With the fervor of a saint,
I have taken it upon myself to tell the world
of the beauties of the kingdom of Cambodia
and the virtues of the Khmer people.

Thus I pay my debt of gratitude for their warm hospitality.

The opening lines of Roland Meyer’s epic tale of Cambodia: Saramani

Article by Kent Davis

Roland Meyer, self portrait, circa 1909

At the end of the 19th century, a young French boy dreamt of finding a tropical paradise. Books about Pacific island adventures and the discovery of lost cities in the dense jungles of Southeast Asia fueled his imagination. Soon, the urge to travel was irresistible but what set this young man apart from thousands of others is that he shared his stories.

Roland Théodore Emile Meyer was born in Moscow on July 10, 1889. His parents moved to Paris where, after his education, he enrolled in the Indochinese colonial service in 1908 at the age of 19.

Meyer first served for three months in Saigon as a cabinet aide to Governor-General Paul Beau in Saigon. Upon moving to Cambodia in 1909 Meyer’s life changed forever as he immersed himself in the history, language and lifestyle of the modern descendants of the ancient Khmers.

Unlike other colonials, Meyer chose to assimilate with the indigenous culture surrounding him, learning the local language, customs, religion and even setting up his home among the natives outside the French quarter of the town. Meyer was a living example of a visitor who “went native”, much to the surprise of some of his fellow colonials. In 1912, Meyer published Cours de cambodgien, the first book to teach the Khmer language to Francophones.

Cambodian Dancers by George Groslier, 2010 edition.

With Phnom Penh still a small town, Meyer soon met others who admired and respected the legacy of the great civilization that surrounded them. His small circle of friends, many of whom were founding members of The Angkor Society, came to shape the way the world sees Cambodia. They included Jean Commaille, the first conservator of the Angkor site; Henri Marchal, the second Angkor conservator who took over Commaille’s duties when he was murdered by robbers; and Charles Gravelle, director of the country’s branch of the Bank of Indochina and an avid writer himself – all men whose influence is still with us today.

Another associate embarking on a stellar career in Cambodia was George Groslier, an artist and writer two years older than Meyer, who arrived in Phnom Penh in 1910 on an educational assignment. As it turned out, both young men were captivated by a living, breathing vestige of the ancient Khmers; the sacred Cambodian dancers who lived, sequestered, in the royal palace as part of the king’s harem.

On returning to France in 1913, Groslier published Danseuses Cambodgiennes, Anciennes et Modernes, the first formal study of the sacred artistic tradition. Meyer’s experience and vision of the dance and dancers, however, went even deeper and was far more intimate.

Meyer told of a seemingly forbidden romance between East and West — between a royal dancer in the king’s harem named Saramani, and a French boy who came to Indochina to seek his destiny. The boy, like Meyer himself, “went native” and adopted the Khmer name Komlah, which means bachelor.  Through Saramani and her family, Meyer (often writing as Komlah) relates a detailed picture of love and life  in colonial Cambodia.

For a decade, Meyer recorded his notes in his personal diaries, shaping a tale in which it’s difficult to tell fact from fiction.

Saramani - Cambodian Dancer by Roland Meyer, 1919.

In 1919 Meyer published Saramani, Danseuse Khmèr in Saigon. His epic account of Cambodia stretched from the primeval formation of the land tens of millions of years ago, to the peak of the Khmer civilization at Angkor Wat, ending in the modern colonial capital of Phnom Penh. He records the lives of all he encounters on Cambodian soil; rice farmers, fishermen, immigrants, colonials, dancing girls, poor peasants, wealthy merchants, royal servants and even kings.

Saramani title page - 1919

Saramani grew to a massive work of more than 180,000 words exploring many controversial events in the guise of “fiction”. Meyer’s views of colonial lust, capitalistic greed and royal decadence were upsetting to some, to say the least. The same year of its release he transferred to Laos, perhaps out of necessity to escape local consequences…or perhaps to escape romantic entanglements that may have inspired some of the scenes throughout the book.

Was Saramani a real person? Were the book’s fantastic events based on reality or imagination?

Meyer never revealed this but his exceptional accuracy, attention to detail and congruity with historical events implies that there is much more than fiction in his account.

Sketch of a Buddhist pagoda in Ken Svai, a community on a large island in the Mekong River near Phnom Penh. By Roland Meyer, circa 1912.

Meyer worked with the French civil service until retirement. Coinciding with the French Colonial Exposition of 1931 in Paris he published two more books, Komlah, visions of Asia and French Indo-China. Laos. While Komlah relates many more personal impressions in Indochina the second title is a rather dry analysis of the Laotian country.

In 1952 his friend M. Gerard published his final work, a collection of short essays titled Le propos du vieux colonial.

Sadly, like many great men of the French colonial era, Meyer’s trail vanishes late in life. I don’t know where he died, where he is buried, if he has any descendants or what became of his archives. A sad loss to Cambodian, French and literary history.

If any readers have additional information please contact me kentdavis at gmail dot com.

Bangkok, Thailand – In 1052 AD, ancient Khmer priests carved a sandstone monolith with an extraordinary royal history at the temple of Sdok Kok Thom. By the 14th century, however, war and political upheaval caused the collapse of the once-might Khmers, and this story was lost to the world for centuries. As a reporter for the Washington Post in 1979, John Burgess was covering the Cambodian refugee crisis when he first entered this obscure temple.

His tenacious pursuit of its historical mystery are now available in his new book, “Stories in Stone - The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription & the Enigma of Khmer History.”

"Stories in Stone - The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription & the Enigma of Khmer History" - 2010 - Riverbooks

Stories in Stone – The Sdok Kok Thom Inscription

The founding of an empire, the settling of frontier lands, a king’s gifting of gold pitchers and black-eared stallions to a Brahmin priest – these and other remarkable stories come down to us in the Sdok Kok Thom Inscription, one of the world’s most important ancient testaments.

Recovered at a ruined temple in Thailand close to the Cambodian border, the 340-line chronicle unlocks the early history of the Khmer Empire. Yet temple and text have remained little known outside expert circles.

