, square pillars. The central sanctuary itself is easy to miss and stands out because of its absence of decoration. The tone has been hammered, possible to prepare it for covering stucco and gilding, which has since fallen off. This accounts for the plainness of the walls of this important shrine. Evenly spaced holes on the inner walls of the central sanctuary suggest they were originally covered with metal sheets.