Banteay Samre & The Legend of Cucumber King

The Banteay Samre temple is associated with the legend of the cucumber King. It tells of a local farmer who grew tasty cucumbers on his field. After his first harvest, he presented some of them to the King. The King liked the cucumbers so much that he ordered the farmer to kill anyone who tried to steal them or enter his farmland.

One day, the King, longing for the taste of the cucumbers went to the field to get some of them. As it was after dark, the farmer did not recognize the King and accidentally killed him. As the King did not have sons, it was decided that a Royal elephant would chose the next King.

The elephant was let go free and walked towards the farmers field. When the animal kneeled in front of the farmer, he was made King. The Royal servants however were dissatisfied with the new King and disrespected him, upon which the King moved out of the Palace to the Banteay Samre temple.

Banteay Samre was cleared by a French archaeological team of Maurice Glaize in 1930. After extensive restoration work between 1936 and 1944 according to the method called Anastylosis, this temple is one of the finest and most complete Khmer monuments now. Undoubtedly, Banteay Samre in its present condition is Angkor’s most significant flat temple from the Hindu period and the second most important example of the classical style of Angkor Wat, though not of such enormous size as Beng Melea outside Angkor or Phimai in North East Thailand.

Like Angkor Wat, Banteay Samre was obviously dedicated to Vishnu, though no inscription was has yet been found to confirm this. It is a matter of debate whether Banteay Samre was built by Angkor Wat founder Suryavarman II or by one of his high-ranking court officials or by Suyavarman's less significant immidiate successor Yashovarman II.

Like Angkor Wat, Banteay Samre is approached by a long, raised causeway, leading to a cruciform terrace. Probably it is of a later date, because the design of the cylindrical columns is of the Bayon style, though lion statues are very similar to those of the Angkor Wat. Unlike Angkor Wat, Banteay Samre is oriented to the east. But there is a second causeway at the back side in the west connecting the temple to the south-east corner of the former reservoir East Baray.

Banteay Samre has two quite different and contrasting enclosures. The outer (83m x 77m) is a laterite gallery in a warm reddish tone, the inner court and its edifices are completely built in sandstone, which is of a grey colour. Both enclosures' gate pavilions, at the cardinal points, are decorated with excellent reliefs, at pediments in particular. These sandstone carvings are strikingly deep. The outer enclosure was framed by a colonnade, the tiled roofs are vanished. In places, it is a real symphony of columned windows. An interior moat with laterite paving, filled with water after heavy rainfall till the present day, is a unique feature inside a Khmer temple complex.

The sandstone buildings inside the central enclosure are framed by narrow platforms. The buildings bear reliefs at pediments and lintels and at the bases of the pilasters. Their ornamentation is of exceptional quality. Some reliefs on the upper levels of this Hindu sanctuary show Buddhist scenes. Surprisingly, this temple in the style of Angkor Wat has no Apsara depictions.

There is a stone coffin in the main sanctuary. Originally there was a Vishnu statue inside the central Prasat tower. Unfortunately, many sculptures and some carvings of Banteay Samre were stolen between 1945 and 1947 and during the Cambodian civil war from 1980 to 1995.

Below is the glimpse of Banteay Samre Temple in 360^o viewing:

Hindu & Buddhist depictions

The Banteay Samre which is located about 500 meters East of the East baray was dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. The monument contains both Hindu and Buddhist depictions. The images of the Buddha were destroyed, probably around mid 13th century, when Jayavarman VIII came to power, who worshipped Shiva. From the Eastern entrance, a 200 meter long paved laterite walkway with a balustrade with mythological Nagas leads to the temple. On either side of the walkway is a pool. Before the Eastern gate is a terrace with lion statues, guarding the temple.