In this full and highly readable account, former Washington Post correspondent John Burgess traces the impact of the great inscription, which was carved onto a sandstone monolith around 1052 AD, abandoned to the wild for centuries, then decoded by French colonialists. He relates the temple’s surprise emergence in 1979 as a haven for Cambodian refugees and resistance fighters during the war in their homeland. Today Sdok Kok Thom is again at peace, its mission of preserving history accomplished.

The detailed book includes photographs of the temple, past and present, Refugee Camp 007 and its refugees and militias; extracts from previously unpublished letters of French savant Étienne Aymonier, the inscription’s first translator, written during his months of travels around Cambodia in 1882-1885; a revised English translation of the full inscription by the University of Hawaii linguists Chhany Sak-Humphry and Philip N. Jenner; a glossary of terms; and suggested further readings.

‘While reporting on Cambodians fleeing war and revolution in 1979, John Burgess came across an ancient Khmer temple hidden in the bush… 30 years later he returned to that temple to decipher its history. The result is this lovely book that tells the story of the temple and the larger Angkor Empire leavened with Burgess’ own odyssey to recover that history.’

Elizabeth Becker
Author of When the War was Over

About the Author

John Burgess worked at the Washington Post for 28 years, most recently as Deputy Foreign Editor in charge of Europe, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia. John’s career as a journalist began in Southeast Asia and he later served as Tokyo bureau chief for The Post in 1984-87. Since retiring he has been able to devote more time to his passion for historical study, with a month of research in Thailand and Cambodia allowing him to complete his work on the mysteries of Sdok Kok Thom.

For the latest information please visit the Stories in Stone website.

John Burgess at Sdok Kok Thom

Availability

Available now from Riverbooks in Bangkok

Available for advance order on Amazon in the USA

In the second month of the bingshen 丙申 year of the Yuanzhen 元貞 reign of the Yuan 元 dynasty [1296], a Chinese delegation representing the recently-crowned emperor Temür 鐵穆耳 (Chengzong 成宗; r. 1294-1307) set sail from the southern coastal city of Mingzhou 明州, headed for Cambodia.

We cannot be entirely sure of the delegation’s objective, nor of the role that was expected to be played by a young member of the mission named Zhou Daguan 周達觀.

Portrait of Emperor Temur Khan who ruled from 1294–1307. Wikipedia image.

What we do know is that Zhou’s account, written some time after the eleven months he spent in the capital Yasodharapura (now known as Angkor Thom) in 1296-97 and titled Zhenla fengtu ji 真臘風土記 [Account of the Customs and Geography of Cambodia], is the only surviving eyewitness account of the civilisation of Angkor. The work then, offers a unique glimpse of that world at the end of the thirteenth century, just as its golden age was beginning to draw to a close.

"A Record of Cambodia: Its Land and its People" by Zhou Daguan. Translated by Peter Harris.

Given the importance of Zhou’s account, it seems astonishing that this slim volume, A Record of Cambodia: The Land and its People, translated with an introduction and copious notes by Peter Harris, represents the first ever translation of the work into English directly from the classical Chinese, but this is indeed the case.

Previous English renditions (the latest reprint of which appeared in 2007) have been based solely on Paul Pelliot’s (1878-1945) masterful French version of the work, Mémoires sur les Coutumes du Cambodge of 1902, and inevitably suffer from being too far removed from the original text. Peter Harris, by contrast, is able to draw not only on Pelliot’s pioneering study (and revised version with incomplete notes, posthumously published in 1951), but also on the ground-breaking scholarship of Xia Nai 夏鼐, whose annotated edition of Zhou’s text, Zhenla fengtu ji jiaozhu 真臘風土記校注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2000) includes variants from thirteen editions. There is also a tremendous amount of new linguistic material in the present edition, with Harris making use of important studies by Michael Vickery, Bernhard Karlgren, Edwin G. Pulleyblank and others.

The impeccable scholarship of this study, combined with the accuracy of Harris’ fluent translation, make this version certain now to supersede that of Pelliot as the standard edition of Zhou’s account in any Western language.

The Record of Cambodia as it exists today is divided into 40 sections, but Harris notes that the present order suggests that they may at some point have been rearranged (17). Indeed, parts of the text ‘show clear signs of having been cut or mutilated’ (28), and Harris cites the seventeenth-century bibliophile Qian Zeng 錢曾 (1629–1700?), who claimed that the text on which presently-existing editions are based was ‘muddled and jumbled up, six or seven tenths of it missing, barely constituting a book at all’ (29).

As it stands it contains quite thorough descriptions of the architecture and customs at court, interesting details concerning such matters as sumptuary restrictions on dress, and more cursory observations on law, death, agriculture, sex, prostitution, slaves, language, trade, flora, animals, liquor, transport and various other topics. Harris renders Zhou’s text into accurate but free-flowing English, occasionally altering the sense of a word (the translation of the term fan 番 as ‘local’ is one example Harris himself signposts, 31-2), but always acknowledging where this has been done.

Wenzhou, China

Of Zhou Daguan himself we know almost nothing, other than that he was a native of Wenzhou 溫州, but one of the strengths of this book is Harris’ skilful evocation of the ‘kind of frontier spirit’ (5) that existed in thirteenth-century Wenzhou and the other coastal cities that helped to connect southeast China to Asia and the wider world.

These were the ports from which large quantities of raw and manufactured goods, including lacquer, celadon, ceramics, silks, cinnabar, paper, musk, pewter and glass departed daily, and the people with whom Zhou grew up, we are told, were ‘traders, merchants and sailors, broad-minded, outward-looking [and] well-versed in the affairs of the world…’ (10).

As historians increasingly seek to highlight the roles of Asian societies in the early modern world economy, and become ever more aware of the ways in which the emerging discipline of global history can enhance our understanding of early modern cultures, the publication of this new edition of Zhou Daguan’s account of Cambodia seems extremely timely. Indeed, the Yasodharapura Zhou describes is a key site of global interaction, with immigrant Siamese who, unlike the locals, engage in silk production and are competent tailors (76), geese recently introduced from China (73), and a range of Chinese goods available for sale, including paper, combs, needles, mats and much more (71). Intriguingly, Zhou also tells us that ‘although cloth is woven domestically, it also comes from Siam and Champa. Cloth from the Western Seas 西洋 is often regarded as the best because it is so well-made and refined” (50). *

If we know little about its author, then we know even less about the publication history of the Zhenla fengtu ji itself, save that the book must have been circulating in some form by at least 1312, as it is referred to in Wu Qiuyan’s 吾邱衍 Zhusushan fang ji 竹素山房集, published in that year (41 n.17).

