01Indravarman’s Meru
Hariharalaya, the city of Hari and Hara, lies about 15 km south-east of Angkor at today’s Roluos. Indravarman I came to the throne in 877, built the Preah Ko temple for his ancestors in 879, and in 881 consecrated the Bakong as his state temple, installing a linga named Indreshvara after himself. It is a stepped pyramid of five sandstone tiers inside two moats and three enclosures, the moats standing for the cosmic ocean and the walls for the ranges around Meru. Eight brick towers stand around the base, and stone elephants guard the corners of the lower tiers.
02Rebuilt and still in use
The central sanctuary tower on the top tier is a later rebuilding of the 12th century, in the style of Angkor Wat. Many scholars see Java behind the plan: the Khmer kings claimed Jayavarman II had freed the country from Java in 802, and the gateways and stairs of the Bakong resemble those of the Javanese temples. Maurice Glaize of the EFEO reassembled much of the pyramid between 1936 and 1943. A Buddhist monastery stands beside the east causeway today.
The life of this place
- 879Indravarman I consecrates Preah Ko for his ancestors.
- 881The Bakong is consecrated with the Indreshvara linga.
- 1936–1943Maurice Glaize reassembles the pyramid.
At Roluos, about 13 km south-east of Siem Reap on National Road 6; included in the Angkor pass. Preah Ko and Lolei are close by.
