- Area: Siem Reap Province > Krong Siem Reab > Sangkat Nokor Thum
- | Type: Ancient Remains & Temples
Located on the second level of Angkor Wat, Preah Poan (cruciform gallery) is a sacred and significant place within the massive ancient temple. You can also see it noted as Brah Ban, Prah Pan, Preah Pean, or more commonly the English translation being Hall of a Thousand Buddhas. Here we will cover just that cruciform gallery known as Preah Poan, for more of the temple see the complete guide to Angkor Wat
Highlighted on the map above, following a central path from the west entrance into the great temple will land you exactly at Preah Poan.
After entering the western gopura there is a set of stairs flanked by two devata and you have arrived. You will notice the large pillars which upon closer inspection carry inscriptions, looking left and right you will see the sacred ponds, looking up you will see the rosettes carved into the roof beams, looking above each of the doorways you will see pediments with narrated carvings from Hindu mythology, and looking to the right you will see a large standing Buddha statue which is flanked by a collection of other Buddhist statues and remnants.
The Buddha statue here is one of the sacred places inside Angkor Wat, and locals come to pray here in front of the large Buddha statue for good luck or to ease their troubles.
Preah Poan was also mentioned in a map by Japanese pilgrims who traveled to the site in the early 17th century calling it a hall of “4000 golden Buddhas”, see that map here.
Statuary – Sometime in the late/post-Angkor eras after the temple converted to Buddhism and eventually Theravada Buddhism, monks began collecting Buddha statues here, lots of Buddha statues. From old photographs, it can be seen that the name Hall of a Thousand Buddhas was no exaggeration. Among the collection were stone statues, wooden sculptures, Buddhist steles, a Buddhapada (Buddha’s feet carving) of different sizes big and small. What is truly fascinating are the different art styles from differing eras. Many of these statues were reportedly moved in the 1970s for conservation reasons and reside in the Angkor Conservation Depot (I believe).
Present-day
Historical Images or Preah Poan (property of EFEO. undated, assumed to be from the early to mid-1900s)
Inscriptions – The inscriptions located on the pillars all belong to the late/post Angkor period and total about 30 in number. Some are in old Khmer script and some are even left by the Japanese pilgrims mentioned earlier and left in ink. Preah Poan itself is mentioned within these inscriptions and the thirty are registered and recorded under the group number K. 302. On the base of the pillars are carvings of praying ascetics contemporary to the construction of the temple. More about Inscriptions in Angkor Wat.
Polychrome – A lot of red paint can be seen around the gallery area too along with orange, white and black to a lesser degree. Researchers (E. Uchida et al) indicate some of these pigments may be contemporary to the temple construction, while the red may be from the Bayon era being a color commonly used in temples of that era, or may also be from the restoration works carried out by King Ang Chan I (1526–66) in the 16th century. Interestingly, these piments are formed synthetically and perhaps in a similar method to that used in Roman times. German researchers are more certain in dating some of the pigmentations in Preah Poan to the 12th century and some to the 16th century.
Lintels – Standing at the center of Preah Poan with doorways to the north, east, south, and west, above them, you can see narrated lintels that are contemporary to the sites constructing and depicting scenes from Hindu Mythology. Above the north door is the battle between Vishnu and the asuras, above the east door is Vishnu’s three strides (Trivikrama), above the south door Vishnu resting on Ananta, and above the west door Churning of the Ocean of Milk (Roveda 1999).
Sacred Ponds – at each corner of the gallery is a large basin. It’s unknown how much water they would have held and what their original function/symbolism may have been. Do take a look up from the pond area, as some of the decoration around the roofline is quite interesting, the ascetics depicted here all seem to be of a differing style, see if you can spot the smiling one.
More? See the complete guide to Angkor Wat inc. Faqs and History
