Prei Kuk Temple (Mlu Prei Pir, Preah Vihear)

Prasat Prei Kuk/Prey Kuk, located around 25km east-southeast of Preah Vihear city, is a fascinating site and one of the oldest sites retaining substantial remnants and art still in situ, outside of Sambor Prei Kuk/Phnom Da/Thala Borivat. It’s speculated to date to around the 6-7th century. In the 1900s, French explorers would name it Rocher de Melu Prei.

Surrounded by forest, the site is located up a small rise and sandstone plateau, of which there are several in the area. The site is positioned at the edge of this sandstone rock monolith that forms the entire rise. It begins with a beautiful moonstone (doorstep) carved from the sandstone with steps flanked by two support walls, all carved from sandstone where remnants of brickwork can be seen to either side. These support walls double as pedestals for two lions. Continuing, there are the remains of a sandstone doorframe, partially standing, and then a round linga-like object which would appear to be a balipitha (offering table).

Then comes the main edicule, carved into the face of a natural rock creating a vimana, or flying palace, with Ganesha atop a pedestal inside a large niche bordered by decorated pilasters and a torana arch, all of which is kept aloft by a Garuda. This “flying palace” is flanked on either side by two carvings of Ganesha, above which are two inscriptions as noted in the historical notes further below.

While that has art characteristics similar to the 7th c as does the nature of the door frame, likewise the inscription is noted as having a likeness to those of the 6th c. For the remnants of the two lions in situ, it is not so clear cut.

It’s believed, and surely so by the amount of brick rubble and the door frames, that what we see today was enclosed in a brick structure as outlined by Parmentier in 1935.

*360 image and video from June 2023 will be posted shortly.

Historical Notes

Rock of Melu Prei. Dr. Harmand has reported in the vicinity of Melu Prei, at a point which, according to his itineraries, would be about 15 kilometers from this village, some ruins which he enumerates as follows:

A rock carved in the shape of a niche, with a brick superstructure.

In the niche, a figure of divinity sculpted in high relief has a broken head; on each side is an elephant represented from the front; the whole is surmounted by an inscription of four lines.

Surrounds, scattered without apparent order in the background, you can see other rocks cut in the form of pedestals, equipped with a channel and a gargoyle pierced with a channel. On one of them, we still see the feet of the statue, cut from the same block; the others are simply pierced in their center with a pyramidal hole (mortise for the tenon of the statues). Four lions defend the sandstone gate which remains standing in front of the sculpted rock. Behind this door, one sees a large marker (a linga, according to M. Harmand).

Inscription of the rock of Melu Prei – An inscription of four lines is engraved on the wall of the rock, above the characters of which we have just mentioned. It has not been studied.

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, Lajonquiere, 1907 (quoting Harmand)

Much further to the east, the point once reported by the late D’HARMAND, the PR. PREI KUK was found by the late MERCIER, resident of Stung Treng. L. de LAJONQUIÈRE and I had looked for it several times without success. It is 1 km away, about 500 to the north, a little west of the village of Pros Kaak, about twelve kilometers south of the Mlu Prei sala. It is likely that he is confused with Pr. Don Kük to whom de LAJONQUIÈRE assigned the number 319 which we have given to Pr. Yak Moy. Indeed, the word “Dong” means in Laotian, which is spoken in a fairly near neighboring region, a forest just like the Cambodian term “Prei”. And when we were doing our investigation on the monument of Don Kük, the “old balat de Čep” who informed us later about the 320, had indicated to us as characteristics of the 319 of the lions and a unique and standing pràsàt door: we will see that this information, which do not agree with the 319, are on the contrary exact for the 320.

Pr. Prei Kük is in the middle of the forest in a very rocky desert region, about fifteen meters from the Ó Prahut. It depends on the village of Pros Kaak and through him on the district of Mlu Prei. It was a small sanctuary of primitive art in brick with a door to the east (pl.XII); it was for the whole bottom taken at the expense of the rocks and apart from these, hardly any remains except the frame of the door and some masonry of bricks of little height. There remains, however, enough to realize its curious old arrangements. The entire back is occupied by a large niche (pl. XIII) under an arch supported by a ruined image which appears to be a garuda. In reality, it is not the niche that it carries, but the pedestal of an image which seems to be a Ganesha: its legs are bent Indian style, its waist thin and its belly large, the large head attached to the bottom; but we cannot say more. The direct support of the god consists of a monolithic ablution tank with all the rest, and whose rear face is supposed to be lost in the back of the niche. The spout runs north parallel to this background and comes up against the north pillar of the niche; it is purposely split by a vertical hole. The channel comes out and runs to the wall of the room, and we have not been able to find its exit.