Zhou’s account was eventually included in the monumental Siku quanshu 四庫全書 collection initiated by the Qianlong 乾隆 emperor (Gaozong 高宗; r. 1736-96) in 1772, but the fact remains that no official record of the mission to Cambodia exists in any of the traditional Chinese sources. That omission links Zhou (and Harris) to another traveller of the Yuan era, Marco Polo, whose A Description of the World, a far lengthier but also far more problematic source of the history of the Yuan world, was revised and edited by Harris in a new edition published in 2008. **

Marco Polo, 1254-1324

In contrast to Polo, Harris notes, Zhou Daguan ‘gives us the impression he can be relied upon’ (2), and ‘seems to be scrupulous about indicating whether he is reporting something first- or second-hand’ (23). This is particularly evident in the section entitled ‘The Three Doctrines,’ in which Zhou describes details such as dress, but admits ignorance in other respects (‘I don’t know what the source of their beliefs is, 53).

The period during which Zhou visited Cambodia at the very end of the thirteenth century marks something of a turning point in the history of Angkor civilisation. It would be over a century before Yasodharapura was finally sacked by Siamese troops and the capital moved to the south of the country, but it is clear from what little we know that the massive construction projects that characterised the reigns of Angkor’s thirteenth-century rulers were missing from the following century (14-17). Zhou notes at one point that ‘as a result of repeated wars with the Siamese the land [surrounding the capital] has been completely laid to waste’ (79), an offhand remark that reads quite portentously to those of us who know how the story ends.

Harris notes that scholars such as Michael Vickery warn against assigning too much authority to Chinese and Sanskrit sources when assessing Angkor civilisation, and he judiciously draws attention to Zhou’s natural prejudices and assumptions (27). One obvious deficiency in the text (apart from its incompleteness) is that not a single Cambodian is referred to by name, and we simply know far too little about the publication history of the account to be able to speculate as to whether these were subsequently removed, or indeed, ever there at all.

But I would argue that – and as an historian of China I am quite prepared to declare my bias here – while the book provides just a glimpse of late-thirteenth century Angkor, it can tell us quite a lot more about China under Yuan rule, a period that as it stands is not particularly well served in terms of traditional source material. The fact that the people of Cambodia do not know how to make soy sauce (75) is probably of very little interest to an historian of Angkor, but the fact that a young Chinese deemed this worthy of note does at least tell us something, however trivial, about culinary practice under the Yuan.

More usefully perhaps, the observations Zhou makes regarding interregional trade, or his advice that ‘when a Chinese goes to this country, the first thing he must do is take in a woman, partly with a view to profiting from her trading abilities’ (70), can contribute much to our understanding of Chinese migration history.

Now brought back to life in Peter Harris’ outstanding new English edition, Zhou’s Record of Cambodia will no doubt find its way into the hands of a new generation of historians and anthropologists, but it should also appeal more generally to anyone interested in a fascinating civilisation about which we know so little.

* ‘Cloth from the Western Seas’ 西洋 is probably a reference to buckram from India, althoughit may also have come from somewhere on the Malaysian peninsular. Some commentators prefer to read the 布 here as 絲布 (i.e. silk). See Xia ed., Zhenla fengtu ji jiaozhu, pp. 87-88.

** The Travels of Marco Polo, the Venetian (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008). This new edition was recently reviewed in the pages of this journal by Duncan Campbell.

© Copyright 2010 New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies (NZJAS). This review originally appeared in the NZJAS journal and is reprinted here with the kind permission of the editor.

About the Reviewer

Dr. Stephen McDowall, is a Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Warwick.

His research interests include late-imperial Chinese history and literature, the literature of travel, China in the Western imagination, early modern global connections and Ming material & visual culture.  His new book, Qian Qianyi’s Reflections on Yellow Mountain: Traces of a Late-Ming Hatchet and Chisel (Hong Kong University Press, 2009), examines the fascinating and complex world of late-Ming literati through an analysis of the youji 游記 [travel account] genre.

Artist, architect and historian George Groslier designed the distinctive National Museum of Cambodia building as a tribute to traditional Khmer architecture. © National Museum of Cambodia

By Darryl Collins
(First published in 2005, this article reprint appears here with the author’s kind permission)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Visitors to Phnom Penh from the 1920s, as they still do to this day, identified the capital of Cambodia by the graceful silhouettes of the Royal Palace buildings and the imposing façade of the then Musée Albert Sarraut that is known today by its more familiar title, the National Museum of Cambodia.

George Groslier - Feb 4, 1887- Jun 18, 1945 - Seen in his museum office. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

George Groslier (1887-1945), historian, curator and author was the motivating force behind much of the revival of interest in traditional Cambodian arts and crafts, and it was he who designed this quintessential building that is today synonymous with ‘traditional Khmer’ architecture.  It is perhaps better described as a building enlarged from Cambodian temple prototypes seen on ancient bas-reliefs and reinterpreted through colonial eyes to meet museum-size requirements.

Groslier, the first baby born in Phnom Penh of French parentage, returned to Phnom Penh in 1909 after being sent to France in 1891 for schooling.  The original concept behind the museum was that it be paired with a school teaching arts and crafts to Cambodian students so they could preserve the pure, untainted forms of traditional decorative and applied arts rather than ‘modern’ debased work.  This reasoned Groslier, could best be accomplished by copying designs from original works of art on exhibition.

The museum building itself featured the work of many of these same young Khmer artisans who contributed their talents to the carving of the massive entrance doors and window shutters and decorated the interior panels with paintings featuring mythological subjects.  These treasures are fortunately still in place.

Early beginnings

Albert Pierre Sarraut - Jul 28, 1872-Nov 26, 1962

The earliest known collections that pre-date this spectacular crimson building are the Musée Khmèr that displayed only samples of Khmer archaeology in the confines of the Royal Palace (1905) and the Musée de Phnom-Penh of the same year that displayed examples of Khmer sculpture within the compound of the former Lycée Sisowath.

