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These, arguably one of the
most famous creations in Khmer art, cover the exterior
walls of Angkor Wat's third enclosure, just above ground
level. The carved area is immense: approaching 600m in
length and 2m high with, in addition, the interior of two
of the corner pavilions.
Apart from two panels, the
subject matter is from Hindu sources, mainly the Ramayana
and Mahabharata epics. The exceptions are the Historic
procession of Suryavarman II, and the Heavens and Flells
carved on the W and E parts of the S Gallery respectively.
If you are pressed for time,
you should at least take in the S half of the galleries,
from the W gopura to that on the E. This includes the
Battle of Kurukshetra along the S half of the W Gallery,
the SW corner pavilion, the procession of Suryavarman II
along the W half of the S Gallery, the Judgement of Yama
and Heaven and Hell along the E half of the S Gallery, and
the Churning of the Sea of Milk along the S half of the E
Gallery. These are all of the highest order. If you have a
little more time, include the Battle of Lanka along the
northern half of the W Gallery and the interior of the NW
corner pavilion.
Begin at the W gopura of the third enclosure, and turn
right into the Gallery of Bas-Reliefs. The viewing
conditions are adequate, though not perfect due to the
method of construction of the galleries. In order to keep
the passage as broad as possible, yet structurally sound,
the builders used two rows of pillars. The inner row
supports the outer part of the corbelled vault, while an
outer row of shorter pillars supports a half-vault,
similar in intention to the technique of buttressing in
European cathedrals. The disadvantage is that the 2m high
bas-reliefs are unevenly lit and darker towards the top.
And, as became apparent during recent structural
restoration, the half-vaults did not do their job properly
- the weight of the gallery roof has pushed the pillars
out of alignment.
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