The world’s largest Hindu temple in Cambodia with exciting story
The entire Ramayana is inscribed in the sculptures on the walls of the Ankor wat temple. Built on the banks of the Mekong River, this temple is still the largest Hindu temple in the world, spread over hundreds of square miles.
The 12th-century Ankorwat temple was built in a few decades by huge limestone rocks. These rocks weighing more than one and a half tons were brought from far away. It was impossible then to bring huge rocks from hundreds of kilometers away. The then Hindu king took the help of underground canals to bring rocks from Mount Cullen, located close to the temple. These rocks were transported in boats.
Temple made from ten million rocks
This 12th-century temple is made of about ten million rocks. According to geologists, this temple was built during the reign of just one king. The Khmer Empire, which was the most influential and prosperous in Southeast Asia in those days, stretched from modern-day Laos to Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. The archeologists studied the reasons for the disappearance of the Ankorvot temple and its disappearance in the surrounding forests. In the latest research, scientists took a satellite picture of this area, which found that the entire area is connected to ancient underground canals. Probably limestone would have been brought to the temple in minimum time through these canals from thousands of kilometers away. The people of the Khmer empire used to cultivate paddy. They started promoting farming to such an extent that they cut down mountain trees and sowed paddy there too. The Khmer kingdom was shrinking from wars, due to excessive exploitation of natural resources, it also became a victim of natural destruction. And the Ankorwat temple was lost somewhere which was later rediscovered in the 16th century amidst dense forests.
World’s largest religious place
Ankorwat is the world’s largest religious monument in Cambodia, covering an area of about 162.6 hectares. It was originally built as a Hindu temple of Lord Vishnu in the Khmer Empire. This temple, built in the town of Simrip on the banks of the Mekong River, is still the largest Hindu temple in the world, spread over hundreds of square miles. This temple is also a symbol of Mount Meru. There is a depiction of the themes of Indian religious texts on its walls. Apsaras are depicted very beautifully in these episodes, a scene of sea churning between the asuras and the gods is also shown. Those who believe in Sanatan Dharma consider it their holy pilgrimage place.
