Ta Prohm, consecrated 1186, and Preah Khan, consecrated 1191, were ancestor temples, dedicated to the memory of the king's mother and father respectively.

Each temple was the core of a monastic university. Ta Prohm was the theological college; Preah Khan was the medical university and hospital of international radiation..

The city is surrounded by an enclosure wall, 1000 m by 670 m. Face towers make the gates in the cardinal directions. The east and south towers have collapsed.

(Map) The temple complex consists of:

• The central temple, enclosed by two galleries (the first and second enclosure);
  the central tower and the towers of the inner gallery form a mandala .
• Satellite temples at the North and the South.
• All included in a gallery with gates to the East and to the West (third enclosure).
• This core is enclosed by two groups of kutis , monastic cells, 93 in total. Each group is aligned along a moat-shaped water basin, and enclosed by a wall (fourth enclosure).
• Another moat encloses the whole complex. The moats supplied the inhabitants of the city with water.

In Ta Prohm, and still more in Preah Khan, reliefs are scratched out.

Sprawling Roots

This temple has been made famous by numerous trees left when the site was uncovered in 1920. The trees overgrow the walls; their decorative roots cling to the stones and force their way into any gaps of the masonry which they gradually burst.
About the symbolism of the roots, see ...

Restoration

The Archaeological Survey of India is restoring parts of the temple complex. Work at the western terrace is completed. Now the Hall of Dancers is in scaffolds. No trees will be removed! (Kapur/Sahai, p. 31-36.)

Visit