The Main Sanctuary of Prasat Phimai

There is little evidence concerning the origins of Prasat Phimai as to when it was built and by whose commission. Most buildings were built in the Baphoun and Angkor Wat style, as well as the inscriptions, therefore the temple should be dated around 11th - 12th century AD.

Archaeological excavation found a rubble of older brick tower underneath the main sanctuary and the entrance gate (gopura) which was demolished to build the current tower on the same site. The exact dates of the ruins are still subject to debate.

Toward the end of the 12th century, the reign of King Jayavarman VII, Phimai maintained its prominent status. He ordered an intensive construction programme of “houses with fire” or rest houses along the roads from Angkor to Phimai. The temple had received fine maintenances and plausibly an addition of Prang Brahmadat, a laterite tower which is a common building material of Jayavarman VII’s architecture. The portrait sculpture of Jayavarman VII was also found in Prang Brahmadat to which the villagers believed that this statue was of Lord Brahmadat, a local mythical king.

The site was listed and declared an ancient monument in the Government Gazette no. 53, part 34, on 27 September 1935.

The temple complex was systematically excavated for the first time in 1954 near the main sanctuary. This early maintenance included strengthening the structure with concrete and iron on the most severed parts.

In 1963, the Fine Arts Department began the restoration project with a 1,000,000 baht budget leading by Prince Yachai Chitrabongse as a project director with Bernard Phillip Groslier and Pierre Pichard as a consultant. Prasat Phimai was the first ancient monument where the anastylosis technique was used during the restorations by which the temple complex’s current state was thoroughly photographed and all loose stone blocks were mapped.

The restoration in 1965 was the removal of stone blocks from the roofs and four porticos in order to strengthen their cores with concrete and iron, afterward the stone blocks were put back in.

In 1966, the same method was applied at the south mandapa, however, here all stone blocks were removed. The restoration in this year included a continuation of the rebuilding at the main sanctuary’s roofs.

The main sanctuary was built of white sandstone and oriented toward the south. Its plan consists of an indented-plan tower with entrances on the northern, eastern and western sides leading to the cella or garbhagrha. The antarala is on the southern side connecting the rectangular mandapa of which its entrances are on the southern, (initially, this area should house a statue hence the blocked pathway), eastern and western sides. On the ridge of the roofs of porticos, antarala and mandapa are adorned with finials (brali).

Each tier of the stepped roofs is a miniature-form of the sanctuary. The roofs are also adorned with the overhangs and cornered antefixes. On the very top is a kalasa or a water pot symbol, it is believed that there is a metal nine-tiered trident over the kalasa which is now lost.

The garbhagrha housesa a Bayon sculpture of Buddha sheltered by naga, therefore this buddha statue was not the original statue of the older main sanctuary. There is also a somasutra or a drainage channel leading northeastward.

Prasat Phimai is the largest ancient Khmer temple in Thailand. This strongly reflects a significant role of Phimai and its temple. The characteristics of the temple such as a curving tower and an unusual high position of a horizontal decorative moulding at the base of the cella’s exterior walls. These characteristics point toward a local style or aesthetics which differ from the Cambodian prototype. They were also repeated in temples in the Northeast, for example, Prasat Phanom Rung

Miscellaneous

1. The term “Phimai” was developed from “Vimaya” which is the title of the temple. Furthermore, the inscription from Preah Khan also mentions Vimayapura, the city of Vimaya (Phimai) stating Jayavarman VII’s commission of the building of houses with fire or rest houses along the roads from Angkor to Phimai.

2. An initial statue built around the same time as the main sanctuary should be a buddha image named “Kamrateng Jagat Vimaya” which means the mighty god of Phimai as mentioned in an inscription.

Prasat Phimai’s major material buildings were dual tone sandstone; white and red sandstone. These dual tone sandstone blocks were carefully designed, for example, the main sanctuary was build with white sandstone in its entirety whereas the gallery was build with red and white sandstone; red sandstone at the base, floor, walls and roofs, and white sandstone at the door frames, lintels, colonettes and blind windows.

Prasat Phanom Rung, as they shared similar characteristics such as the curved shape of the superstructure caused by the way in which the cornered antefixes and overhangs slightly curve inward. It is possible that the style of Prasat Phimai was a prototype of Prasat Phanom Rung’s.

ศิลปากร, กรม. ทะเบียนโบราณสถาน. กรุงเทพฯ: กรมศิลปากร, 2532.

ศิลปากร, กรม. อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พิมาย. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2532.

ศิลปากร, กรม. อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พิมาย. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2532.