Banteay Srei
Banteay Srey · Citadel of Women · Tribhuvanamaheshvara
Angkor Early 967 CE·Hindu Shaiva (Brahmin Yajnavaraha)·🇰🇭 Siem Reap Province, 25 km northeast of Angkor Thom (32 km from Siem Reap town), Cambodia
Wikipedia contributors · CC (see file page)
About
About Banteay Srei
Pink sandstone Hindu temple (967 CE) dedicated to Shiva Tribhuvanamaheshvara, built by Brahmin guru Yajnavaraha — only Angkor temple not founded by king — miniature (base 500×500 m laterite enclosure) but famed for virtuoso bas-relief in rose-pink sandstone: dense narrative friezes of Ramayana and Mahabharata with 1 mm carving precision, deep undercut foliage, and central sanctuary. Rediscovered by Malraux theft scandal 1923 and anastylosis Henri Marchal 1930–36.
Why it mattersApex of Khmer miniature carving precision; proof that non-royal elite could endow major temple; Rosetta for Ramayana iconography.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why allowed non-royal temple against royal monopoly?
Theories
- 01Brahmin counsellor patronage model vs king
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 967 CE dedicated 22 April (inscription) — Rajendravarman II reign
- Period
- Angkor Early 967 CE
- Culture
- Hindu Shaiva (Brahmin Yajnavaraha)
- Builders
- Brahmin guru Yajnavaraha and brother Vishnukumara
- Purpose
- Brahminical temple and court school (asrama)
- Abandoned
- 13th c. after Angkor shift to Bayon Buddhism
- Rediscovered
- 1914 Louis Finot survey; 1923 Malraux theft; restored Marchal 1930s
- Excavation
- Excavated
967-04-22
Stele dedication by Yajnavaraha
1923
André Malraux arrested for stealing 4 apsara carvings
On the ground
Structures & features
13.5910° N · 103.9620° E · 65 m · 1 mapped feature
Gallery