The second enclosure

The second enclosure measuring 83 by 77 meters is surrounded by galleries, except on the East end where they probably were demolished at some point in time. At the end of each side are gopura entrance gates. The lintels and pediments on the gopuras of the second enclosure contain some very well preserved carvings:

• A scene from the Ramayana epic: a fight between the hero Rama and the ten headed Ravana
• Indra the God of War, riding his three headed elephant Airavata
•  Another scene from the Ramayana: Lakshmana, brother of the hero Rama is badly wounded during a battle with Ravana and is dying. It is decided that Hanuman must go to the Himalayas to fetch a herb that can cure Lakshmana. As Hanuman does not know which herb is the correct one, he picks up the whole mountain and flies it back to Lanka. The herb is given to Lakshmana, who is immediately cured.
• Other mythological scenes with Vishnu, Garuda, Krishna, Rama fighting Ravana, Indra on Airavata, an army of monkeys fighting a battle

The inner sanctuary

The inner sanctuary is set on a high platform topping the temple. It is surrounded by low galleries with a gopura gate at the center of each side. In the center of the platform is a single sanctuary tower opening to a mandapa to the East end. The central tower and the gopuras contain devatas, more scenes from the Ramayana epic as well as several depictions of the Buddha, that have been destroyed. Inside the mandapa is a stone tomb with a lid on it and a small drain at the bottom, which may have been used as a sarcophagus.

On either side of the sanctuary is a library building opening to a vestibule to the West. Both libraries contain depictions from the Ramayana epic. The library to the left when entering through the East gopura contained an image of the Buddha that has been destroyed.

• Date: 12th Century
• Religion: Hinduism
• Built By: Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II
• Dedicated To: Vishnu (unconfirmed)
• Style: Angkor Wat
• Best Time to Visit: Anytime
• Length of Visit: 30 - 60 minutes
• Temple Pass: Required (Included in the pass to the whole Angkor Complex)

Banteay Samre is located along Road 810 a few kilometres east of East Mebon. It’s sandwiched between Roads 67 and 66 which take you to Banteay Srei temple and on to Kbal Spean and Phnom Kulen.

Check the location of Banteay Samre on the below Google Maps for your reference:

Banteay Samre is around 20km from Siem Reap and a little more than 10km from Angkor Wat temple. If you are a keen cyclist, you can take a cycle ride out there. At only 20km from town, it’s possible to take a tuk tuk or a taxi.

Many guests will combine a trip to Banteay Samre with a trip to Banteay Srei, Phnom Kulen, or another attraction in the area such as the Butterfly Centre or the Landmine Museum.

Banteay Samre is a little too far to include on the Small Circuit or Grand Circuit tour. Most tours will incorporate this temple with a trip to Banteay Srei or Kbal Spean.

It’s also possible to combine it with trips to other attractions in the area such as the Butterfly Centre, the Landmine Museum, or a countryside Tour.

Moreover, you can combine it with the Roluos Group of temples or Kampong Phluk floating village.

Visitors to Banteay Samre generally stay in Siem Reap town. There are some homestays around near Banteay Srei. It’s also quite nearby to Bakong Commune where you will also find some small guesthouses.

It is easy to reach Banteay Samre from the town and most guests will choose accommodation in Siem Reap.

Here is our Siem Reap Travel Guide

Banteay Samre temple is a little out of the way and is a much quieter alternative to the temples close to Angkor Wat. You can easily explore the temple without thousands of other people around you. This makes it a perfect choice for photography.

Moreover, Banteay Samre is a smaller version of Angkor Wat and you’ll immediately see the similarities between the two.

If you want to visit some temples and attractions a little further away such as Phnom Kulen, it can be a nice stop along the way to break up the journey.

Banteay Samre resembles Angkor Wat and looks like a miniature version of the great temple. It was built at the same time as Angkor Wat.

There is an enclosure with entrance gates (gopuras) at each side. The lintels here are very well preserved and you can see carvings which feature a fight between Rama and the ten-headed Ravana. You can also see other mythical scenes featuring other Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Krishna, Indra, Laskmana, Hanuman, and others.

There is an inner sanctuary which features low galleries with an entrance gate at each side. The central tower here contains scenes from Hindu epics. There are both Hindu and Buddhist images here. However, many Buddhist carvings would have been destroyed during the Buddhist purges in the 13th century with King Jayavarman VIII came to power.

Banteay Samre was built by Kings Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early part of the 12th century. This Hindu temple was built in the same style as Angkor Wat temple. In fact, it looks like a miniature Angkor Wat.

Not much is known about the temple and most what is known is speculation. There is no real reference to the date of construction and few inscriptions have been found.