Conservateurs of these early collections between 1905 and 1919 were: L-A. Rousseau, L. Pétillot, Henri Marchal, Roland Meyer and J. de Villeneuve.

Groslier’s intended museum was soon associated with the Ecole des Arts cambodgiens (1917) and became known as the Musée du Cambodge in 1919.  In 1920, this museum was soon to be officially renamed Musée Albert Sarraut after the then Governor-General of Indochina. The official portrait of M. Sarraut (above) was included in the 1920 publication, Cérémonie d’Inauguration du Musée Albert Sarraut et de L’Ecole des Arts cambodgiens.

Construction of the Musée Albert Sarraut

The Musée Albert Sarraut near completion in 1920. © National Museum of Cambodia

The foundation stone for the new museum was laid on 15 August 1917.  Some two-and-a-half years later, the completed Musée Albert Sarraut was inaugurated during Khmer New Year on 13 April 1920 in the presence of H.M. King Sisowath, François-Marius Baudoin, Résident-supérieur, and M. George Groslier, directeur des Arts cambodgiens, and conservateur du Musée.

Title page Cérémonie d’Inauguration du Musée Albert Sarraut et de L’Ecole des Arts cambodgiens, 1920. © National Museum of Cambodia

The original design of the building was slightly altered in 1924 with extensions that added wings at either end of the eastern façade that made the building even more imposing.

As can be seen from period photographs, the museum currently displays many items – in particular the bronze collection, in showcases that are part of the original furnishings.

The Collection

The collection is housed in high-ceilinged galleries open on one side to a square courtyard set with four pools and a manicured garden planted with palms.  It is a haven amidst bustling Phnom Penh.  The galleries are arranged systematically from the front of the building in a clockwise direction.  As Khun Samen, the present Director has whimsically noted, the majestic statue of Garuda ‘king of the birds’ that faces visitors as they enter the building, shows you the direction to take by pointing to his right.

Exhibition display in the Musée Albert Sarraut 1926. © National Museum of Cambodia

The four museum galleries are best understood by their orientation – in the east, the Bronze Galleries containing superb examples of Khmer bronze casting techniques from the 6th to 13th centuries.  Further to the south of these galleries is a new display dedicated to prehistory finds of early ceramics, metal and stone.  To the north of the Bronze Galleries, is a special exhibition space currently displaying fine and rarely- seen examples of Post-Angkorian Buddha images.

The remaining three main galleries surrounding the courtyard progress in an orderly fashion – the Southern Gallery displays sandstone sculptures from the 6th to 11th centuries (Phnom Da to Baphuon styles).  The West Gallery exhibits works of art from the classic Angkor Wat and Bayon styles from the 12th to 13th centuries – it is here the statue of King Jayavarman VII is displayed; while the North Gallery is primarily dedicated to decorative and applied arts – woodcarving, lacquer, ceramics and metalwork.

Many original museum display cases are still in use. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

The porticos surrounding the garden house a wonderful collection of sacred, secular and architectural stone works that include yoni and linga, decorative doorway lintels, carved bas-reliefs on wall sections (from Banteay Chhmar temple) and important stele with Sanskrit and old Khmer inscriptions (dating mostly from 6th to 11th centuries).

Two other masterworks in the collection are the sandstone statue of Yama (the so-called ‘Leper King’, 12th century) housed under the pavilion in the centre of the inner courtyard and the monumental fragment of the bronze Reclining Vishnu (11th century) recovered from the Western Mebon temple in 1936 to be found in the north-eastern corner of the museum adjacent to the temporary exhibitions display.

Research, scholars and staff

Early directors of the museum from the 1920s-1940s contributed greatly to knowledge of the rapidly expanding collection – Groslier himself catalogued the collection, followed by Jean Boisselier and Solange Thierry (interim Director) who added their individual talents to cataloguing and management.

Madeleine Giteau - 1918-2005. Photo courtesy Andy Brouwer.

Control of the National Museum and Arts Administration was ceded by the French to the Cambodians on 9 August, 1951 and following Independence in 1953, the then Musée National de Phnom-Penh was the subject of Bilateral accords (7 November 1956).  From 1956 to 1966, the museum continued to flourish under the direction of Madeleine Giteau, Conservatrice du Musée National.

1966 marked the appointment of Chea Thay Seng, the first Cambodian Director of the National Museum and Dean of the newly created Department of Archaeology at the Royal University of Fine Arts.  This university that from its foundation as the Ecole des Arts cambodgiens in 1920 was intimately linked with students, artisans and teachers who worked to preserve Cambodian cultural traditions, can still be found to the rear of the museum.

The National Museum Today: Tourism and Culture

By the 1960s, the National Museum had become the centrepiece of a number of provincial museum collections scattered throughout Cambodia.  Today, it is regaining that status – after years of neglect, closure and uncertainty, provincial museums are re-opening across the country.

Following the highly successful ASEAN Summit, this year has been designated ‘Visit Cambodia Year 2003’.  As an integral part of appreciation of Khmer culture, visitors to Siem Reap should ensure their journey encompasses Phnom Penh for it is here the museum treasures of Cambodia are displayed.  This world-class collection of Khmer art spans the gamut of history – from prehistory finds, through pre-Angkorian masterpieces to the art of the classic Angkor periods, and the post-Angkorian Middle Period.  As Khun Samen, the current Museum Director has perceptively stated, “In order to better understand the evolution of Khmer art, it is preferable to study statuary and architecture together.”

The National Museum of Cambodia today.

Entrance to the collection is gained by purchasing a ticket at the north gate and guide services in foreign languages are available.  Visitors can also purchase souvenirs and publications (including ‘The New Guide to the National Museum’) from the bookshop just inside the main door.

How should the importance of this collection be defined?  Khun Samen dedicates this guidebook, “to young Cambodians, … that they may come to appreciate and preserve their cultural heritage”; and to all Cambodian and international visitors, “may the five blessings of the Buddha be upon them.”

National Museum of Cambodia Timeline

Inaugurated: 13 April 1920, Khmer New Year

Renovated: by architect, Vann Molyvann late 1960s (central section, main building)

Closed: 12 April 1975 to 7 January 1979 (civil war)

Re-opened: 13 April 1979, Khmer New Year

Renovated: 1994-1995, roof and sections of building renovated with Australian government funding through AIDAB (now AusAID) and OPG.  Ceremony to mark completion of work attended by HRH King Norodom Sihanouk and The Hon. Bill Hayden, AC, Governor-General of Australia, 28 April 1995.