The niche consists of a low arch made of two segments whose meeting forms a barely indicated angle projecting downwards. The junction hollow of the two elements received an antefix that its mortise alone indicates today. The bow is decorated with very long diamonds and rolls up into a butt. The pillar has the usual decor & primitive art, half-diamonds at the ends and a rosette in the middle. These pillars rest on a small base received in its turn by another which stop at the interior sides two thin walls. Outside the niche, between it and the walls of the room, the two spandrels are occupied by two crouching elephants emerging from the wall halfway up. They rest on a base, similar to that of the pillars, under which the second base of the latter extends by repeating itself. Above the elephants and the slight retreat from which they stand out, the face of the rock bears on each side two inscriptions of four lines, that of the south fairly well preserved, and still unpublished, Ca. 358. Ganeça are cantilevered and supported only by a wide cove that extends like the base. The thin slab that forms the floor of the niche, fortunately unhooks from bottom to top under the Ganeça tank, and thus better motivates the support that the Garuda brings to it. However ruined this one may be, we can still recognize its wings and large discs in its ears.

The door which opened this room is, as usual in this art, made of thin flagstones; it opened in a significant splay and was preceded by a small avant-corps. The true lintel has in front the notch intended to receive the missing decorative lintel. The avant-corps was in turn preceded (pl. X, F) by a considerable step between crypts which received lions, of a spirit quite similar to those of Sambór-Prei Kük. The steps are low and long. Between the crypts and on them, there is a cylindrical stone already pointed out by HARMAND; but its flared shape and the coarseness of its workmanship prevent us from seeing a linga in it; it would rather be a crowning achievement. The basement interrupted by the steps is untidy; cut at the expense of the rock itself, it has small pilasters. Two figures in simple prisms stop on a beautiful double step in accolade, also taken in the sandstone. Three other lions found nearby have had to come and stand on the rocks that rise in tiers going down towards the river. Behind the niche, the top of the rock is slightly hollowed out as if it must have had some square motif. No notch in the seat does not guarantee the exact position of the back wall.

In the blocks facing south, about fifty meters away, a large cut rock forms a dice facing east; it has an ablution tub whose spout, broken, held the entire height and emptied into a tiny basin (fig. 11). Above, we wrongly placed the plinth and the feet of a statue whose tenon broken horizontally allows balance. Next to it is a spout for ablutions, the only remains of the pedestals mentioned by HARMAND. One of them is undoubtedly the pedestal that is today in the Vat Mlu Prei and which was told to us brought back from Pr. Don Kük. It has opposite coves around a double ring; the tank which was placed in interlocking is missing.

Complement L’Art Khmer Primitf, Henri Parmentier, 1935

Inscription

K. 358 – 4 + 4 lines of Sanskrit – IC V, p. 63

The curious monument of Pràsàt Prei Kuk, 18 kilometers south-west of Mlu Prei, was first reported by Dr. HARMAND who gave a rough reproduction of its inscription’. Neither AYMONIER nor L. DE LAJONQUIÈRE saw it, but H. PARMENTIER gave a complete description of it.

It bears two Sanskrit inscriptions of 4 lines each (2 sragdhara) engraved above the two figures of squatting elephants which flank the central image of Ganesh. The southern inscription is entirely ruined except for the first word of the first line (çukra), and the word vidyadhara at the beginning of the fourth. The well-preserved northern inscription is an invocation to Ganeça. The meaning is not perfectly clear, and the translation offered here is given without prejudice.

The neat handwriting is that of the sixth century.

[translation follows]

Victory belongs to that Ganapati who, having seen in his sleep the king of the Danava, the ravisher of the territories of others, vanquished by his enemy, powerfully chained, fallen here long ago, held back by the mountain, singing his praises, came, upon awakening, from the Himadri with the Kinnara, in the company of one hundred Gana, having in view deliverance, as if it were for your good.

Inscriptions du Cambodge V, George Coedes, 1937

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap. Rodney Charles L'Huillier has spent over seven years in Cambodia and is the author of Ancient Cambodia (2024) and Essential Siem Reap (2017, 2019). Contact via [email protected] - more..