Pediments at Banteay Thom

Over the southern door of the southern tower, this pediment depicts the Great Departure with the horse of Siddhartha being supported by the gods, his tail held by Chandaka and eleven dancing apsaras below, which seems to belie the suggestion that the departure was in silence

Without the religious mutilation at the end of the 13th century and the thefts of the 20th century, the pediments and lintels at Prasat Banteay Thom would've been a dream for any temple buff. As it is, we are left with a case of 'what might have been' and to fill in the blanks left by the people who've defaced these excellent carvings from the 13th century and the reign of Jayavarman VII. Banteay Thom is off the beaten track and therefore a prime target for thieves looking for priceless Khmer artefacts and features, and this very real problem that exists at the remote temples of Cambodia was demonstrated in the last decade when Banteay Thom lost some of its treasures, hacked from its walls and lost forever. Today the temple is a great place to visit for its quietness, located in a copse of trees and within a few minutes walking distance of a couple of small villages. It's rare that any visitor to the Angkor Park ventures to the temple, so it remains one of the Hidden Secrets of Jayavarman VII.

Both the lintel and the pediment above have been badly defaced. A row of worshippers remain but the main figure, probably a Lokeshvara, has been removed

An almost identical scene with the pediment losing its central figure and the lintel losing its Buddhist theme including its kala

Even this row of seven worshippers have been defaced - the remainder of the pediment is mutilated

Both the central figures from the pediment and lintel have been removed in the anti-Buddhist religious fervour of the late 13th century

The Lokeshvara has been scratched out leaving two attendants, nine worshippers and a ruined lintel

A row of worshippers and a defaced lintel, minus its kala

This pediment from the north face of the central tower at Banteay Thom shows the assault of Mara, with Preah Thorani flanked by two horsemen in the center, the upper register is defaced, while a large kala occupies the lower register, alongside dancing figures