PREAH PITHU
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Complex of five temples dating from the and centuries, one Buddhist and the others Hindu. See the pediments and bas-reliefs.
Northeast of the Terrace of the Leper King is a complex of five temples probably built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The two Hindu temples to the south of the complex were probably built at the same time; they share the same moat and their architectural styles are similar. The larger one has a beautiful fresco of the churning of the sea of milk, the smaller one has a dancing Shiva surrounded by Vishnu and Brahma. The two Hindu temples in the north are in rather poor condition, only the two remarkable half-frontons representing the defeat of the asura Bana in front of Krishna in the north, as well as the three giant steps of Vamana in the south deserve to be seen. The legend of Vamana is actually quite amusing; when the demon Bali wanted to rule the three worlds (earth, heaven and hell), the dwarf Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu, proposed a deal. "We will divide the world into two parts, the first, reserved for the gods, will be as big as three of my small steps. The second part will be yours. The demon Bali accepted this advantageous deal. But then the dwarf Vamana returned to his original form, and had no trouble covering the three worlds in three steps. The demon Bali was thus banished. The fifth temple, at the very east of the complex, is an unfinished Buddhist place of worship and probably the most recent of the five. Some beautiful bas-reliefs of the Buddha can be seen in the sanctuary.
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