Deep inside the forest, it rests like an eternal sanctuary. Rising from the earth, it is woven like a sequin amidst massive littering of stones that have gone mossy down the ages. The greenish and ghoulish structure stands like a giant colossus but completely entangled within the endearing fold of giant trees. We had traversed the interiors of the Angkor Park area in the sweltering heat. That had left me pretty exhausted. From morning onwards, I had seen so many marvels of Khmer temple architecture that it had become very difficult to place or remember which was what? However, the first sight of the temple of Ta Prohm left me wondering how could a structure survive all these centuries covered by the jungle and enveloped by trees like fig and silk cotton.
Built by Jayavarman VII, this sprawling, monastic complex has only been partially cleared of jungle overgrowth. Having a dense and complicated layout, the temple witnessed more and more additions even after its completion. But, the scenario today is totally different. One has to be careful while going round this place as it has heaps and heaps of crumbling sandstone that has been lying in every nook and cranny for what reason, nobody knows. According to some archaeologists, once, the temple comprised 39 towers which were, over a period of time, destroyed by nature and therefore, the left over debris is nothing but this.
Spread over an area of 60 hectares, the temple is dedicated to the King’s mother as per the inscriptions here. The temple’s main image is Goddess Pragnaparamita (personification of wisdom) modeled on the King’s mother. Some scholars also say that this place was used as a university by Buddhist monks or as a royal monastery.
Originally known as the Rajavihara, the temple has five enclosures with the outer one being very long. The fifth enclosure wall is unbelievably 1,000 metres long and 500 metres wide. It has four gates in four different directions that is decorated with four smiling faces of Avalokiteswara (the Bodhisattava of compassion). In a way, this wall encompasses the entire massive temple complex. Further, it has two satellite temples in the third enclosure which are dedicated to the King’s guru and elder brother.
Basically a Bayon style temple, Ta Prohm, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, was left in much the same condition in which it was found where the photogenic and atmospheric mixture of trees growing out of the ruins surrounded by heavy jungle growth made it the most popular temple with tourists.
But the scenario changed in 2004, with an Indian government project carrying out partial conservation and restoration of this temple complex in close cooperation with the Royal government of Cambodia. The Archaeological Survey of India led by project director, D S Sood has been carrying out the restoration work of Ta Prohm Temple which was discovered in pretty bad condition, overgrown by gigantic trees and mossy fungal growth. As it is, the temple complex is over-run by thousands of chiseled rocks that had to be identified and installed at the right place.
The project director says, “We are carrying out structural conservation, with work starting in 2004. We expect to complete it by 2014. We have already spent more than `14 crore on this. There is a unique co-existence of the natural and the built-in heritage which we would like to preserve. We are facing many challenges during the conservation work like collapse of roofs, pillars, walls and widening of joints.”
The ASI has found it a painstaking work because of the gigantic trees that grow through the delicate structures that look like big craters from above. In fact, experts opine that the central portion may not have been completed at all. Identifying different locations in the complex for taking up the work, they have already opened up the third enclosure, the Western causeway and made other such places safe for tourists to move about.
The ASI has adopted a scientific approach and the policy of minimal intervention for restoration as the temple is facing severe root penetration, structural collapse and water stagnation.
They have involved foresters, botanists and scientists from various institutes in India and also done geo-technical studies for identifying material to be used for conservation. “Added to this, with the absence of any documentation or any designs of the temple complex, it is very difficult to say why such a large quantity of rocks are lying on the ground. Although we have been able to identify some of the rocks but it is still a mystery whether they were felled in the later years or these rocks were dumped here to be used later for further construction,” concludes the project director.
