Page 37 - Seniorstoday December 2023 Issue

Hanuman and Ganesh are much revered
and seen in various poses even today.
There is a Pagoda (temple) in every village
and each one has an intricately decorated
gate with at least one life size elephant
sculpture, one each side. Elephants are
considered sacred and auspicious (like
Ganeshji) and idols are being made and
sold even now. They have a very popular
beer also by the name Hanuman.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #54 | DECEMBER 2023
In the vicinity of the Royal Palace in
Phnom Penh, which also houses the
famous Silver Pagoda, there is a 500 meter
long spectacular mural on the enclosure
wall depicting the Cambodian version
of the Ramayan (known as the Reamker
in Cambodia.) It shows vivid images
of the battle of Lanka and Lord Ram’s
victory. The many images of Hanuman
are easily recognized. The Palace was built
around1866 (long after Hinduism ceased to
be the main religion) yet has this glorious
mural, parts of which have been recently
restored.
Khmer adopted Indian myths and
elaborated on them extensively in their
own stories, rituals and art. A common
subject seems to have been a 7 headed
snake, seen in many sculptures or just
forming a stone balustrade especially
in Angkor. At places it is depicted as
protecting Buddha and is taken as an
important and auspicious religious
and spiritual symbol for good luck
and protection and often used as a
door guardian. Lord Vishnu and the
mythological character of the many headed
snake Sheshnaag are common subjects
in India, the serpent represents power,
water and fertility as per Hindu texts. The
Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean
to extract the elixir of immortality) and
Vasuki the serpent king also is represented
at many places. Angkor Wat specially
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