Phimai Historical Park is an ancient Khmer city of the Khmer Empire in Thailand situated in Phimai
District of Nakhon Ratchasima Province and is about 60 kilometers north
from Phimai, the Capital. The ancient Khmer city [ and earlier in
7 - 8 C part of Chenla Kingdom ] is surrounded by a moat adjacent to the Mun
River on the east and north boundaries. Phimai is the largest Khmer
ruins complex in Thailand and comprises an inner moated city, 565 by
1030 metres, which was built in the 11 – 12 C with further
additions in the 13 C.
The Temple City was surrounded by a laterite wall 3,350 feet by
1,900 feet with the Temple enclosed by two walls, the outer measuring
900 feet by 720 feet and the innermost wall 272 by 243 feet. The complex
includes the usual structures, naga terraces, gopuras, pavilions, a
library. The key feature is the inner court yard which houses three
towers. The central and principal tower was built in 11 – 12 C and
is made of sandstone. The outer walls are decorated with lintels and
bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the Ramayana, illustrating battles
between Ravana and Rama. The southern side has bas-reliefs of Shiva and
its interior has bas-reliefs of Buddha, Bodhisattvas and Mara. The
Temple is Budhist, not Hindu and was part of the Mahayana school which
was prevalent in the Mun Valley from the 7 C onwards.
Phimai has large and small ponds to represent the oceans. The central
sanctuary is enclosed by narrow corridor galleries. Cruciform entrances
[ or Gopuras ] are installed at cardinal points. Carvings of Hindu Gods
ornament the pediments and lintels of these entrances. Within the
sacred area the central tower [ or prang ] culminates in a lotus bulb
shaped finial and represents Mount Meru. This is built of sandstone.
The Prang is many tiered and rests on a base, which is a tall re-dented
cube like structure which itself is set on other re-dented and
ascending sandstone platforms. Below the tiers of the tower and set in
the cube re-dented base was placed the linga, or phallic emblem of the
God Shiva and later a Buddha image.
The other two towers were built in 13 C. One was made of laterite and
the other, of red sandstone. The former houses a large sculpture of
King Jayavarman [ of Angkor ] who reigned during its construction.
Phimai has similar features to those at Phnom Rung
, it has access via a long causeway with terraces, the stone
balustrades of which are shaped as serpents or Nagas. These Nagas
have multiple flaring heads which are crowned, and act as
guardians of the earths' waters and are said to represent the rainbow,
the link between the world of men and the Gods. Accordingly when one
approaches these sanctuaries [ or Temples ] via these Naga causeways
one is reminded that as a devotee he or she is leaving the earthly
plan, physically and spiritually, for higher levels of enlightenment.
Just north of Phimai Historical Park, and not to be missed, is the
Phimai National Museum which houses Khmer artifacts and works of art
from excavations, not only from Phimai, but other Khmer ruins in
southern I 'san. This complex is the most outstanding example of Khmer
Architecture in Thailand.
UNESCO has Phimai designated as a World Heritage Site for future
listing and the following is its description and reason for the
designation.'' Phimai or Vimai was the name of a large rectangular
ancient Khmer city surrounded on all sides by boundary walls and moats,
lying 260 kilometers northwest of Angkor. Prasat Phimai was the
Mahayana Buddhist sanctuary situated at the center of the city. Prasat
Phimai itself together with the Cultural Route and the associated
temples of Phanomrung and Muangtam are among the finest Khmer monuments
and constitute a testimony to the civilization, prosperity and wealth,
and the power of the Khmer Empire at its peak. From Phimai the
historical route stretched out Southeast into the southern sub-region
of the Khorat Plateau leading to the pass across the Phnom Dongrak
mountain range on the Thai-Cambodian border. In the ancient time of the
Khmer Empire, travelers and pious pilgrims taking this route, which
connected Angkor to Phimai, had at their disposal rest houses spanning
over the route as well as some hospitals along the route. The remains
of these rest houses and hospitals mark out Phimai 's unique cultural
route, covering approximately a distance of 150 kilometers.
Prasat
Phimai was originally built in the l l t century after a large part of
the Buddhist Kingdom of Dhvaravadi was conquered and became the domain
of the Khmer Empire. It is evident from the statuary of Phimai that it
was built as a Mahayana Buddhist sanctuary. The inscriptions inside the
principal tower also signify the Buddhist origin of Phimai, praising
Lord Buddha and mentioning the name of King Suriyavaraman I as a
Mahayana Buddhist, as well as specifying the years corresponding to the
Buddhist Era of 1579 and 1589 ( 1036 and 1046 AD ). It is significant to
note that other Khmer temples belonging to the same era, such as Angkor
Wat or Prasat Phanom Rung, all were built as Hindu temples, the unique
Buddhist sanctuary of Phimai being the single exception. Besides the
Buddhist temple of Bayon in Cambodia, Phimai was duly recognized as the
most important full-fledged Khmer Buddhist sanctuary by Jayavaraman VII
the Great, who was a renowned fervent Buddhist.