About the author:

Darryl Collins

Darryl Collins first came to Cambodia in early 1994, to work with staff at the National Museum of Cambodia as one of a group of specialised museum staff and architects, who came to assist with a project funded by the Australian Government between 1993 and 1995.  Darryl has remained in Cambodia ever since, lecturing at the Royal University of Fine Arts (Department of Archaeology) and as a co-member of a team of three in ARK Research (researching and publishing Building Cambodia: ‘New Khmer Architecture’: 1953-1970).

For five years he lectured at the Department of Archaeology, Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh.  In mid-2004 he completed a 1-year consultancy with the Department of Culture and Research, the APSARA Authority, Siem Reap and he spends his spare time writing and researching art, architectural and cultural topics.

In late 2004, Darryl returned once more to part-time work at the National Museum, Phnom Penh as manager for the Collection Inventory Project that will, over a period of some 5 years register works of art and transfer early French records of the museum onto a purpose-designed database.

In 2010, Darryl accepted a position on the Board of Directors of Heritage Watch International, an international organization based in Cambodia that is devoted to protecting and preserving Cambodian heritage and antiquities.

Darryl resides in Siem Reap in an antique home he restored while studying traditional Cambodian houses.  To visit Darryl’s home and read more about his work please visit http://www.darryl-siemreap.com/

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Wat temple, the symbol of modern Cambodia, embodies the genius, beauty and power of the Khmer civilization that first civilized what is now Southeast Asia.

Angkor Wat is unlike any other ancient temple on Earth because of the treasure it protects: its vast walls and corridors enshrine a delicate legacy, the exquisite portraits of more than 2,000 Khmer women known as devata. Whether they represent goddesses from heaven or queens here on earth is unknown.

Each day, these sanctified women welcome a new sunrise with the promise of abundance, fertility, peace and enlightenment for this land, and for all who wish to see their message. The heart of Angkor Wat is very much alive and the devata still offer humankind hints of our celestial place in the universe.

Special thanks to architect and photographer Gary Ng, who captured this magnificent series of sunrise photos at Angkor Wat on his first visit to Cambodia. For more of his work, please visit http://gnostec.wordpress.com/

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat sunrise. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple honoring Vishnu between 1,115-1,150 AD. Cambodia adopted Buddhism in the 13th century and Buddhist monks have maintained the temple since that time. © Copyright Gary Ng.

Angkor Wat enshrines more than 2,000 portrait carvings of ancient Khmer women. Their identity and meaning remain a mystery. © Copyright Gary Ng.

George Groslier designed the iconic National Museum of Cambodia. Its style remains synonymous with ‘traditional Khmer’ architecture. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - On April 13, 1920 Cambodians celebrated the New Year of the Monkey with the grand opening of the National Museum of Cambodia, housing the world’s most extensive collection of Khmer art.

Nicole Groslier

Although she wasn’t even two years old at the time, one petite French girl named Nicole has held the National Museum of Cambodia in her heart since that day…and with good reason. Her father George Groslier designed the museum, became its first Conservator, and devoted his life to preserving and perpetuating the art and culture of Cambodia.

Born in Phnom Penh in 1887, George Groslier was educated in France, and then returned to Cambodia in 1909. Service in WWI called him back to Europe but when the war ended he returned to his birth country with his wife Suzanne,  spending the rest of his life devoted to the arts, culture and people of Cambodia.

Nicole Groslier was born in Phnom Penh in 1918 and, like her father, has held a lifelong love for Cambodia and her people.

On April 13, 1920 an H.M. King Sisowath presided over the inauguration of the National Museum of Cambodia. Museum architect George Groslier is seated far left. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

In 1920, H.M. King Sisowath attended the auspicious New Year’s Day inauguration of Cambodia’s first national museum, along with a host of international dignitaries. The facility was initially named for Albert Sarraut, former Governor General of Indochina. Sarraut’s political efforts gave George Groslier the opportunity to design and organize this monument to Khmer art that still today is synonymous with traditional Khmer architecture.

From childhood to maturity, Nicole Groslier would visit her father at his museum office marveling at the magical world of Khmer imagination. Nicole’s first true memory of visiting the museum is in January 1922, when she attended a special ceremony welcoming Marshall Joseph Joffre to Cambodia.

Nicole Groslier attends her first formal museum event with proud parents Suzanne and George. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

Marshall Joffre was honored by this ceremony at the National Museum of Cambodia. Nicole is standing directly in the center of the action. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

Marshall Joffre became one of France’s most senior officers in World War I after replacing the popular Philippe Pétain during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. H.M. Sisowath himself then took Le Maréchal to tour the temples of Angkor.

H.M. King Sisowath took Marshall Joffre on a tour of Angkor after the museum event.

Throughout his career, George Groslier continued his efforts as museum director to catalog the vast collection and to share his appreciation for Khmer creativity with the world. These dramatic photos from Nicole’s personal archive show the museum nearly inundated by the seasonal floods of the Mekong River in the 1930s.

Mekong floodwaters mirror the national museum's Khmer architecture. Circa 1934. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

Two men in a pirogue paddle by the museum entrance. Circa 1934. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

George and his wife Suzanne had two more children in Cambodia. First, Gilbert in 1922 and then their youngest child, Bernard-Philippe Groslier (below), in 1926. Inspired by his father, Bernard-Philippe also pursued a lifetime career focused on Cambodian history and Khmer culture.

George Groslier and his son, Bernard-Philippe, who also grew up to become a noted archeologist in the field of Khmer studies. Photo courtesy Nicole Groslier.

The museum's central courtyard remains a peaceful focal point, surrounded by Khmer art.

From its opening, the museum has attracted enlightened scholars whose work illuminates the mysteries and beauty of the ancient Khmer race. Jean Boisselier and Solange Thierry both added their talents to improving the museum. From 1956 to 1966, the museum flourished under the direction of Mme Madeleine Giteau, who occupied the same official residence as the Groslier family, just behind the museum.

