Mahayana sculptures in Khmer Art

This sandstone sculpture packed with vibrant energy can be assigned to the second half of the twelfth century on stylistic grounds. The face and the dress are still highly reminiscent of the Angkor Vat style. Prajnaparamita in her nine-headed form achieved great renown at the end of twelfth century. The way her nine heads are arranged here is not otherwise know. The small Buddha figure in her crown of hair depicts the Jina Amitabha, the victor whose light is infinite. This is an iconographic sign that she shares with Bodhisattva Lokesvara, which symbolizes her radiant spiritual power that sheds its light over all things.

Starting with the first Pre-angkorean masterpieces - which can be traced from as early as the 6th century AD - and continuing during the Angkorean period from the 9th to the 15th centuries as well as during the Post-angkorean period, Khmer stone sculptors looked to religion for inspiration. It is in glorification of their gods or deified kings that the artists, forever condemned to anonymity, created their temples, statues, and bas-reliefs. Indeed, their works represent genuine professions of faith and honor with respect to India's two main religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, introduced to Cambodia during the first centuries of the Christian era.

In the sanctuaries, the statues were sculpted in a contemplative sitting pose or standing upright, and were represented holding out in their hands the attributes by which they could be identified. They were expected to be inhabited by a deity (mainly Shiva and Vishnu, but Buddha too), from whose protection and blessing believers hoped to benefit.

In Khmer tradition, Buddha is often depicted in a meditative pose, seated on a base in the form of either a spread out lotus or a serpent whose seven heads fan out above him to afford protection.

The Bayon
Late 12th Century, Buddhist, Jayavarman VII.

There are 37 standing towers, most but not all sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points. Who the faces represent is a matter of debate but they may be Lokitesvara, Mahayana Buddhism's compassionate Bodhisattva, or perhaps a combination of Buddha and Jayavar-man VII. Bayon was the Jayavarman VII's state-temple and in many ways represents the pinnacle of his massive building campaign. It appears to be, and is to some degree, an architectural muddle, in part because it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century.