Krol Ko Temple
Cruciform Buddhist sanctuary matching the layout of Jayavarman VII's hospital chapels, its pediments carved with a healing bodhisattva.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Krol Ko temple, tucked near Neak Pean in Siem Reap, opens with a royal edict from 1186 taxing villages in rice, honey and wax to fund a network of hospitals across the Khmer empire. It follows how this small cruciform shrine likely served as one of those hospital chapels under Jayavarman VII, whose inscriptions claimed he suffered his subjects' illnesses as his own. You'll hear about the healing bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and a curious Hindu scene of Krishna carved into the pediments above you. Look up at the sandstone lintels for both figures side by side.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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