Once erected to the deity “Perfection of Wisdom”,
An idol in the image of a kingly mother.
Of the entire Khmer Kingdom
TA Prohm was the center treasure.
Overflowing with diamonds, pearls, and gold
A seat of arrogance and grandeur,
TA Prohm was a place to behold,
An apex of human achievement.
Temples made by men’s strong hands
Have been choked by Strangler Figs.
TA Prohm in disrepair, now stands.
800 years of pride lie twisted and broken.
High lichen covered walls stand as ill with disease
Distorted by the movement of the earth beneath.
Menacing roots of gigantic trees
Strangle doors and windows.
Living and dead are blurred into one,
As creation battles to overpower man
Until the glory of mankind is undone
When every deity shall break and fall.
The ‘Perfection of Foolishness’ will be known
When light breaks through the darkness.
Every evil seed that has been sown
Will reap its every lasting reward.
Author notes
TA Prohm is among the temples in Angkor in Cambodia. It was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII. He re-conquered the Khmer empire from Cham invaders in the years 1177-1181. War caused great damage to the ancient capital of Angkor so the king ordered the reconstruction of a number of temples. TA Prohm was the located roughly in the center of the capital.
TA Prohm was home for the deity Prajnaparamita, the "perfection of wisdom," consecrated in 1186. Like many Khmer kings, Jayavarman had the idol carved in the likeness of his own mother thus deifying her. The Prajnaparamita statue was surrounded by 260 lesser divinities, each housed in their own sanctuaries.
According to a stone inscription still visible today, it took 79,365 people to maintain the temple. This included of 18 great priests, 2,740 officials, 2,202 assistants and 615 dancers. The temple’s property included a set of golden dishes weighing more than 500 kilograms, 35 diamonds, 40,620 pearls, 4,540 precious stones, 876 veils from China, 512 silk beds and 523 parasols.
This is option 5 for the contest.
Written September 13th, 2005
In a list
A contest entry
- 200th Celebration Contest by Samplette.
500 points, ended September 23, 2005, 12 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
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A wonderfully written, and very informative description. Thank you for entering. It will be judged in option 5 as stated.
Sam
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excellent~
Very intesting poem here sweetie
And thanks for the info in the author's comments as well
You must of worked long and hard on this one
Good luck in the contest...I entered this one too
Very informative..and lots of imagery and detail in this poem
Love n hugs
Susan~~~
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Wow. You attention to detail is to be commended. You took great care with maintaining the truth, however, didn't compromise the artistic composition. Well done.
--Toast -
You either did a lot of research , or you seem to know your facts. This is quite an interesting and educational piece and I wish you the best of luck in this contest,
Reenie
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