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.t3.6

v6.c41.s17.t3.6

The great temples of Angkor Vāt, Bayon, and Bapoun³ and many smaller temples were built in this capital city. Some of the numerous temples appear to have been ‘built as palaces for the king and occupied by him, his family, and courtiers.’ ‘In the outer court of Beng Méaleā are two groups of structures which have been described as the palaces of the king and the queen respectively. On the west side of Phimêanakas, and within the palace enclosure of Angkor Thom, are the foundations of buildings which are supposed to have been the residences of the king and his family, the women’s quarters occupying the whole width of the enclosure against the west wall, in which there is no entrance gate. At Vāt Phu, near Basak, on either side of the causeway leading to the temple, is a structure of about 150 feet frontage, with a rectangular court at the back and surrounded with a corridor vaulted like those in the temples, and those are considered to be palaces. Again at Phnom Chisar, on the north side of the court, the sills of the windows are 6 feet from the ground, so that the corridor they lighted may have been occupied by women.’ Concerning the accommodation necessary for a king and his retinue of thousands, Fergusson declares that only temples like Angkor Vāt, Beng Méaleā, Ta Prohm, and Prah Khan could possibly hold them. Though Bayon might have been occupied by the priests only, the series of magnificent halls in the enclosures of Angkor Vāt and Beng Méaleā ‘would seem to have been provided for the needs of a great court.’⁴