In
1186 A.D., Jayavarman VII embarked on a massive program of construction
and public works. Rajavihara ("monestary of the king"), today known as
Ta Prohm ("ancestor Brahma"), was one of the first temples founded
pursuant to that program. The stele commemorating the foundation gives a
date of 1186 A.D.
Jayavarman VII constructed Rajavihara in honor of
his family. The temple's main image, representing Prajnaparamita, the
personification of wisdom, was modelled on the king's mother. The
northern and southern satellite temples in the third enclosure were
dedicated to the king's guru and his elder brother respectively. As
such, Ta Prohm formed a complementary pair with the temple monastery of
Preah Khan, dedicated in 1191 A.D., the main image of which represented
the Bodhisattva of compassion Lokesvara and was modelled on the king's
father.
The temple's stele records that the site was home to more
than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an
additional 800,000 souls in the surrounding villages working to provide
services and supplies. The stele also notes that the temple amassed
considerable riches, including gold, pearls and silks. Expansions and
additions to Ta Prohm continued as late as the rule of Srindravarman at
the end of the 15th century.
Abandonment and restoration
After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 17th century, the temple of Ta
Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to
conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 21st
century, the École française d'Extrême-Orient decided that Ta Prohm
would be left largely as it had been found, as a "concession to the
general taste for the picturesque." According to pioneering Angkor
scholarMaurice Glaize, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of
the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the
jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it".Nevertheless,
much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and
to maintain "this condition of apparent neglect."
As of 2013,
Archaeological Survey of India has restored most parts of the temple
complex some of which have been constructed from scratch. Wooden
walkways, platforms and roped railings have been put in place around the
site to protect the monument from further damages due to the large
tourist inflow.
