Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s17.18

v6.c41.s17.18

‘Angkor Vāt’ means ‘the temple of the city.’ It is situated about a mile to the south of the capital city of Angkor Thom, and between it and the lake Tonlé Sap.² ‘It is almost an exact square and measures nearly an English mile each way. The walled enclosure of the temple measures 1,080 by 1,100 yards, and is surrounded by a moat 216 yards wide. The moat is crossed on the west by a splendid causeway, carried on piers on either side. This leads to the great gateway, five storeys in height, not unlike the *gopura* of a Dravidian temple, but extended by lateral galleries and towers to a façade more than 600 feet in extent. Within this a second raised causeway, 370 yards long, leads to a cruciform platform in front of the temple. On either side of this, about half way down, is a detached temple. . . . The general plan of the temple . . . consists of three enclosures, one within the other, each raised from 15 to 20 feet above the level of that outside it, so as to give the whole a pyramidal form. The outer enclosure measures 590 feet by 700 feet, and it covers, therefore, about 413,000 square feet. . . . There are three portals, adorned with towers on each face, and on either side of these are open galleries or verandahs, which, with their bas-reliefs, are probably the most remarkable features of this temple.’³