Neak Pean (Khmer: ប្រាសាទនាគព័ន្ធ) ("The entwined serpents") at Angkor, Cambodia is an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Preah Khan Baray built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. It is the "Mebon" of the Preah Khan baray (the "Jayatataka" of the inscription).[2]
Neak Pean was built by the king Jayavarman VII second haft of 12th century dedicated to Buddha and Neak Pean has 5 small ponds and 4 ponds represented water element, fire element, earth element and wind element all the ponds are man-made ponds and one large pond is 70m squares and surrounded by 4 small ponds are 25m squares and there are 2 statues of serpent and their tail entwined is called Neak Pean.
And the statue on the 4 ponds the south is the statue of lion’s head represent fire or the king of animals. At the east the statue of human’s head represents cleverness and knowledge. At the north the statue of element’s head represent pureness. At the west the statue of horse’s head represent the horse Balaha and the mount of Buddha and helped drowned people from the ship wrecked.
Etymology
The name is derived from the sculptures of snakes (Naga) running around the base of the temple structure.
History
Some historians believe that Neak Pean represents Anavatapta, a mythical lake in the Himalayas whose waters are thought to cure all illness.[3] Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes, as it is one of the many hospitals that Jayavarman VII built. It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. Four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire and Wind. The ancients believed that going into these pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease. In the middle of the four healing ponds is the central water source. There is a statue of Bahala (Bodhisattva Guan Yin transformed into a horse), as a symbol of drowning prevention.
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