In 1966, Chea Thay Seng became the first Cambodian Director of the museum, as well as Dean of the newly created Department of Archaeology at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA). At the origins of this university we find the Ecole des Arts Cambodgiens that George Groslier organized in 1920. It’s goals remain the same, to intimately link students, artisans and teachers working to preserve and perpetuate Cambodian cultural traditions.

Since Cambodia’s  liberation and the restoration of a government by the people the museum has grown under the guidance of two Directors, Khun Samen and Hab Touch. In 2010, the museum’s second female Director, Mrs. Oun Phalline, assumed this vital administrative role.

Today the National Museum of Cambodia houses one of the world’s greatest collections of Khmer cultural material including sculpture, ceramics and ethnographic objects from the prehistoric, pre-Angkorian, Angkorian and post-Angkorian periods. Its facility includes more than 5,000 sq. meters of space devoted to exhibits, restoration, offices and meeting rooms.

Masterpieces of Khmer Culture

In 2007, the museum catalog, Masterpieces of the National Museum of Cambodia by Helen Jessup was published by Friends of Khmer Culture, offering art lovers and historians worldwide the opportunity to appreciate this extraordinary collection.

Article by Kent Davis, www.Devata.org

Special thanks to Nicole Groslier for sharing her photographs and memories.

Sua Sdei Chnam Thmei ๒๕๕๔

Happy New Year 2010

Students learning the art of Khmer Classical Dance through the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia dance project.

Philadelphia, PA – A new segment on WHYY considers the artistic side of one of the world’s greatest, and most mysterious, civilizations: the Khmer.

Many Americans are familiar with the tragic Khmer Rouge genocide that brought many Cambodian refugees to our country in the 1980’s. But few know about the magnificent Khmer civilization that began flourishing in Southeast Asia in the 8th century. The Khmer legacy still inspires rich traditions of dance, music, fashion, literature and art that survive to this day.

As a segment on WHYY’s Art of Life series, producer Karen Smyles created Bridging Cambodian Culture to focus on unique people and cultural events in Philadelphia’s Khmer-American community.

The feature included Rorng Sorn, Executive Director of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP), a foundation that has implemented social, health and education programs for Cambodian refugees and their families in Philadelphia for over thirty years.  Visit CAGP’s Facebook page here to become a fan.

The Khmer Art Gallery in Philadelphia features a variety of traditional and contemporary art from Cambodia.

The documentary also visits the  Khmer Art Gallery to meet founders Bonna Neang & Bob Weinstein. Hidden in the heart of Chinatown, the spacious gallery displays a vast array of artwork from Cambodia’s “Millennium of Glory,” from traditional pieces to the works of contemporary masters in stone, bronze, wood and fabric.

The WHYY feature coincides with the celebration of Cambodian New Year, April 13-15, a three day event filled with special meals, cultural presentations and religious ceremonies.

Watch a clip of the WHYY documentary Bridging Cambodian Culture here by selecting CHAPTER 2.

Khmer Classical Dance students in traditional costumes study with the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia dance project

Can India’s vibrant goddess traditions help us decipher the mysteries of the women of Angkor Wat?

By Kent Davis

The Hindu temple of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Angkor Wat, the renowned 12th century Hindu temple now located in the jungles of Cambodia, is much more than the largest religious structure in the world. This Khmer temple also has a human side: for nearly 1,000 years, it has enshrined the images of more than 1,796 sacred women.

Angkor Wat devata from the bakkan, the highest, most sacred level of the temple. Photo: Kent Davis

The puzzling fact is that no one knows who the women of Angkor Wat were and what principles of spirituality or government they represent. Why these female were chosen to dominate this magnificent structure with their prominent presence remains a mystery.

Each female portrait at Angkor Wat is distinctly different, with myriad varieties in their pose, hand positions (mudras), ethnicity, jewelry, clothing, hair style, accoutrements and location.

Almost no written records detailing the Khmer civilization have survived through the ages. The best account we have is from the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan, who visited 150 years after Angkor Wat was built.

Daguan makes no secret of his interest in Khmer women. He comments in detail about the importance of women in conducting business, the huge numbers of women who live in the palace and even to ogling women as they bathed topless. Despite his fascination, one of many questions Daguan does not answer is: Why did the Khmers populate their greatest temples with respectful images of women?

Devata.org is dedicated to understanding these women, and to paying tribute to them in the context of their contributions to the greatness of the Khmer civilization. Some clues may be found in India, where many aspects of the Khmer civilization originated.

This article considers Indian Yogini traditions, which involve both female worshipers and female divinities. It is unknown if the Khmer religion at the time of Angkor Wat had similar female-centric traditions. However, it is quite clear that Khmer temples prominently featured sacred women to the near exclusion of men.  A handful of Indian Yogini temples exhibit this same trait.

This article examines one Indian temple that, like Angkor Wat, predominantly features female images: the Chaunsat Yogini Temple of Bheraghat Jabalpur.

What is a Yogini?

The word Yogini in Devanagari Sanskrit script

The term Yogini, used in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions,  has multiple meanings. These aspects are drastically simplified for this article and readers are encouraged to investigate more specialized sources.

First, it can refer to a human woman dedicated to pursuing spiritual knowledge and enlightenment through the practice of Yoga. A male practitioner is called a Yogi. Through her practice, a Yogini may acquire certain supernatural powers including the power to control bodily functions (i.e. heartrate, fertility, resistance to pain or cold and metabolism), or even the ability to fly.

Lakshmi (wealth/material fulfillment), Parvati (Power/love/spiritual fulfillment), and Saraswati (learning and arts/cultural fulfillment) joined in a single manifestation of Devi. Painting by V.V. Sagar.

A Yogini’s path may include the practice of Tantra (Sanskrit=weave), a religious philosophy focusing on the interplay between the male and female forces of the universe embodied by Shakti and Shiva.

Yogini can also refer to personifications of aspects of nature, manifested from the Divine Mother Goddess, or Devi. These Yoginis include the ten Mahavidyas (also called the Great Wisdoms or dakini) who represent the spectrum of feminine divinity, from beautiful and gentle to violent and terrifying.

In some branches of Yoga and Tantra, these powerful manifestations serve as models for human Yogini practitioners to emulate.

