Wat Praeus Meas Temple

Also recorded as Phnom Trap D, Wat Praes Meas Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទវត្តប្រើសមាស). Originally a group of four brick temples, three of which are still standing, located on the hilltop of Pheah Ank Brampi Mountain (Khmer: ភ្នំព្រះអង្គរភ្នំប្រាំពីរ).

The three remaining brick temples each feature impressive bas-relief carvings in the rear walls, sandstone doorframes flanked by ornate door columns topped with lintels, and false doors repeating around the other sides. The lintel of the southern tower is intact and some of the door columns have great detail. Note also that the central tower sits forward slightly from the other two.

The carvings on the walls are a little contentious, early researchers attributing them to Hindu mythology while the preponderance of research now suggests they are in fact Buddhist, which is fascinating, so I will present them as such.

North temple – featuring a carving of a four-armed Vajrapaṇi

Central Temple – featuring a carving of four-armed Avalokiteshvara, flanked by two four-armed Devis

South temple – featuring a carving of an eight-armed Avalokiteshvara. The lintel depicts Laksmi on a lotus flanked by elephants.

A statue representing the Bodhisattva Lokesvara transformed into Siva was lodged at Guimet (MG 14909) and can be seen here. A four-armed Vajrapaṇi from the site is held in the Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap.

On the south side of the site is a small open-air contemporary vihara and fronting the three temples is a massive Buddha statue disposing of fear. Several sandstone pedestals can also be seen around the site.

The site can be reached by stairs accessed on the eastern side of the mountain, or alternatively, there is a lesser-used rocky trail leading from the southern side which was OK for a Honda Wave with rider only but the loose rocks on the, in parts, steepish trail (pictured above) could easily cause some trouble. Getting to the general area is via reasonable sealed roads.

The nearby “Golden Deer Pagoda” also houses some ancient remnants.

References

• Tantric Buddhism in Phimai: A New Reading of its Iconographic Message (referencing Green 2012) – Pia Conti
• The Vat Sithor Inscription: Translation, Commentary, and Reflections on Buddhist Traditions in Tenth-Century Cambodia – Phillip Scott Ellis Green

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..