North library facade facing east
The north library structure is situated near the entrance of the innermost enclosure of the Banteay Srei Temple, which is located 16 miles northeast of Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The library is built on a raised platform with two levels. The doorway of the facade has a beautifully decorated false door flanked by pilasters. Because this facade is facing east, Indra, who is the dikpala (guardian) of the east, is the theme of the carvings on both the lintel and pediment.
The bas-relief on the lintel depicts Indra riding his vehicle Airavata, a three-headed elephant. As you can see from the image, Indra is in the middle sitting above an elephant head. At each end of the lintel, there is an elephant with a human-like figure sitting on it.
As you can see from the image, there are three pediments. The innermost is the narrowest and is in the front, and the outermost is the widest and is on the back. Each pediment is enclosed by a finely carved creeper which is resting on an intricately decorated pillar.
The bas-relief on the lowermost pediment depicts Burning of Khandava Forest, an episode based on the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It shows Indra, who is riding his vehicle Airavata, is trying to put out the fire that is burning the Khandava Forest. Read a detailed explanation in this page: Burning of the Kandhava Forest. This pediment is enclosed by a curved creeper ending on each side with the head of Makara, a crocodile-like mythical creature.
Related Pages
Bantaey Srei, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Phnom Kulen, Tonle Sap, Cambodia
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