View source for Preah Ko

{{Short description|Ancient Hindu temple in Roluos, Cambodia}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name               = Preah Ko
| image              =Preah Ko 1.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| map_type        = Cambodia
| map_caption        = Location in Cambodia
| coordinates        = {{coord|13|20|38|N|103|58|22|E|type:landmark_region:KH|display=inline,title}}
| country            = [[Cambodia]]
| state     = 
| district           = 
| locale             = [[Hariharalaya]], [[Roluos (temples) | Roluos]]
| elevation_m        = 
| deity      = [[Shiva]]
| festivals= 
| architecture       = [[Khmer Empire|Khmer]]
| temple_quantity  = 
| monument_quantity= 
| inscriptions       = 
| year_completed         = 879 A.D.
| creator            = [[Indravarman I]]
| website            = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Khmer}}
'''Preah Ko''' ({{langx|km|ប្រាសាទព្រះគោ}}, "The Sacred Bull") was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of [[Hariharalaya]] (in the area that today is called [[Roluos (temples) | Roluos]]), some 15 kilometers south-east of the main group of temples at [[Angkor]], [[Cambodia]]. The temple was built under the [[Khmer Empire|Khmer]] King [[Indravarman I]] in 879 to honor members of the king's family, whom it places in relation with the [[Hindu]] deity [[Shiva]].<ref name=gunther>[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/angkor/pko/pk01.html art-and-archaeology.com]</ref>

==Etymology==
Preah Ko (Sacred Bull) derives its name from the three statues of sandstone located in the front of and facing the temple's central towers.<ref>[http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/temples/temp-preahko.htm Canby Publications]</ref>  These statues represent [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]], the white bull who serves as the mount of [[Shiva]].<ref name=Higham>Higham, C., 2001, The Civilization of Angkor, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, {{ISBN|9781842125847}}</ref>{{rp|60–61}}

==History==
[[Image:Preah Kô3.JPG|thumb|right|Preah Ko is known for the beauty and intricacy of its carvings. The design on this [[lintel]] includes warriors mounted on three-headed [[nāga]]s, horsemen, and a deity mounted on a [[Kāla (time)|kala]].]]
After the Khmer king [[Jayavarman II]] founded the [[Khmer empire]] in 802 CE, he finally established his capital at [[Hariharalaya]], where he died.<ref name=Coedes>{{cite book|last= Coedès|first= George|author-link= George Coedès|editor= Walter F. Vella|others= trans.Susan Brown Cowing|title= The Indianized States of Southeast Asia|year= 1968|publisher= University of Hawaii Press|isbn= 978-0-8248-0368-1}}</ref>{{rp|102–103}}  [[Indravarman I]] was the nephew of [[Jayavarman II]]. When he ascended to the throne, he ordered the construction first of Preah Ko, which was dedicated in 879, and later of the temple-mountain known as the [[Bakong]]. It is likely that this building program was made possible by the king's peaceful reign and his ability to draw income from the expanding empire. A restoration of the towers took place in the early 1990s, financed by the German government.<ref>[http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/apsara/about_apsara/publication/yashodhara/yashodhara_6.html autoriteapsara.org]</ref>
<!--The dedications of Preah Ko, made in 880 A.D., were to a devaraja (tutelary divinity)<ref>devaraja - In simplest terms, the personal god (tutelary divinity) of the king. Philosophically, the divine aspect (deva) of the king (raja). Each Khmer king associated himself with a particular divinity.<sup>[http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/glossary.html#devaraja]</sup></ref> of King Indravarman.<ref>[http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/angkor/preahkoindex.htm Asian Historical Architecture]</ref> -->

==Site==
Preah Ko consists of six brick towers arranged in two rows of three towers each, perched on a sandstone platform. The towers face east, and the front central tower is the tallest. The sanctuaries are dedicated to three divinized forefathers of Indravarman and their respective wives. The front central tower is dedicated to [[Jayavarman II]], the founder of the Khmer empire.<ref name=gunther /> The tower to the left is dedicated to Prithivindreshvara, King Indravarman's father; the tower to the right to Rudreshvara, his grandfather. The three rear towers are dedicated to the wives of these three men.<ref>[http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/seasia/preko.html Ohio State University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906000127/http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/seasia/preko.html |date=2006-09-06 }}</ref> The central towers all bear images of the [[Hindu]] god [[Shiva]].<ref name=Higham1>Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., {{ISBN|9786167339443}}</ref>{{rp|354–356}}

==Gallery==

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="5">
File:Preah Ko 2.jpg|
File:Preah Ko 3.jpg|
File:Roulos Group - 003 Preah Ko (8588894346).jpg|
File:Roulos Group - 002 Preah Ko (8588893064).jpg|
File:Roulos Group - 001 Preah Ko (8588892040).jpg|
File:Preah Kô4.JPG|
File:Gardien de porte du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6823876122).jpg|
File:Gardienne du temple Lolei (Angkor) (6969557243).jpg|
File:Gardienne du temple Lolei (Angkor) (6826225808).jpg|
File:Gardienne du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6823876596).jpg|
File:Fausse-porte du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6821828786).jpg
File:Linteau du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6969999537).jpg|
File:Chinhe Preah Ko Cambodia0602.jpg|
File:Nandi Preah Ko Cambodia0573.jpg|
File:Taureaux Nandin du temple Preah Kô (Angkor) (6967953405).jpg|
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons category|Preah Ko}}
*Legend of [[Preah Ko Preah Keo]]
*[[Roluos (temples)]]
*[[Angkor]]
*[[Architecture of Cambodia]]
*[[Hariharalaya]]
*[[Bakong]]
*[[Lolei]]

==Footnotes==
<references/>

==References==
*{{cite book|last1= Freeman|first1= Michael|last2= Jacques|first2= Claude|title= Ancient Angkor|year= 2006|publisher= River Books|isbn= 974-8225-27-5|ref= FreJac2006|url-access= registration|url= https://archive.org/details/ancientangkor00free}}
*{{cite book|last= Falser|first= Michael S.|title= The Pre-Angkorian Temple of Preah Ko|year= 2006|publisher= White Lotus Publication|location= Bangkok|isbn= 978-974-480-085-5}}
*{{cite book|last= Glaize|first= Maurice|author-link= Maurice Glaize|editor1-last= Tremmel|editor1-first= Nils|title= The Monuments of the Angkor Group|url= http://www.theangkorguide.com/images/download/angkor-guide.pdf|access-date= 2009-08-01|edition= based on the 4th|year= 2003 |orig-year= 1993, First published 1944|ref= Glaize1993}}

{{Angkorian sites}}
{{SiemReapProvince}}

[[Category:Angkorian sites in Siem Reap province]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Siem Reap province]]