Hey guys, today we are going to look at something really fascinating in the ancient temple of
Preah Vihear in Cambodia.
Today, to reach Preah Vihear temple, we have to drive up through steep roads because the
temple complex is on top of a mountain which is about 1700 feet tall, and we are able to
reach almost the top, and then we can park the car and explore the temple.
But this is not how ancient people visited the temple, Hindus considered climbing mountains
as a sacred ritual in itself, so to truly experience how ancient people reached the
temple, you have to go through an entrance which is forbidden to visitors now.
This is the ancient staircase and immediately you notice that it is guarded by 2 giant Nagas.
The Nagas are snake like, reptilian creatures described in sacred Hindu texts.
But these Nagas are awe-inspiring, look at the size of each one.
Compare them with my height, the hooded head of the Naga alone would be at least 15 feet
tall.
But it is not just the size of the Naga that amazes you, look at the details.
The Nagas are commonly thought of as snakes, but look at these heads.
Do snake have teeth like human beings?
Your initial reaction would be thinking that, no, snakes do not have rows of teeth, they
just have sharp fangs to inject venom, but it is not true.
Most of us do not know that Snakes do have rows of teeth, but ancient people were much
more knowledgeable than us.
Look at the heads of the Naga, it does not have one head, but you can count a total of
7 heads.
What is the significance of the 7 headed Naga and why did ancient Cambodians carve such
a figure?
Cambodians not only believe that this underground reptilian race exists today, they proudly
claim that they are the descendants of this race.
This is why they still make offerings to Nagas, even today, because they consider them as
their ancestors.
According to Cambodian legends, a humanoid by the name of Preah Thorng married a Naga
princess called Neang Neak.
And the Khmer race was born as a result of this hybrid union.
Don't ask me how such a creature is possible in real life, we are only scraping the surface
of ancient history.
Recently, we have found a few snakes with 2 heads, and scientists say these are genetic
mutations.
Perhaps these were created as a result of ancient genetic engineering, or sculptors
carved exaggerated features to show the prowess of this figure, just like how we show deities
with 10 hands to show their 10 weapons.
Look at the hood of each snake, it has these lines perfectly depicting the scales, giving
a realistic feel to it even after more than a 1000 years.
The scales look amazing.
But there is a weird detail at the bottom here, it appears as though it has feathers.
Do serpents have feathers?
In ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations of Mexico, serpent gods are shown with feathers,
this deity is known is Kukulkan or Quetxlocoatl.
Furthermore, look at the position of the carving, it is carved on the sides of the staircase,
and that is exactly what we see here.
In other parts of the region, we can even see these feathered serpents guarding the
stairs, just like the Mayan Monuments of Mexico.
Is this a mere coincidence?
But we are not going to compare civilizations today, let us go back to this Naga at Preah
Vihear temple.
Now, are these just Giant Snake Heads?
No, these Nagas have bodies also.
Look at the length of these bodies, they are each about a whopping 100 feet long.
This is just fantastic to see 100 feet long snake bodies being designed as handrails or
parapet walls.
The body is made up of several stone blocks which have arches at the top.
These blocks are aligned neatly and they extend till the end of the passageway.
Somehow, I am curious to see the tail of these Nagas.
Perhaps they would give me a clue about their secrets.
But sadly, the tail has been intentionally destroyed, possibly because of the war between
Thailand and Cambodia.
But when I turned to the right side naga, I find exactly what I am looking for.
The tail, this is fascinating to see.
This is a rattle, found in rattlesnakes, it is standing erect, facing the sky.
This is a warning sign that the Naga can attack you at any time.
Look at how well it is shaped, it is not a cylinder or a cone, it has several bends,
mimicking an actual rattlesnake, look at the similarity to the actual rattle.
So this is a rattlesnake, but here is the strange issue: Rattlesnakes are only found
in the Americas.
As far as I know, there are no rattlesnakes or snake species with these tails in Cambodia,
or even all of Asia.
But is this really how all Nagas looked, or is it an exception, or just one sculptor's
twisted imagination?
Let us explore the temple more and find out what is going on here, a local Cambodian is
helping me understand the temple.
.
I am not going to break his heart by telling
him this is the Hindu God Vishnu, along with his wife Lakshmi.
Brahma, the Lord of all creation is shown coming out of his navel.
Both these fabulous carvings are from Hinduism, but surprisingly, most Cambodians have forgotten
about their glorious Hindu past.
Most locals here, even believe that Preah Vihear is a Buddhist temple.
But I am just rambling.
Look at the tails of both these Nagas.
Both tails clearly show an erect rattle like feature pointing to the sky, this is definitely
an important feature of the Nagas.
This is what I wanted to find.
Now, let us go straight back to the big Naga statues.
Why are the Nagas carved with vibrating tails?
How did ancient builders know about the rattle sound and its natural vibration, even though
there is no such snake species in this country?
Strangely enough, rattlesnakes themselves cannot hear the sound, they can only feel
the vibration.
But more importantly, why is this feature carefully carved in every Naga of this temple
complex?
Are ancient builders trying to tell us something about this temple's vibration?
Perhaps the clue is carved in the Naga itself.
Let us go back to the head of the Nagas and see if we can find anything.
At first look, we don't see anything, they just appear to be these giant, fearsome reptilians.
But when I look carefully, I see something bizarre.
There is something very very strange carved on these Nagas.
What is this circular pattern carved on the body?
It is almost completely faded, but when I digitally enhanced this image I could see
a brilliant pattern carved on it.
What is the meaning of this pattern?
It is the visual representation of a certain frequency or sound.
Today, we use a technology called Cymatics, we are able to convert sound into visual patterns.
We think this is modern technology, but ancient Hindu temples have used the same technology
for thousands of years.
Each temple is carved with a certain frequency chart on it.
Is it possible that the Nagas are pointing us to a certain frequency or Sound?
Is this why we see so many references to Sound in this Preah Vihear Temple?
Why else is a rattle tail carved on these Nagas' body?
We are going to explore some very interesting possibilities about sound in the near future,
we may be able to finally unlock the secrets of a very advanced ancient civilization.
I hope you liked this video, I am Praveen Mohan, thanks a lot for watching, don't forget
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Bye!