Executed at it was, on a scale of imperial magnificence, the building of such a structure as Angkor Wat presupposed 'a high degree of economic and social integration, plus a government strong enough to command the labor and talents of vast numbers of trained participants. All told, we are dealing with a concurrence of favorable circumstances on a vast scale such as has occurred only a dozen times in world history. Angkor Wat is the world's largest sacred building and an architectural masterpiece that took more than thirty years to build. Angkor Wat, originally named Vrah Vishnulok - the sacred abode of Lord Vishnu. For centuries it was known only to locals, existing as a myth for the rest of the world until the early 1850's, when French explorer Henri Mahout 'rediscovered' the site deep within thick jungle. It would take weeks to view all of the ruins and truly understand the magnitude of Angkor. The sight of the ruins, he wrote in his diary, made the traveler "forget all the fatigues of the journey, filling him with admiration and delight, such as would be experienced in finding a verdant oasis in the sandy desert. Suddenly, and as if by enchantment, he seems to be transported from barbarism to civilization, from profound darkness into light." The French (with their Eurocentric attitude) could not imagine that the Khmer kings were responsible for such monumental work. The theories as to who constructed Angkor's monument ranged from the ancient Romans to Alexander the Great. Indeed, the structures echo styles from other monumental ruins. Angkor Wat is built in classical Indian style, and yet the numerous bas-reliefs have a strangely Egyptian character. The columns and arches at Preach Khan Temple, evoke those of the Greeks and Romans, while the Pyramid of Phimeanakas resembles those of the Maya at Tikal, Guatemala. If you are looking for Hinduism's patrimony at its most magnificent, you won't find it within our borders of India. For that, you'll have to take a flight to Bangkok. From there, it's a short hop to a rural town in the middle of nowhere in Cambodia. Here in an area that stretches 25 km east to west and 10 km north to south, the local Hindu kings built a hundred or so temples in praise of Vishnu and Shiva a thousand years ago. The temple at Angkor Wat is the center piece. It rivals the monuments of ancient Greece and Rome and is the largest religious structure in the world. Angkor Wat is impressive for its majestic scale as well as for exquisite, intricate details. There are bas-reliefs of scenes from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. An entire stretch of wall has the Kauravas and the Pandavas in furious battle. On another wall, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Lakshmi and even Hanuman make an appearance at the churning of the oceans. From the ninth to the fifteenth century the Khmer Empire was the greatest civilization in Southeast Asia, and gave birth to some of the world's richest works of art. Inspiration from the magnificent temples and cities of this period, which contained exquisite carvings in wood and stone seemingly adorning every nook and cranny, and whose kingdom stretched from the coast of Vietnam to present-day Thailand. At the heart rose the magnificent towers of Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage site. Combining great technical mastery on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary architectural and artistic innovations, Angkor Vat has a unique place in the long ancient Khmer tradition of the royal "Temple-Mountain.". Built in the 12th century in the reign of King Suryavarman II, this was the residence of Vishnu The inspiration for Angkor architecture come from Hinduism. The early rules of Angkor promoted various Hindu sects, mainly dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu.

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