ANGKOR and I

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96 research, stated that in the construction of Angkor Wat, one unit used equaled 43.545 centimeters (a cubit, approximately equal to the length of a forearm). After having decided on the place where the new castle town is to be built, the subsequent task was chopping down trees and carrying out simple land preparation work. Prior to starting the construction, the indigenized Hindu gods or folk spirits were summoned via the royal preceptor (Guru) or ceremonial officer, a ritual was performed for the eternal security of the nation, and concurrently a splendid ground-breaking ceremony was conducted to pray for the safety of the construction. Subsequent to the ground-breaking ritual, specific north, south, east, and west azimuth determinations were done using the sun’s rising and setting, and the sphere of influence of the temple begins. Then, in line with the sphere of influence, the construction work on the temple ground commences. According to the survey by the EFEO, the place where Angkor Wat was erected was originally the site of a small pond. The Angkor monuments are made of stone, and yet innovative technology was shaped in each era. As an upshot of such accretion and perfection of technology that had continued so far, the temple now stands before our eyes. The Angkor capital has been erected on an Indian view of the cosmos, a religious castle town wherein the cosmological view has been modified into a Cambodian style. The ruins conceal the soundless voices and prayers of architects, site directors, rammed earth workers, stone transporters, stone processing masons, craftsmen, engravers, sharpeners and polishers, painters, and other temple specialists of bygone days. On the day of the vernal equinox the rising sun so to say transfixes the central spire of Angkor Wat, and all who perceive the spectacle stand amazed, in awe as to what it is. However, since the autumnal equinox occurs during the rainy season, one hardly ever gets to see the same setting. Did people of those days ponder deeply over issues like “What is man? Where is mankind going? And how should mankind live?”