The Great Departure

The Great Departure pediment on the north face of the central sanctuary at Wat Nokor

The northern doorway of the central sanctuary

Continuing my reflections on Wat Nokor, the outstanding Angkorean temple complex on the outskirts of Kompong Cham city, this post brings you The Great Departure pediment on the north face of the central sanctuary. Prince Siddhartha leaves the palace on his horse Kanthaka with a groom holding the horse's tail and four of his household each clasping one of the horse's legs to prevent any noise of his departure. Another seven worshippers on the lower register hold garlands of lotus flowers. Whilst much of the iconography of the temple was changed in the 16th century, the style of this carving dates it from the 13th century, the time of the original temple's construction under King Jayavarman VII.
The rather worn lintel below the pediment shows a grinning kala topped by more figures but it's difficult to identify the features. The bottom photo in this sequence is from the northern gopura of the first enclosure which has a well-defined pediment with a two-armed Lokeshvara standing between two kneeling figures, over a register carved with seven worhsippers holding two lotuses each. The destroyed lintel below has five niches with defaced Buddhas.

The worn kala lintel on the doorway of the northern face of the central sanctuary

A well-preserved Lokeshvara pediment on the northern face of the 1st gopura