Angkor Thom - Pimeanakas or Phimeanakas

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General information, history

Main view of Pimeanakas

Pimeanakas or Phimeanakas (Phimeanakas) means "heavenly temple" in Khmer. It is one of the temples of the city Angkor Tom in Angkor Temple Complex near the city Siem Reap in Cambodia. Located on the territory and was part of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom (see Pimeanakas on the map of Angkor).

Dedicated to Hinduism, built in the style of Kleang.

The construction of Pimeanakas was carried out from the end of the X to the beginning of the XI centuries under Rajendravarman II (Rajendravarman II, ruled 944-968), after restructuring in the reign of Suryavarman I (Suryavarman I, ruled 1002-1049) appears in its present form. At the beginning of the XX century restoration work began to clean the temple.

The temple is notable only for the fact that it "served", so to speak, as a temple at the Royal Palace. The only tower that has not survived, unfortunately, was originally covered with gold. One Khmer legend is connected with the purpose of this tower: here the king indulged in amorous pleasures with a naked (snake), which appeared before him in the form of a beautiful woman. If the naga did not appear on some night, it meant death to the king, and if the king did not appear, then misfortune to the kingdom. There are no bas-reliefs in the temple.

Orientation in the temple, tips for inspection

Pimeanakas

It is enough to allocate no more than half an hour to inspect Pimeanakas.

Pimeanakas is considered by some as a must-visit place. This is dictated by the fact that it is part of the Royal Palace, the inspection of which is included in most excursions. In fact, there is nothing interesting here, except, perhaps, the legend. Since it was built of sandstone, it has not been preserved very well, especially the upper tier and the central tower, which tourists are trying to see. However, if you climb to the top of the central tower, you can see the nearby Bapuon (in the north) and the surrounding area.

The best time for photographing is in the morning. There are a lot of people here, so it's not easy to take photos without tourists.

The staircase from the main (eastern) entrance is quite steep, so a staircase from the west side is equipped for a safe ascent.

Temple construction, architecture

Pimeanakas

Pimeanakas is a three-tiered rectangular pyramid.

The base of the pyramid measures 35m by 28m. The height of the temple is 12m. The temple has four axial staircases, framed in some places by preserved statues of lions, at the corners of the pyramid there are destroyed statues of elephants.

The first two tiers do not represent anything, and it is impossible to pass through them (very narrow), and they are not intended for this.

The third tier (30m by 23m) contains a narrow courtyard with a number of windows, both open and false around the perimeter. In some places, even carvings with ornaments have been preserved on the platbands. Small pavilions used to be located in the corners. In the center there is an elevation from the ground, framed by sandstone blocks – this was once the central tower of the temple, its sanctuary. It had a cruciform shape with exits-entrances to all four cardinal directions and a gilded dome. This is where the events described in the legend mentioned above took place. Today, only the remains of the doorways remain from the former greatness of the tower.

Pimeanakas