home Russian citizenship Apsaras are the heroine of Khmer mythology of unprecedented beauty. Apsara dance show in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Apsaras are the heroine of Khmer mythology of unprecedented beauty. Apsara dance show in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Apsaras are the celestial dancers of Indra's kingdom, pilots of flying chariots. Apsara (Sanskrit, emphasis on the first syllable - “multiple water”, “movement in water” or “moving water”, “emerging from water.”) - demigoddesses in Hindu mythology. They are often compared with Greek nymphs, Muslim houris, Slavic mermaids and waterworts. But they are not lower natural spirits (nymphs) living in trees or water, they also have nothing to do with mermaids (mermaids are inhabitants of another dimension). They are called “those who came out of the water” because they arose from the Primary Ocean The matter from which everything in the Universe is created.

Apsaras occupy a lower position in the celestial hierarchy; they can fly through the air, but do not possess greater mystical power. They wear the "scorpio" sign on the thigh.

In the epic and, above all, in the Mahabharata, the apsaras, while remaining the wives of the Gandharvas, began to perform the functions of celestial dancers. They lived together with the Gandharvas in the kingdom of Indra Svarga - in beautiful groves on the Meru and Mandara mountains and in the capital Amaravati. There, in the palace of Pushkaramalini, they delighted the gods and mortal warriors who died as heroes on the battlefield with music and dance. Their duty was also to accompany the fallen soldiers to “heaven”. Moreover, they transported them in sky carriages - flying chariots, the art of driving which they mastered no worse than the Gandharvas. They were considered the reward of a hero who died in battle.

Apsaras participated in the wars of gods and asuras, serving refreshments to the warriors or taking part in combat operations as pilots of flying chariots (Mahabharata, Skanda Purana, etc.).

In Buddhist texts, apsaras were depicted as celestial dancers of the kingdom of Sakra (Indra).

Apsaras had superhuman abilities and magical powers. They were transported in space, changed their appearance, took on any form and turned into any creature. Most often they were described as beautiful half-naked girls, dressed in thin silk and other flowing fabrics, decorated with jewelry and flowers.

Graceful sculptures and frescoes of apsaras still decorate the facades and interiors of many medieval Indian, Cambodian, Indonesian and Chinese Buddhist temples, which silently testify to the beauty and grace of these divine creatures.

Apsaras had love affairs and marriages with gods, demons and humans. They not only seduced asuras and mortals, but sometimes fell in love with them. Having met true love, they become ideal wives, and having entered into a relationship with a person, they are able to give birth to a child who turns into a king or a hero. Apsaras abandoned their children, despite the fact that they were quite often described as devoted wives of gods, Gandharvas and mortals, which did not at all fit with their appearance as heavenly courtesans, which some researchers of Indian folklore attribute to them. Children were raised by hermits or random people. Although there were often exceptions, therefore apsaras were associated in ancient India with fertility and belonged to the white race. But an apsara is a servant.

In India, dance is still considered one of the types of yoga, i.e. serving God.

However, apsaras are known for another duty, which they perform at the command of Indra. Whenever someone in our world begins to intensely indulge in asceticism, yoga, Indra is in fear for his power and throne. Apsaras are sent to such yogis with the order to “charm and seduce,” although an angry mystic yogi could send a terrible curse on them and turn them, for example, into stone until Vishnu’s next incarnation on Earth. The mystical power accumulated by asceticism over hundreds and thousands of years is quickly exhausted in sensual pleasures. Violation of chastity or even the awakening of love passion deprives the yogi of his mystical power, acquired by him in asceticism.

The origin of the apsaras was varied. The Ramayana mentions that some apsaras arose from the churning of the Milk Ocean, and the most famous (such as MENaka, Urvashi, TillOttama, etc.) were created by Brahma, and the rest were the daughters of Daksha. The number of apsaras varies according to various sources from several tens to hundreds of thousands. One of the ancient texts reports the existence of 35 million apsaras, adding that only 1060 of them are essentially apsaras.

Their main function is to add seductive charm to Indra's court with their presence and art, which is why they are sometimes called "daughters of pleasure."

Apsaras occupy a lower position in the celestial hierarchy; they can fly through the air, but do not possess greater mystical power. They wear the scorpion mark on their thigh.