Another definition characterizes Yoginis as aspects of the Hindu goddess Durga, who is another form of Devi. During a battle to save the universe, Durga emanated eight Yoginis to achieve her goal. In some systems they are called Matrikas. Later texts multiplied these 8 into 64 Yoginis representing the full range of forces in the world, controlling fertility, disease, abundance, vegetation, life and death itself.

The variety,  complexity and power of the Yogini traditions are such that the final understanding of this concept is best left to the individual. For the purposes of this discussion we will summarize by broadly stating that Yoginis are range of women, from human to divine, who represent, control or seek to control powerful forces of nature, including life itself.

The images in the Yogini temples of India and the spiritual practitioners who have worshiped there for more than a millennium are all somehow connected to the Yogini tradition.

Yoginis, Goddesses or…Goblins?

Early Yogini accounts by Europeans focused on their horrific aspects. For broader understanding consider Buddhist Goddesses by Miranda Shaw and Kiss of the Yogini by David Gordon White.

In his report for the Archaeological Survey of India 1862-65, Director General Alexander Cunningham had this to say about the yogini temple at Khajaraho:

Sri Dhanendri - Photo by Raju-Indore.

“Chaonsat Yogini, or the “64 female goblins,” appears to be the most ancient temple at Khajaraho.

“It is the only one of all the temples that is not placed due north and south. It is also the only temple that is built of granite, all the others being of a fine light coloured sandstone from the quarries on the east bank of the Kane River. The Joginis, or Yoginis, are female goblins who attend upon Kali, the goddess of slaughter.

“When a battle takes place, they are said to rush frantically to the field with their bowls to catch the blood of the slain, which they quaff with delight. In the Prabodha Chandrodaya they are called the “spouses of demons who dance on the field of battle.”

“From their connection with the blood-drinking goddess Kali, it is probable that the temple may have been originally devoted to Siva — a suggestion which is partly confirmed by the position of a small shrine of Ganesha on the same rocky ridge immediately in front of the entrance. But as the Brahmans on the spot assert that the dedication of a temple to the Yoginis ensures victory to the dedicator, it is possible that this temple may still retain its original name.

“Vans Kennedy’s Hindu Mythology (p. 490) mentions the names of six Yoginis — Brahmi, Maheswari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Mahendri — who were all called by Siva to devour the flesh and drink the blood of the great Daitya Jalandhara.

“Under this view, however, we might expect to find the temples of the Yoginis rather numerous, as many generals would be willing to purchase victory at so cheap a rate. But as this is the only shrine of these goddesses that I have yet met with, I am inclined to doubt the tradition, and to assign the temple to Durga or Kali, the consort of Siva.”

Could the Women of Angkor Wat be Yoginis?

In direct contrast to the women of Angkor Wat, a considerable amount of written information has been passed down regarding the sacred women depicted in India’s Yogini temples. While much is known about Indian Yoginis, next to nothing is known about the women of Angkor Wat, also known as devata or apsaras. Could they represent Yoginis, too?

Angkor Wat devata from the east wall of the West Gopura.

If they are Yoginis, they are all certainly quite reserved in their demeanor and seem to represent only the gentler aspects of the Yogini pantheon.

The women of Angkor Wat display no horrific or supernatural attributes or abilities. In fact, they appear quite normal, lacking fangs, halos, multiple eyes, wings or other fantastic features.

No woman at Angkor Wat appears as a sakti, the manifestation of the female aspect of a god, sometimes seen with the animal head of a boar, bull, horse or lion.

Nor do the Angkor Wat women possess necklaces or cups made from human skulls, skeletons or weapons among their accouterments.

All of the devata at Angkor Wat are standing in dignified poses with both feet firmly on the ground. None are seated. Only a few assume kinetic positions that can be associated with dance.

Still, portrayed in a temple, the women of Angkor Wat do share a divine residence with their Yogini sisters. Some also display similar hand positions (mudras), jewelry adornments and an association with plants and flowers from nature. As admirers have noted for centuries they are frequently quite attractive, but there are many exceptions.

The women of Angkor Wat only seem to only represent an harmonious relationship with nature, while Indian Yoginis evoke more the full range of creation, including violent aspects.

Perhaps there is a connection between these two extraordinary groups of women but it is not immediately obvious. A good place to start is by examining IndianYogini temples, using the specific example of the Chaunsat Yogini Temple of Bheraghat Jabalpur.

Yogini Temples – Natural, Circular and Hypaethral

In India, Brahmins have long held that sangam, the confluence of two rivers, are especially sacred because the mingling waters of two streams are considered more effective at washing away sins. This is why Bheraghat, where the Narbada and Saraswati rivers meet, is an especially holy bathing spot.

Site plan showing the 84 cloisters of the yogini temple at Bheraghat and the central Gauri Sankara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the center..

High on a hill near the river junction we find one circular yogini temple, whose courtyard protects the Gauri Sankara temple devoted to Lord Shiva (see details at the bottom of this article).

The circular form is unusual for Brahmin enclosures ; but it is the correct form for temples dedicated to the Chaunsat Yoginis (i.e 64 yoginis). Two other Yogini temples of this form are in Hirapur and Ranipur-Jharial. A fourth yogini temple at Khajaraho is oblong. All of them are hypaethral, or open to the sky.

The circular Yogini temple of Bheraghat is 130 feet in diameter (its inner diameter is 116 feet 2 inches, and the outer diameter 130 feet 9 inches). Using 84 pillars, its perimeter is divided into as many spaces. Each of the 84 cloisters or alcoves constitutes a separate shrine measuring 4 feet 9 inches wide and 5 feet 3 1/2 inches high under the eaves. Three niches—two to the west, and the other to the south-east—remain open as entrances. The remaining 81 spaces are fitted with pedestals for statues of sacred women. Only two male statues appear in the temple.

The Yogini Temple Statues at Bheraghat

Among the statues at Bheraghat two poses are seen: sitting and standing. Many are damaged and a few are missing entirely. Most are four-armed goddesses who, early writers noted, “are especially remarkable for their breast size.”

Early reports characterized most of these images as “Yoginis or female demons who serve Durga.” The temple is, therefore, commonly known as the Chaunsat Yogini, or “sixty-four yoginis.”

The yogini temple of Bheraghat, circa 1875.

