Two inscriptions, one still visible on a doorjamb of the
sanctuary entrance, and another engraved on the four sides
of a stela now conserved in Siem Reap, provide relatively
detailed information on the history of this small sanctuary
- the last Brahmanic temple known to have been constructed
in Angkor Thom, and inventoried as "Monument 487".
The significance of this site lies less in its architectural
or artistic refinement than in the testimony it bears to
the somewhat obscure period following the Mahayana Buddhist
reign of Jayavarman VII and preceding the progressive establishment
of Theravada Buddhism in Cambodia over the centuries to
come. The temple was founded by King Jayavarman VIII in
the late 13th century in honor of a Brahman priest called
Jaya Mangalartha and his mother, Subhadra, in association
with an avatar of Vishnu and his consort.
The cult to this mother-son couple was maintained
by subsequent generations of the royal family into the 14th
century. The founding King Jayavarman VIII was related by
marriage to this family whose roots could be traced back
to a priest having travelled from Narapatidesa (Burma?)
earlier in the 13th century to serve King Jayavarman VII.
While Mahayana Buddhism was not perpetuated after Jayavarman
VII's death, this monarch's reign, along with its distinctive
architecture and iconography, were to play an important
role in the Khmer historical conscience for centuries to
come.As a vivid example of continuation of tradition even
as the Angkorian Empire went into those worshipping here
more than a century after Jayavarman VII's death proudly
claimed descendance from this famous monarch and one of
his court priests.
