Phnom Bok Temple, Cambodia

Address

Phnom Bok Temple, Banteay Srey district, Siem Reop Cambodia

Diety

Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma

Introduction

Phnom Bok Temple or it’s often called Prasat Phnom Bok is located in Banteay Srey district, Siem Reap province and far about 23km away from Neak Peak Circle. For the trip to the location of Phnom Bok Temple, it is easy because it is not necessary to walk and cross the river or take a boat. Phnom Bok is one of the oldest temples in Angkor. And its rectangular ruins temple. It was erected by King Yashovarman I (889-910), who is the founder of Angkor as Khmer capital. He built three temples on top of all three hills in the plains of Angkor. The most important of them, of course, is the famous state temple Bakheng right in the centre of his new city, it was dedicated to Shiva and enshrined the royal Lingam. The two other hills were crowned by smaller temples for the Trimurti. Both temples had three Prasat towers, one for Brahma, one for Shiva, one for Vishnu. Imposing statues of these three gods were found in the three Prasats of Phnom Bok, they are now exhibited in the Guimet Museum in Paris.

Puranic Significance

The combination of the three gods venerated here, creator Brahma, preserver Vishnu, and renewer (not really “destroyer”) Shiva, is usually called Trimurti. The Trimurti is less worshipped by Indian Hindus, and often completely misunderstood by most Westeners when projecting an idea of “trinity” to Hinduism or believing the Trimurti symbolizes a begin, a preservation and an end of the world. Actually, the Trimurti means not a timeline of one world, but aspects belonging to every world in an endless circle of worlds. The Trimurti was only one Hindu concept among others uniting the two quite contrary highest gods, the powerful Shiva and the helpful Vishnu – another one was Harihara, half Vishnu, half Shiva. Brahma, though “creator” in the Trimurti, which should give him the dominant position according to Western concepts, never was highly venerated in India, except in Pushkar. (Among non-Indian Hindus, e.g. on the island of Bali, the three Trimurti gods are more often on the same level of veneration.) Most Hindus believe in only one supreme god, many in Vishnu, others in Shiva, some in Kali. Almost no Hindu venerates Brahma as highest personal god. But most Hindus integrate the highest gods of other beliefs, in a subordinate function. Even the Trimurti often does not imply equal ranks of all three gods.