The stairs of the Khmer mountain temples that lead to the path of the ascension of the moksha . (liberation -7 chakras)

 The stairs of the Khmer mountain temples that lead to the path of the ascension of the moksha .  (liberation -7 chakras)

The stairs of khmer temples are really high 

For the great scholars , we think the Khmer temples were erected for climbing like an ladder until the top of the temple . 

Indeed , in contrary of Champa, Indian , Javanese , the Kamboja temples were erected and symbolised the Mount Kailash & Mount Meru, in Hinduism , a golden mountain that stands in the centre of the universe and is the axis of the world. It is the abode of gods, and its foothills are the Himalayas

The builder kings probably wanted to imitate the Ascension of Ravana (The king of Lankeshvara) for meeting lord Shiva in the top of the moutain . 

The legend says, During the same moment of his ascension on the moutain , he composed the Shiva tandava Strotam .

Shiva was so pleased and enamoured listening to this music. As he sang, slowly, Ravana started climbing Kailash from its Southern Face. When Ravana was almost on top, and with Shiva still engrossed in this music, Parvati saw this man climbing up. There is space only for two people on top! So Parvati tried to bring Shiva out of his musical rapture. She said, “This man is coming all the way up!” But Shiva was too engrossed in the music and poetry. Then finally, Parvati managed to bring him out of being enthralled, and when Ravana reached the peak, Shiva just pushed him off with his feet. Ravana went sliding down the South Face of Kailash.

This is the symbolic of the stairs of the Khmer temples that the great scholar supposed the stairs was used to been climbing like an moutain . For reach the top and heaven , 

Today still , the elders of Siemreap thinks , if you ride on elephant and reach the Phnom Bakheng before the Khmer new year . You may reach the heavens 

The five stone towers are intended to mimic the five mountain ranges of Mountain Meru . the mythical home of the gods, for both Hindus and Buddhists with the 3 worlds . The temple mountain as an architectural design was invented in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian architects quite literally envisioned temples dedicated to Hindu gods on earth as a representation of Mountain Meru.

Meru is not only a golden mountain home to the gods, it is also considered an axis-mundi. An axis-mundi is a cosmic or world axis that connects heaven and earth. In designing Angkor Wat in this way, King Suryavarman II , later Jayavarman VII and theirs architects intended for the temple to serve as the supreme abode for Vishnu. Similarly, the symbolism of Angkor Wat serving as an axis mundi was intended to demonstrate the Angkor Kingdom’s and the king’s central place in the universe (Deva raja) . In addition to envisioning Angkor Wat as Mountain Meru on earth, the temple’s architects, of whom we know nothing, also ingeniously designed the temple so that embedded in the temple’s construction is a map of the cosmos (mandala) as well as a historical record of the temple’s patron.

Angkor Wat as a Mandala /

According to ancient Sanskrit and Khmer texts, religious monuments and specifically temples must be organized in such a way that they are in harmony with the universe, meaning that the temple should be planned according to the rising sun and moon, in addition to symbolizing the recurrent time sequences of the days, months and years. The central axis of these temples should also be aligned with the planets, thus connecting the structure to the cosmos so that temples become spiritual, political, cosmological, astronomical and geo-physical centers. They are, in other words, intended to represent microcosms of the universe and are organized as mandalas diagrams of the universe.

It is important to remember that in Khmer culture, the erection of a temple or new capital has always taken place

At the top of the "mountain" the glorious era of Funan, thus bears the title of Nokor Phnom, having established a capital and temple on the Phnom Da, later in the transition from the Chenla era to the Phnom Dangrek with the temple of Preah vihear, dedicated to Mount Kailasha, for its summit.

The Khmer empire, after the reform of the two Chenla countries took place on the Mahendra parvata (Phnom kulen), It must be remembered that the Meru Mountains are the 5 main axes and remain Gods such as Indra, agni, chandra, Surya, Vahu. Including their floating and enthroning summit and the peak of Mount Kailasha, the erection of the liberation from enlightenment (7 chakras), and thus the highest abode of the god Shiva.

It is also very common in the modern Cambodian custom, of the most pious Buddhists, to do good deeds to hope to reincarnate in the world of god indra (the paradises of Mount Meru) but by objectively deviating from the mastery of their perfections in order to free their souls from the cycle of reincarnation such as finding the way of moksha, enlightenment then the path of Nirvana . 

After the fall of Khmer Brahmanism, the "extremist" Buddhist Kings ruled out the meaning of Mount Kailasha by dissociating it from Mount Meru, also present in Buddhist iconography.

However, Buddhist kings have kept the mores of their ancestors by also establishing new capitals on the Udong Mountains, or continuously on the Penh Mountain, which is still the capital of Cambodia (Phnom Penh) today.

The mountain means the absolute degree, of the 7 chakras, even today the elders of Siemreap agree that if we climb the Phnom Bakheng on the back of an elephant before the Khmer New Year (Sankranta) we could reach the celestial worlds.

Contrary to Indian customs in which Indians break the foreheads of their loved ones in order to free their deceased souls so that they can reincarnate (before incineration).

Khmer have kept the custom that it is strictly forbidden to touch or even caress a person's forehead. This can also be seen in Therevada Buddhism where no obstacles can be above the Buddha's head, because having reached illumination is the perfect mastery of the 7 chakras, it is strictly forbidden to touch your forehead or protrude your head. Cambodians with an advanced degree of spirituality also agree that they are forbidden to cross under a bridge, or ropes or be below a ladder.

Contrary to the popular idea of India, to which it was forbidden to climb temples, in the architectural vision of the Supreme Angkorian monarchs, temples were shaped with the aim of being climbed in search of the summit of soul liberation, in the same way as Ravana climbed the mountain of Mount Kailash, defying the Peaks of Mount Meru.

Some temples such as Phimeanakas or Koh ker for example, were exclusively reserved only for the highest priest and king of the empire for example.

Zhou Daguan said that according to the population, a 9-headed Dragon Queen appeared at each new lunar phase on the top of the Phimeanakas temple, built on the top of Kailasha architecture.

Zhou daguan said that the top of the

Mountain (Phmeanakas temple) possessed a gold tower surmounted by a gold arrow, which suggests that the Phimeanakas temple had at its top a replica of Mount Meru (golden tower) surmounted by the Trishula of the god Shiva (golden arrow or strident)