Preah Ko, 879, built by Indravarman I (r. 877-889), a nephew of the queen of Jayavarman II, the preceding king. Preah Ko is at Hariharalaya (Roluos), southeast of Angkor. It was the "ancestral temple" of the king, and was begun after the king dug out the Indratataka reservoir on the north end of Hariharalaya.

Description

Preah Ko is comprised of a group of 6 brick towers on a platform, surrounded by four enclosures. The outer enclosure is a moat measuring 450 x 800 m. around its perimeter. Two ponds were just inside the moat on the east. The remaining 3 enclosures were walls opened by large gateways on the east and west. These three enclosures measure 215, 95, and 60 m. on a side. The 2nd enclosure contains one library on the right, as you walk in, and the remains of other structures. The last enclosure surrounds the base of the platform.

The central towers are in two rows of three each. Those in front are a little larger than those behind, and the front middle tower is the largest of all. It was dedicated to the preceding king, Jayavarman II. The tower to the left (south) was dedicated to King Indravarman's father (Prithivindreshvara), and the tower to the right (north) to his maternal grandfather (Rudreshvara). The three back towers were dedicated to the wives of these men: Dharanindradevi (center), Prithivindradevi (south), Narendradevi (north). All the images in the men's towers were of Shiva, and those of the women were of Gauri, the wife of Shiva.

The doorway inscription from Preah Ko is one of the earliest inscriptions of the Angkor period. It gives the genealogy of Indravarman and names the images in the 6 towers. Similar inscriptions were found far to the to the south, and in other regions of Cambodia, indicating the territorial extent ruled by the king at this time.

Kala heads appear at the center of lintels, over the doorways, for the first time here. And the flying palace motif is now replaced by standing aspsarases (celestial maidens) - female guardians for the sanctuaries with female images, and dvarapalas (door guardians) for the sanctuaries with male images. Preah Ko has the oldest extant stucco decoration in Cambodia, currently under restoration by a Hungarian-sponsored conservation team.