ប្រាសាទព្រៃគុក

According to the previous researching shows that in the territory of Preah Vihear today, there are very few remains of pre-Angkorian temples, and the most well-known temple is Trapeang Kuk, which its architecture has Garbhagriha similarly Asrom Maha Eysei temple, Phnom Da temple. Besides, there is another temple that researchers from Europe have noticed and studied a lot on Prei Kuk temple. This temple is located in Preus kaak village, Mlou Prei commune, Cheb district, Preah Vihear province, which is today abundance of Kuy ethnic group living.

In 1879 Dr. Harmand, J. published a book entitled “Notes de voyage en Indo-Chine, Les Kouys, Ponthey Kakeh. Considération sur les monuments dits Khmer ”which is one of the first documents to describe this Prei Kuk temple. Later, in the 20th century, four famous researchers studied this temple in successions such as Étienne Aymonier, Lunet De Lajonquière, Henri Parmentier and George Coedès. Prei Kuk temple has a special feature that is different from other temples in Cambodia, that is, the temple was built by carving natural stone which was in its original location including the basement and pediment and both sides contained protruding structures. Ganesha statue sits on a pedestal and Garuda bas-relief with his wings arms outstretched to support the pedestal. This kind of Guru gesture is similar to the Garuda carved under the floating temple in the Sambor Prei Kuk temple complex. In addition, on either side of the Ganesha statue, an elephant was carved on each side.

The form of Ganesha carved in natural stone like this is very rare in Khmer art in the 7th-8th centuries, but we used to see them carved on the stone wall in Phnom Kulen as seen in the Pounge Tbal and Pounge Komnou, which is carved in the gesture of standing close to Shiva god, the father of Ganesha. In Brahmanism, Ganesha is considered a deity of intellect, knowledge, and overcoming obstacles, or can be placed as an obstacle, the most common form of which is having a big belly, his head is an elephant, and rat is his vehicle, or sometimes riding an elephant.

In addition, above the elephants on both sides, we see inscriptions in Sanskrit. On the right side, there are 2 lines and on the left side, there are 4 identical lines. This inscription numbered K.358 that was studied by George Coedès published in the fifth volume of Inscription du Cambodge, which he thought was probably inscribed between the 7th century. The general content of this inscription describes the worship of Ganesha and some myths related to Ganesha. Later, in the reign of King Rajendravarman during the 10th century perhaps, a brick structure was built over the old structure. On the east side, a sandstone staircase and door frame were erected and two lion statues were placed at both sides of the entrance. This type of extension is often seen in the 10th century during the reign of King Rajendravarman, as in the northern part of the Sambor Prei Kuk temple complex, with many additions built during his reign. Overall, Prei Kuk temple can be considered as an important pre-Angkorian art that is present in the territory of Preah Vihear province today and is a place of worship for a Ganesha statue in Khmer architecture.

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