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Concept
Bayon
Summary
The Bayon (ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayoăn praːsaːt baːjŏən) is a richly decorated Khmer temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII (ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧), the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom (អង្គរធំ).
The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude (4 on each tower pointing to the 4 sides) of serene and smiling stone faces of The Buddha, (probably modelled on the face of King Jayavarman VII), on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The main conservatory body, the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat (ប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្ត).
The original name for the Bayon is Jayagiri (ជ័យគីរី, Chey Kĭri) (or "Victory Mountain" or “Mountain of Brahma” ; “Jaya” - another name of Brahma and “giri” to mountain), with Sanskrit roots similar to Sīnhāgiri ("Lion Rock").
The name of Bayon was given by Etienne Aymonier in 1880. According to his report, Bayon was the Latin transliteration of what he had seen written in Khmer as "Bayânt" which he presumed most have been a corrupted form of the pali Vejayant or Sanskrit Vaijayant, the name of the celestial palace of Indra of which the Bayon was presumed to be the earthly reflection. The first syllable Ba as a Sanskritic prefix was similar to that found in other places such as Ba Phnom and could signify the presence of a protector or defensor.
The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor (ក្រុងអង្គរ), and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily to worship buddhist deities, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm.
Official source
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