Bayon is a grand temple of the Khmer Empire in the Angkor region of Cambodia. Built in the late 12th to early 13th centuries, this richly carved temple is the official Mahayana Buddhist royal temple built at the initiative of King Jayavarman VII. Bayon Temple stands towering right in the center of the capital city belonging to Jayavarman VII Angkor Thom. After Jayavarman's death, this temple was often converted into a Hindu and Theravada Buddhist temple according to the wishes of the next king.
The main feature of Bayon temple is that there are many giant faces with calm, calm, and graceful expressions, engraved on the temple towers that surround the main peak. This temple is also famous for its two sets of bas reliefs that show a combination of mythology, history, and everyday scenes during the Angkor Kingdom. Now major restoration efforts are being carried out by the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA) which describes the temple as "the most admirable embodiment of baroque style" in Khmer Architecture, as compared to the classical style of Angkor Wat.
History
Bayon Temple serves as the state's grand temple built in the center of Angkor, and is the only state temple of Angkor that is Mahayana Buddhist and dedicated to Buddha, although many lower and local deities were created to symbolize the realm of royal power. This temple is the most important temple that became the center and symbol of Jayavarman VII's reign, as well as other major development projects such as the construction of the city wall, the dragon bridge and the entire city of Angkor Thom, including the temples of Preah Khan, Ta Prohm, and Banteay Kdei.
The resemblance of the 216 large faces on the temple tower with the statue of the king has made historians interpret that this face is the embodiment of the face of King Jayavarman VII himself. Another interpretation considers that these faces are the embodiment of the compassionate bodhisattva Awalokiteswara or Lokeswara. These two hypotheses cannot be considered stand alone. According to the Angkor historian George Coedès, Jayavarman remained steadfast in the tradition of the Khmer kings who considered themselves to be "dewaraja" (gods), the difference being that their predecessors, who embraced Hinduism, associated themselves as incarnations of Shiva and established lingas. as a symbol of Shiva, or as Vishnu as embodied in the temple of Angkor Wat, while Jayavarman who adheres to Buddhism associates himself as the incarnation of Buddha as well as Bodhisattva.
After the death of Jayavarman VII, the Bayon temple underwent renovations and changes by subsequent kings. During the reign of Jayavarman VIII in the mid-13th century, the Khmer Empire reverted to Hinduism, and the state temple was converted into a Hindu temple. In the following centuries, when most of the Khmer people converted to Theravada Buddhism, this temple was also changed in function according to that religion, before finally the city was abandoned by its inhabitants and swallowed up by the dense jungle. Some parts of the building that were not the original parts were added later, for example the terrace on the east side of the temple, the library, curved corners in the inner gallery hallway, and some parts on the upper terrace.
Modern restoration
At the beginning of the 20th century, the cole Française d'Extrême-Orient initiated the restoration of this temple, restoring it based on the anastilosis technique. Since 1995 the Japanese government-sponsored conservation group, the Japanese Government team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (JSA) has taken over the restoration project and has become the main Bayon temple preservation agency hosting an annual symposium.
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