Hinduism in Cambodia

The Majestic Angkor Wat.

“No Sultan’, ‘no Mikado, No Viceroy of India could offer his guests a comparable spectacle.”

For more refer to chapter on Greater India: Suvarnabhumi and Sacred Angkor

According to an ancient Sanskrit inscription, Cambodia was born from the water. Being the oldest Indianised state in Southeast Asia, its religion was Hinduism.

Cambodia boasts the largest temple complex in the world, named Ankor, from the Sanskrit meaning "the capital city".

It was built in the ninth century C. E. in honor of the Hindu god Lord Vishnu. The complex extends over an area more than twice the size of Manhattan and took thirty-seven years to complete.

Angkor Wat was dramatically rediscovered in 1860 by the French naturalist and explorer Henri Mouhot, 1826 -1861) a French naturalist and explorer, who exclaimed:

“It is grander than anything left us by Greece or Rome.”

"At the sight of this temple, one feels one's spirit crushed, one's imagination surpassed. One looks, one admires, and, seized with respect, one is silent. For where are the words to praise a work of art that may not have its equal anywhere on the globe? ... What genius this Michalangelo of the East had, that he was capable of concaving such a work.''

(source: Le Tour du Monde 2-1863-299).

He was staggered by his discovery. There was a city so vast and so sophisticated that it must have been built by people with an advanced knowledge of engineering, science, mathematics and art. The young Frenchman soon sent word back to Europe telling of the most beautiful lost city ever to be discovered.

The monumental scale, grandeur and beauty of Angkor justifies its reputation as one of the world’s great creations.

Mouhot wrote:

"What strikes the observer with not less admiration than the grandeur, regularity, and beauty of these majestic buildings, is the immense size and prodigious number of the blocks of stone of which they are constructed. In this temple alone are as many as 1532 columns. What means of transport, what a multitude of workmen, must this have required, seeing that the mountain out of which the stone was hewn is thirty miles distant!...."

(source: Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire - By Bruno Dagens p. 140 -141).

Dec 13 Attack :Un-edited footage

Expressing my sincere thanks to CNN-IBN, for this unedited-footage , of the ghastly 13/12 Terrorist attack on INDIAN Parliament , the Citadel of it's 'Democracy', commemorating this day.

BEST OF FUTURE.

MSN Encarta Article: World War II

=Snap of Pearl Harvor Survivor Veteran William Brown 'oblivious' at the Celebration by US Navy=

(Courtesy The Seattle Times)

I saw this on the MSN Encarta site and thought you might be interested in:

World War II

Contributed by Earl F. Ziemke,Research Prof. History,University of Grorgia.

This is not to be named a blog rather compilation of a series of eventful literary debates between two history scholars of eminence, an example of how vibrant is Democracy and how powerful is their 'blogoshere' community, acting as a true watch-dog of their country's political and Nationalistic ethos, vis a vis, kudos, to their cultural,political and historical indepth and concern.

I am drawn deep into ocean of ponder and my head bows down to them and their conscious citizenry of a true Democratic country.

The catalysts, those helped streaming down this post of mine, coincidently were one the Celebration by the US Navy, of Pearl Harbor Day(Dec.7), and the second above photo (thanks to The Seattle Times,for their article) of The Survivor-Veteran Mr.William Brown looking oblivious in his uniform with ghastly reminiscences of that D-Day, that stirred my mind.

I will do grave injustice to my conscience, if I do not utilise this opportunity to express my heart-felt gratitude to one of above historian Mr.B.R.Dirck, for his generous gesture in replying to this poor blogger's email, looking at his eminence and stature!

My thanks also goes to another versatile blogger 'elektratig' who is also a link of the chain that I have referred above. I specially wish my readers to go through the blogsite URL and leave it on you to judge and post your comments.

And the last link of that chain, I felt it worth-mentioning to draw attention of my adored readers to, is the pro-active response of President Bush on Iraq issues, and the resolve with which he addressed to the people of America.

Please be patient, in reviewing all the links below and I am hopeful you will get the real essence and spirit of this post, thereby.

It is tried to put down chronologically, below the links :

A.Lincolnblog

He's The Worst Ever

Historians Acting Badly

CNN.com