Eight figures are identified as ashta sakti, or female energies of the gods. Three seem to be personified rivers. All the sitting figures are taken to be Yoginis. Each one is highly ornamented and made of a grey sandstone.

Four dancing female figures are not inscribed (Nos. 39,44, 60 and 78]. These are made of a purplish sandstone and are much less ornamented. One of them, No. 44, is thought to be the goddess Kali. The others seem to be other forms of that deity.

Siva and Ganesha [Nos. 15 and 1] are the only two male figures.

The result of this examination shows that the statue set up in this circular cloister may be divided into five distinct groups as follows:

Saktis, commonly known as ashta-sakti………….8 statues

Rivers: Ganges, Jumna, and Saraswati………….3

Dancing goddesses: Kali, etc……………………..4

Gods: Siva and Ganesha……………………………2

Yoginis, or chaunsat yogini, 57 intact, 7 lost…..64

Total………………………………………………….81

Two entrances [= 3 spaces]………………………3

Total…………………………………………………..84

For a complete detailed inventory of the Chausath yogini temple goddesses and gods please visit this page. This article is based on Archaeological Survey of India reports from 1873-75.

NOTE: The inventory is entirely based on the Archeological Survey of India reports from 1873-75. Unfortunately, modern photos of the site vary from some names and locations originally cited. Please contact me (kentdavis@gmail.com) if you can help clarify these discrepancies. Ideally I would like to include a clear photo of every statue on this website.

OTHER RESOURCES

Complete Inventory of Yogini Statues at Bheraghat

This page includes a detailed list of all the images recorded in the Chausat Yogini temple in 1875.

Indian Temples and Iconography

Kavitha offers an excellent collection of more than 200 well-written articles about Indian spirituality, many of which directly relate to understanding the sacred women of the Khmer race. A few of her fascinating articles are about Gandharvas and Apsaras in the celestial world, the Chaunsat Yogini Shrine, Tripura Sundari, the Goddess Chamundeshwari…and so many more.

Yogini temple of Hirapur

This article describes yogini temples that were active between 9th and 13th centuries.

Voyage au Cambodge: l’architecture khmer

Based on his 1866 journey to Cambodia with Doudart de Lagrée, Louis Delaporte noted the similarity of Khmer design to the yogini temple of Khajaraho, and others:

“…enfin le temple Chauonsat Jogini Khajurao dont les soixante-quatre niches en forme de petites préasats sont terminées par des cercles décroissants cannelés semblables aux couronnes de lotus des sommets khmers.” (p. 425)

Details about the Gauri Sankara Temple at Bheraghat (1875)

In the center of the Chaunsat Yogini shrine is Gauri Sankara temple, the top of which is a comparatively modern structure. It was the personal temple of Rani Durgavati (1524-1564) of Kalchuri dynasty. Directly in front of the shrine a heavy stone slab covers a tunnel that led from Rani Durgavati’s chambers in his Madan Mahal palace-fort to the temple.

Gauri Sankara shrine. Photo by Raju-Indore.

This central shrine is made up of old carved stones as well as bricks. For unknown reasons, it is asymmetrical and is not located in the center of the enclosure, nor does its mid-line correspond with the mid-line of the enclosure. The shrine’s basement, however, is ancient and undisturbed so this seems to correspond with the original plan.

Gauri Sankara Temple at Bheraghat.

The original central shrine was erected in 1,155 AD, making it exactly contemporaneous with Angkor Wat (1,116-1,150 AD). It was built by the Kalachuri Queen Alhanadevi during the reign of her son Narasimhadeva. The front wall of the sanctum still bears an inscription referring to the daily worship of the deity Gauri-Sankara by Gosaladevi, the mother of the Kalachi King Vijayasimhas (1,180-1,195 AD).

Inside, there are a group of five images. Between 1863-65, Indian Archeological Survey of Indian noted that the group is 4 feet 1 1/2 inches high and 2 feet 7 1/2 inches wide. These measurements corresponded exactly with the cloisters outside suggesting that the group was were originally there.

The images are:

1. Vishnu and Lakshmi on Garuda in dark-blue stone.
2. Surya, standing with Arun, driving the seven horses of the sun (this one is 3 feet 6 inches high by 1 foot 10 inches broad).
3. A small Hara-Gauri, (Siva and Parvati).
4. A Small figure of Ganesha.
5. A figure of Dharmma, a 4-armed female, 1 foot 10 inches high, with a small figure of Buddha in the head-dress. Flying figures with garlands above, and the traces of the Buddhist creed inscribed on the base.

To some, the presence of this Buddhist figure suggests that the circular cloister may have once surrounded a Buddhist stupa. The letters of the inscription, however, are of a later date than those inscribed on the statue pedestals, which appear to be an integral part of the original structure.

Details about the Chaunsat Yogini Temple Dimensions (1875 notes)

The cloister’s inner diameter is 116 feet 2 inches, and the outer diameter 130 feet 9 inches. The cloister consists of a circular row of 84 square pillars, with the same number of full pilasters arranged opposite to them against a back wall. The actual cloister is only 4 feet 9 inches wide and 5 feet 3 1/2 inches high under the eaves, with a rise of 8 1/2 inches above the ground. The back wall is 2 feet 7 1/2 inches thick. The eaves are formed by a 10-inch projection of the architrave, which is sloped away in a graceful curve, as shown in the section of the cloister.  The whole is roofed with large slabs of stone from 8 to 9 inches thick, which are molded on both front and back, and form a graceful finish to this fine colonnade.

Cross section of the yogini temple showing how the alcoves are build.

The number of pillars being 84, the cloister is divided into as many spaces or intervals. Three of these—two to the west, and the other to the south-east—are left as entrances; while the remaining 81 spaces are fitted with pedestals between the pilasters for the reception of statues. Each of these pedestals is 3 feet 5 inches long, 1 foot 8 inches broad, and 1 foot high. The pillars are 10 1/2 inches square, and the intervals between them 3 feet 5 1/2 inches. But the intervals between the back pillars is 3 feet 7 1/2 inches, so that the pedestals just fit in between them ; and they were no doubt an integral part of the original structure.

Sitting statues are generally 4 feet 2 inches tall, and 2 feet 5 1/2 inches broad.

Site plan showing the 84 cloisters of the yogini temple at Bheraghat and the central Gauri Sankara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the center..