In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, mountains are believed to be homes to the gods. Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung, a magnificent temple sanctuary set on the summit of Phanom Rung Hill, was built between the 10^th and 13^th centuries. According to the stone inscriptions in Sanskrit and Khmer found at the site, the original name of the temple complex is Phanom Rung, Khmer for big mountain.

A religious sanctuary dedicated to the Hindu god, Shiva, Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung symbolises Mount Kailasa, the heavenly abode of Shiva. Phanom Rung Hill rises 350 metres above the surrounding plain.

Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung is the second most significant Khmer-style temple in Northeastern Thailand or I-San. Although often overlooked on account of the famed Angkor city complex in Cambodia, the Khmer monuments of I-san represent key architectural milestones in the development of Angkorean design and ritual. In fact virtually every Angkor-period monument played a role in an elaborate cosmology that linked the entire network, a part of which lay in what is today Thailand. According to ancient folk belief, one should make a pilgrimage to the summit of Khao Phanom Rung to pay homage to the gods, deities and celestial beings that reside on the mountain at least once in a lifetime. The tradition has been carefully preserved by the residents of I-san over the centuries.

Astro-archaeological Phenomenon at Prasat Hin Khao Phanom Rung Astrologers have also predicted that an extraordinary astro-archaeological phenomenon will occur at sunrise during the April 3-5 period this year. The doors of the temple sanctuary are so perfectly aligned that during this period, at sunrise on a cloudless day with clear blue skies, the sun’s rays will shine through all fifteen doorways of the sanctuary in a single shaft of light. (Plan to arrive between sunrise and no later than 06.00 a.m.)

‘Palaces of the Gods’
Magnificent man-made sandstone sanctuaries, often referred to as palaces of the gods, sit atop hills rising above the high plains of I-san and still bear witness to the half millennium from the 9^th to 14^th centuries during which a powerful Khmer state flourished in the region, including what is today northwestern Cambodia.

These extraordinary towers comprise elements of temple architecture meant to symbolise Mount Meru, the mythical peak at the centre of the Hindu-Buddhist universe.

Surrounding Mount Meru, this universe unfolds in concentric circles or squares representing seven continents alternating with cosmic oceans. Beyond the seventh continent stretches an infinite ocean interrupted solely by four 'corner' continents. In more advanced Khmer temple complexes, moats and ponds around and amongst the towers and pavilions may have been intended to represent the oceans in this cosmic universe.

Sometimes referred to as 'high Cambodia', the provinces of Buri Ram, Surin, Nakhon Ratchasima and Sisaket were a perfect setting for the development of these Meru microcosms.

Although Thai folk belief once held that the larger, cruciform-plan monuments served as palaces for Angkor's all-powerful kings, in fact these buildings were designed as temporary abodes for Shiva, Vishnu, Maitreya and other deities called to earth via religious ritual. To the east of I-san's temple-dotted plateaus lay the river valleys of 'low Cambodia', the heartland of Angkorean civilization where its kings resided.

A sacred 'superhighway' linked Prasat Phimai with 12^th-century Angkor Wat, the largest and most complex of the Khmer temples. Angkor rulers were at the time considered to be devaraja or 'god-kings', and to maintain that vaunted status they and their priests periodically travelled between key monuments to perform complex ceremonies involving fire, water, and linga (sanctified stone sculptures representing Shiva's phallus).

Monuments en route offered spiritual and temporal support along these potentially arduous journeys, including 102 'houses with fire' and 121 'hospitals' or 'healing stations' (arokayasala). These structures became so important to the sanctity of the Angkor empire that some 300 Khmer shrines were erected between the 7^th and 13^th centuries. Temple construction reached its zenith in the 12^th and 13^th centuries.

Important:
Please make reservations for the tickets, travel and accommodation immediately.

A News Room Guide to Khmer Art and Architecture

Contact information:
TAT Northeastern Office – Region 1
Areas of responsibility: Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, Chaiyaphum
Tel: +66 (0) 4421 3666, (0) 4421 3030
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Distance from Bangkok to Buri Ram: 410 kms (254.7 miles)

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