Neak Pean Temple
In the middle of the last Baray (the Preah Khan Baray or Jayatataka) you can find a small island with a temple called Neak Pean ប្រាសាទនាគព័ន្ធ (sometimes transliterated as Prah Khan), constructed by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII.
The temple sits in the middle of a lotus pattern of four pools – surrounded by eight more pools, which are not conserved. What does Neak Pean mean?
The meaning of Neak Pean
Neak Pean means ‘coiled serpents’, which encircled the temple. Neak Pean was build in the direction of the statue of the horse, Balaha, which should save drowned sailors.The temple was dedicated to Buddha, but you can find also several Hindu images in it. People say the water in the pond have healing properties.Preah Khan was a kind of second city in the Angkorian empire. Neak Pean is very photogenic in the wet season when enough water is in the pools.
Neak Pean is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. The four connected pools represents the elemens fire, water, earth and wind. The ancients believed that going into these pools would b ehealthy by balancing the elements in the bather.
Four chapels at each cardinal direction
The North chapel placed in by the head of the elephant symbolized of the water element.
The West chapel placed in by the head of the horse symbolized of the wind element.
The South chapel placed in by the head of Lion symbolized of the Fire element.
The East chapel placed in by the head of the Human symbolized of the Earth element.
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