Apsara is the owner of mystical beauty, which means that one look, word or movement is enough to make you fall in love with yourself. “Heavenly Dancer” is a special stage of spiritual development, so one could use one’s mystical gift only for the benefit and incentive for spiritual growth, and not for self-interest and using men as a source of income. People were not born into heavenly dancers, but became ones through long work on themselves.

Apsaras have a high forehead, lotus-like eyes, a chiseled nose, sensual lips, high breasts and full hips. Heavenly beauties dancing to the gods symbolize ideal beauty, perfect virtues, mastery of the arts and magic. They bring happiness, fulfill wishes and emit favorable energies.

All photos in the review were taken by me personally, as well as the video (for public moderators)

The review turned out to be mega big and I stopped at the right time, so if you are bored of reading historical and mystical stories, you can just look at the photos and videos. Especially in motion, Angkor is impressive.

In this review I won’t describe how best to get there and who to go with - it’s everyone’s choice. My review of the Angora temples and the energetically strong place, the influence of which I felt on myself.

The Age of Angkor lasted seven centuries Oh, how can I fit it all into one review?

And the construction of the famous temple complex was started by King Suryavarman II, who was a Hindu and considered himself the incarnation of the god Vishnu. After the great civilization died, the city was lost and swallowed up by the jungle, leaving only the legends of the local residents, which Europeans perceived as fairy tales.

Until in 1861, a French naturalist, getting lost near Lake Tolensap, came across the ruins of Angkor.

Henri Muot was so shocked by the power of the structures that he later wrote:

“Each of the Angkor temples is a worthy rival to Solomon’s Temple. Definitely, Angkor Wat is more magnificent than anything in Rome and Greece.

What ancient Michelangelos could have built it?”

Really, which ones and most importantly HOW?

Mysteries of the construction of the temple complex.

Modern architects consider the construction of the temple the most mysterious, and the technology lost. Angkor Wat is the only temple in the world that was built from top to bottom. Like this? It's harder to explain than to see.

First, a large pile (mountain) of sand was poured, the sand was taken out of a giant moat (reservoir) that was built around the temple. On this sand mountain at the top, stone buildings of the upper floor were installed, then the sand was removed and the next floor was built, etc. With this method of construction it is easier to lift capacious loads upward. Usually when something new is built, the old one is also often broken. Everything is so fragile and delicately made that when adding to the upper floors, you can easily damage the beauty below. And the road for the delivery of materials was built as an embankment (through swamps). So it was more economically profitable to build from above. It is difficult to imagine exactly how this happened, but apparently this is one of the many unsolved mysteries. The existence and use of this technology is confirmed by the fact that there was only one unfinished temple tower left from which they did not have time to remove the sand.

But there is another version, more mysterious, when I traveled among the faces of flying celestial dancers - the apsaras were much closer to me.

That Angkor is much older than its official age. And that the temple complex was built on the site of more ancient destroyed buildings. And the complex itself, the entire Angkor is a huge model of the precession of the earth’s axis, and the temples of Angkor repeat exactly the Constellation Draco and on the day of the spring equinox 10,500 BC. exactly repeat the position of the Draco stars in the sky.

Is it worth remembering in the review of Angor Wat that we observe the same phenomenon with the pyramids at Giza, which are an accurate map of three stars from Orion’s belt.

on Angkor Wat it is depicted how 108 nagas are pulling in two directions (54 by 54) a huge top; 216 Buddha faces in Bayon, and 216 is 10 times less than the duration of one precessional era (2160 years); 108 - 216 divided by two; number of temples (72) - the number of years during which the first point of Aries moves by one degree, or the duration of the precession cycle of the earth's axis, divided by 360.

When the Dragon reaches its lowest position, Orion reaches its highest position. Then the second half of the cycle begins as Dragon rises and Orion descends. The “upward” movement lasts a little less than 13,000 years, and the “downward” movement lasts the same amount. And so it continues - up and down, 13,000 years - there, 13,000 - back, in accordance with its own eternal goals and laws. in 10,500 BC e., the clock of heavenly time standing at the gates of immortality is ready to begin counting down. Anyone familiar with the Hermetic formula "below as above" should take this situation as a sign that great changes are coming; whether they will be for better or worse depends largely on humanity's own choices and behavior.

Every 13 thousand years, certain changes occur on earth on a global scale, cataclysms, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions. They are somehow connected with the Orion-Dragon pendulum. Accordingly, we were designated the zero point, the time of the last cataclysm, they indicated the cycle by building structures in Egypt and Cambodia, so that we, looking at the sky, determined the zero point and, knowing the cycle, could guess when we should expect the next such global changes. You can rewrite the history of mankind at least a hundred, at least two hundred times, but the stars in the sky are not subject to the Archons.

