PRASAT KU KA SING

VIDEO DESCRIPTION

 

 

Prasat Ku Ka Sing (กู่กาสิงห์) is the Thai name of a Khmer-style ancient religious monument, situated within the compound of the Buddhist temple Wat Burapha Ku Ka Sing (วัดบูรพากู่กาสิงห์) in the Tambon Ku Ka Sing in Roi Et Province. The historical site comprises of three stone towers with spires called prang that are built on an elevated base, with the central prang being somewhat larger than the other two prangs. The monument is built in a mixture of laterite and sandstone. There is a Nandi mandapa with the statue of a bull, i.e. the vahana or vehicle of the Hindu god Shiva known as Nandi, evidence that the site, thought to date from BE 1560-1630, i.e. the early to late 11th century AD, was likely dedicated to the worship of Hindu god Shiva. In the front are rectangular library buildings and the ruins are surrounded by a wall, with gopura entrance pavilions at the four cardinal directions. On the outside thereof is a U-shaped moat that surrounds the outer wall. It has a long antechamber with three entrances at the front and at both sides. Many of the door posts have Khmer-style colonettes, i.e. decorated columns that are also referred to as pilasters. The base of the prang is made of sandstone and carved with lotus petals and flame-like kanok figures. Inside the inner chamber of the central prang, there is a yoni, i.e. the base meant to hold a lingam. The lintels found over the door posts depict the god Indra on his mount, i.e. the three-headed elephant Airavata, and kala faces, some with hands that hold a garland. Often referred to as simply Ku Ka Sing, which may also be transliterated Ku Kah Singh. At the time of filming, the local residents and some monks were setting up an altar for a ceremony known as buang sra-wang (บวงสรวง), which literally means ‘sanctuary worship’ and in which the deities are worshiped with sacrifices of flowers, incense, candles, etc.