I made a concerted effort to ferret out the Dvarapala

I made a concerted effort to ferret out the Dvarapala, which are the temple doorway guardians, at some of the key Angkor temples I visited this week with my brother Tim, on his first visit to Cambodia for six years. Most visitors understandably concentrate on the often beautiful female Devata which tend to dominate the decorative elements, especially from temples of the late 12th, early 13th century reign of King Jayavarman VII. To ensure the powerful guardians aren't left out, I'll post a series of them over the next week or so, just so they don't feel neglected. Let's begin with these two, located in one of the dark narrow galleries that characterize sections of Preah Khan temple at Angkor. It's easy to miss them as you traverse the temple, which was remodelled several times leaving little room between the sanctuaries. Dvarapala are the guardians of the temple, keeping out unwanted riffraff. They will be located either side of the entrance doorway, either in niches or as free-standing statues. They are designed to make visitors think twice before entering the sacred chamber. These examples are in particularly good condition, likely due to their location which is sheltered from rain and erosion. Their identity can be compared to the gods and demons that occupy the causeways into Angkor Thom and to Preah Khan itself. The Deva Dvarapala is identified by his weapon, a three-pronged trident and a less fanciful headdress, this one hosting a triple chignon above a double-layered diadem and long dangling pendant earrings. His body decoration is enhanced by a heavy chained necklace, upper arm bangles, bracelets and anklets. His sampot is short but nicely defined with pleats, a single anchor central flap and an incised belt with pendants. His partner, the Asura Dvarapala, albeit hosting a smile on this occasion, is usually the fiercest of the duo and a beautifully expansive flaming headdress, large circular earrings and both hands grasping his weapon of choice, a mace, are his identifiers. The rest of his attire is similar though not identical to his partner. Expect to see more Dvarapalas over the next few days.https://www.facebook.com/andy.brouwer.71