ARRIVAL TIME. THE BEGINNING OF THE WAY. I extend my hand to you and invite you on a journey:

Angkor Wat

By the way, initially it was not called that and had a different name “Bpax Vishnulok”, which means “Place of Saint Vishnu”

It is better to come to the Temple at early dawn, when the Sun is just rising from the horizon and there are no crowds of people, as well as huge delegations of Chinese.

Entrance to the Temple is open from 5.00 am to 17.30 pm.

Tickets can be purchased for 1, 2, 7 days. To all churches. This is a general ticket, and not, as guides in Thailand say from tour operators, that if you don’t take it on the street, you will pay separately for each entrance. NO!

General ticket for 1 day - 37 $, for 3 days 65 $, for 7 days 75 $

So. We are wearing special clothes that cover our knees and shoulders and are standing in front of the entrance to Angkor Wat or the Temple of the god Vishnu.

The temple itself symbolizes the sacred Mount Meru in Hindu mythology

"the center of the Universe and the abode of the gods"

November, December, January are the biggest queues and crowds of people; we went during the rainy season on purpose, because... there is less flow of tourists (it’s easier to go through customs) and the temple itself looks much more attractive during the rainy season. The moat that surrounds the complex, which is 190 meters long, is filled with water and Angkor Wat rises as the center of the Universe in the middle of the waters of the World Ocean.

When you walk through the territory of the temple complex, you feel as if it is growing in front of you. No matter which way you approach Angkor Wat, we always see only three towers.

Inside you can receive a blessing from a monk

The height of the central one is 65 meters, namely the level of “paradise”, only kings and the elite were allowed here.

Currently, only 100 people are allowed there at a time. We were lucky and did not have to stand in line, as happens in high season. Some stand for hours.

From here the most beautiful view truly opens up and it’s as if time has stopped.

You breathe deeply and cannot get enough of it. You ask yourself the question, what is Heaven really? And has he ever been on Earth, you touch history, and the Apsaras look at you mysteriously. If you listen to your heart in this place, you will definitely hear the answer to your questions.

We were given 4 hours to view Angkor Wat.

The entire road was only forward from West to East, guided by the Sun. A minivan was waiting for us at the exit and we were in it

ANGKOR VOL. Big city.

Covering an area of 900 hectares 2 km north of Angkor Wat

There were 4 temples in the corners - Prasat Krung

they contained steles with a detailed description of the process of building the city. At a distance of 90 meters from the city walls, a channel with crocodiles up to 39 meters wide formed an additional protective barrier. A road stretched along it for the movement of troops and ritual processions, including inspection of the city.

Entrance to Angkor Thom - long multi-headed snake (naga)

In the center - Bayonne

This temple was built by King Yavarman VII in the 12th-13th century

The Temple of a Thousand Faces, as I called it to myself.

You look at these stone faces, and they look at you. We were so tired by the time we visited Bayon that we bought ourselves a beer and enjoyed the deities of Avalokiteshvara - “The Seeing God”. How the Sun falls on their faces and how they change with the appearance of shadows.

Bayon Temple has 54 towers, where there are more than two hundred faces of saints, which gives the structure a truly royal appearance. Each face on the walls is dedicated to the ruler of Avalokiteshvara, his appearance can be described as: a man with a wide forehead, thick lips and drooping eyes.

Bapuon or "Bronze Tower" or Copper

Once upon a time, the central tower of the temple along the wooden rafters was covered with gilded sheets of copper.

Very high levels

It was in this place that very strange things happened to me and an internal feeling of complete cleansing.

Emotional freedom. I sat on the top of this mountain and looked at the ruins and trees. It was very calm. I already experienced this feeling once. It was in India in Murdeshwar at the foot of the statue of Shiva, the deity dancing the Universe.

Only later did I find out that

in the golden sanctuary stood the royal linga Shiva

And what prompted me, when leaving, to go not straight, but to the right, dragging two men along with me, telling them that I knew the exact road and making a complete circle, going around the entire temple.

The boy who was walking next to me grinned and said, are we doing a cleansing circle? But this described my inner state so accurately that I didn’t even smile.

