Kok Po
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The second word in this Khmer double name, "Po", is a little bit more stressed tan the first syllable. The "o" in "Kok" is open and long. The "P" of "Po" sounds slightly like a "b". This Khmer word means a dry area within a flooded surrounding, a kind of island or a dried up part of wetland. Kok Po is also transcribed "Kuk Po".
Kok Po is located about 3.5 kilometres north of the West Baray. It is a Hindu temple from the 8th century. This means it remains from the pre-Angkor period. The seventh and eigth century are the time of the so-called Chenla principalities (Zhenla, Chen La). Chenla, by the way, is an ancient Chinese name of Cambodia, not a Khmer name for a specific pre-Angkor style. Chinese continued to call Cambodia "Chenla" during the Angkorian era. However, in western history books or pocket guides, Chenla is the name only for this specific era in Cambodian history, the period after Funan and before Angkor. During the early Angkor period, in the 9th century, King Jayavarman III conducted some restorations at the Kok Po temple. He left a bilingual inscription in Sanskrit and Khmer, informing about his donations. This is noteworthy as there are not many inscriptions from the 9th century, much less than from the earlier period called Chenla. The first king in the 9th century leaving a lot of comprehensive inscriptions with most valuable information was Indravarman I (877-889), the king who resided in present day's Roluos and built its two most remarkable temples, Preah Ko and Bakong. He was the successor of Jayavarman III, who remaind childless. Jayavarman III is not mentioned at Indravarman's ancestor temple Preah Ko. So there is little information available about him. All the more important is his own inscription found at Kok Po. Kok Po was continuously used as a religious sanctuary, many statues from different periods have been found at the site of this temple. There are remains of two brick Prasats at Kok Po, both of them have false doors ornamented with floral design. Such tendrils in the shape of rows of circles are a very common subject in South and Southeast Asian art. The false door of the more ruined Prasat is half-broken. This allows studying the construction of a blind door covering a brick wall. In the case of Kok Po, morning light is slightly better than afternoon sunshine. A ticket is not required in this area close to the West Baray. |