The plan of the
township was in the shape of a rectangle enclosed on all sides by moats
and surrounding walls, of which traces still remain. Of the four walls,
the front side of the ancient town stood, as the Temple itself, facing
Southeast in the direction of Angkor. The fact that the temple of
Phimai faces Southeast in the direction of Angkor instead of facing
east, which is the common feature of other Khmer temples, is
significant, the reason however, is unknown. It might have been by
design to give effect to the special position and importance of Phimai
in its relationship to Angkor, as made evident later by the command of
King Jayavaraman VII to build rest houses and hospitals on the cultural
route to Phimai.
The restoration of Prasat Phimai from 1964 to 1969 with the technical assistance from the French
Government was supervised by Prince Yachai Chitrabongse and M. Bernard
Phillip Groslier, who was the director of the restoration work at
Angkor. The lintels on the inside of the buildings, depicting scenes of
the life of Buddha as well as episodes from the Ramayana, are among
the foremost of Khmer art. A very fine sandstone statue of King
Jayavarman VII in meditation was also found inside of one of the
buildings.''
'' Lying on the cultural route halfway from Prasat
Tamuan on the Thai - Cambodian border to Prasat Phimai are the two
ancient Khmer temples of Phanom Rung and Muang Tam in close vicinity.
Prasat Phanom Rung is magnificent, standing on top of an extinct,
wooded
volcano, and dominates the broad flat countryside marked off to the
south by the Dong Rek Mountains, the thickly forested slopes of which
lead away to the horizon. The construction of the temple took place in
different stages, the first two brick towers dating back to the 10th
century. These were followed by the small tower, which was built in the
11th century, and the principal tower, built in the 12th century.
Other structures including the scripture repository and the pavilion
were added during the reign of Jayavarman VII. The temple was for
worshiping the supreme Lord Shiva, thus Prasat Phanom Rung represents
his celestial abode on top of Mt. Kailasa. The monumental staircase is
most impressive, with its strong moulding on the sides giving a feeling
of power and mass, typical of great classical Khmer monuments. The
plan of the whole complex was designed on the basis of the axis
leading from the staircase to the principal tower. The principal tower
and minor buildings all have doors in symmetrical positions on all
sides. The main sanctuary, in particular, has superb decoration for its
strength and delicacy. All the external and internal doorways have
pediments and carved lintels and the walls and pillars are covered with
friezes.
An extraordinary feature of the architectural design of
the sanctuary, taking advantage of its geographical location, is the
straight through way from the entrance door on the East leading to the
farthest door, the 15 th door, on the western end of the structural
complex. The design was made to display the spectacular sunrise of the
two annual crossings of the equator by the Sun, beaming the majestic
aura of the rising sun from the entrance door on the East straight
through the fifteen doors to the western end of the doorway of the
sanctuary. Around each time of the equinoxes, visitors to this day
crowd the outside square on the west end of the Prasal Phanom Rung to
witness the awesome spell of the emerging sun over the horizon through
the fifteen doors at the western end of the sanctuary.''
Prasat
Muang Tam was a Hindu sanctuary built in the 11th century on the plain 8
kilometers southeast from Prasat Phanom Rung. Although its setting is much less
picturesque, its plan, importance, and the good state of preservation
of its bas-reliefs make it an outstanding ancient Khmer temple. The
plan of the temple is a vast rectangle, 120 by 127 meters, enclosed
with a laterite wall topped by a strong rim. At the four cardinal
points are four Gopuras in the middle of each side of the complex. The
first courtyard is imposing in its proportions and is mostly filled
with four symmetrical L shaped ponds, at each corner of which is the
figure of five-headed Naga with the tails meeting at the top of the
stairs on each side of the ponds leading down to the water. These ponds
are separated from each other by four paths leading to the four doors
of the inner courtyard which appears floating like an island. To the
north of Prasat Muang Tam is located the baray ( known as Thale Muangtam,
or Muangtam lake ), 510 by 1,090 meters, constructed as an integral
part of the temple to symbolize the ocean surrounding Mt. Meru, which
is the home of Hindu gods.
Associated Rest Houses and Hospitals
along the Route; King Jayavaraman VII, according to the account
appearing in ancient Prah Khan stone inscriptions in Angkor, commanded
that 17 rest houses be built from the capital on the route to Phimai.
Eight rest houses have been found on the stretch from Phimai to the
pass across the Phanom Dongrak mountain range on Thai - Cambodian
border. All rest houses are of the same size with typical identifiable
structural features. The spacing of the location of rest houses varies
from 10 to 26 kilometers, the different distances could have been due
to the different types of terrain and the conditions of the trail
encountered in one-day travel at that time. Unlike rest houses,
hospitals were scattered, probably located where the communities were
situated. Out of the remains of 18 hospitals found in the northeast of
Thailand, six of them were on Phimai 's route. ''
