The Koh Ker zone contains more than fifty temple sites and up to 157 archaeological remains in total. The variety is as stunning as the gigantic and dynamic sculpture that Koh Ker has become renowned for. Known as Lingapura, or city of the Linga, the Shiva-linga, a phallic image in stone representing the god Shiva, not only sat atop the 36-meter tall pyramid known as Prasat Prang, but could also be found in numerous locations, and in a variety of forms, throughout the capital city of the first-half of the tenth century. Symbolically important, the small temple of Prasat Khnar – also known as Prasat Roloum, Khon Khmeng and Prasat Khna - once housed a colossal Linga and yoni, standing seven meters in height, and which lies south of the Rahal or baray in the center of the whole complex. Natural sandstone outcrops near the temple and surrounding a small artificial reservoir known as Trapeang Ang Khnar, are carved with Hindu Gods and depictions of animals, and both the Linga and these sacred carvings served to sanctify rain and water as it flowed into the nearby pond and on into the Rahal, much the same inference as the riverbed carvings found at Kbal Spean and on Phnom Kulen.
The sandstone rock carvings begin next to Prasat Khnar, with a series of animal motifs and continue around the perimeter of the small reservoir, with a total of nearly fifty separate scenes that include discernible depictions of Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Ganesha and praying figures, all carved onto the edge of the horizontal slabs of sandstone. More of those in another post. The giant Linga of Prasat Khnar was built by assembling together several blocks of sandstone unlike other lingas constructed from a single monolithic stone. Today, it is broken with shattered pieces strewn nearby. The temple stands on a mount, with the open-top structure a combination of laterite and sandstone blocks. The damaged mouth of a mythical sea creature, likely a Makara, from which the sacred water would’ve spilled out of the temple via a somasutra channel, is positioned at the north-facing opening.