Then my life changed very dramatically, but it was only later, when I returned to Koh Chang Island, that I already felt that I was freed from what had been weighing me down so much for many months.

Shiva is the god of destruction, but this destruction does not have to be interpreted negatively, because sometimes in order to start something new, it is necessary to finish something old. Destroy it, leave, stop.

Pimeanakas- a very ancient building, in disrepair, tourists are not allowed inside, you have to look only at the outside.

A very beautiful legend about a spirit and a king who was supposed to copulate with a snake.

In the tower of Phimeanakas lived a spirit in the form of a nine-headed snake, which actually owned the entire kingdom. Every night the spirit appeared in the form of a woman with whom the ruler had to share the marriage bed. If for some reason this did not happen, the kingdom would face troubles and misfortunes.

Elephant Terrace

Terrace of the Leper King

The next temple is Ta Prohm ("ancestor of Brahma")

100 m north of Angkor Wat - known to us from the filming of the film “Lara Croft - Tomb Raider” with Angelina Jolie.

From an inscription kept by the Angkor Monuments Conservation Bureau:

Ta Prohm was built in the 12th – 13th centuries by King Jayavarman VII in honor of his mother, whom he identified as the mother of all Buddhas and the goddess of “perfect Wisdom”. During the heyday of Ta Prohm, 12,640 people lived on its territory, 18 high priests, 2,740 priests, 2,232 altar boys and 615 dancers served in it.

There are constant disputes between UNESCO and Green Peace. UNESCO advocates for the buildings and says that the trees must be removed, because... they destroy walls with their huge roots, and GreenPeace says we need to save the trees.

Graceful and sophisticated half-naked dancers dressed in flowing silk are a real pearl of Cambodian culture. Virgo Apsaras, spirits of clouds and water, were considered in Hindu mythology to be courtesans who seduced hermits, whose power threatened the power of the gods. And today you can see the magical dance of the apsaras, mesmerizing with its beauty. It is performed by the most beautiful Cambodian women.

The tradition of apsara dance has its roots in ancient times. Among the bas-reliefs on the walls of most Hindu temples you can find images of dancers whose bodies are flexible and whose outfits are beautiful. Traditions are preserved to this day; not every girl can become a dancer in Cambodia. As a rule, only the most beautiful Cambodian women, short in stature, with a thin waist and wide hips, high breasts and graceful feet and hands, are awarded this honor. The latter is not accidental, because in dance smooth movements and bends of the fingers are of great importance. Finger movements are a special language, because dance conveys meanings embedded in culture for centuries.

Another distinctive feature of Cambodian dancers is the whiteness of their skin. Naturally dark-skinned, they spare no effort and money to use all kinds of sunscreens, protecting their skin from exposure to the sun's rays. After all, it is not appropriate for goddesses to have a bronze tan.

Mentions of apsaras can be found in various cultures: for example, in Vedic mythology they were considered the lovers of brave warrior demigods gadharvas; later, in Hindu mythology they began to be considered heavenly dancers and courtesans who were used to seduce ascetics and appease heroes who fell in battle and were to Indra's paradise.

I continue my favorite topic about mountain gods and goddesses. However, today's goddesses or, more precisely, heavenly spirits - apsaras - do not belong to them. Apsaras are characters of Hinduism and Buddhism, distinguished by their unearthly mystical, sometimes demonic beauty, the gift of seduction and the art of dance. They are distinguished by a beautiful outfit and a lot of precious jewelry. Nevertheless, they controlled flying chariots and even participated in the battles of the gods, while in myths they are described as emerging from the water, more precisely from the waters of the primary World Ocean (apparently, in the foam of the sea).

A comparison with houris, a little with nymphs and sirens and even, dare I say it, with Valkyries involuntarily comes to mind. Together with their Gandharva husbands, they lived in the kingdom of Indra (in Buddhism - Shakra), where they delighted the gods and mortal warriors who died heroically in battle with dancing and singing. They accompanied the dead warriors to heaven, to the capital of Indra's kingdom - Amaravati. So the comparison with the Valkyries, as you understand, is not unfounded. One can see how the apsaras flew on their chariots from the south to the distant northern lands following the trolls and gnomes)) By the way, Hindu temples have the shape of a mountain, which was called Meru and served as the habitat of the gods. It is possible that from here the gods moved a little later to Mount Olympus)))

I think that ancient sculptures and bas-reliefs depicting apsaras (and there are a great many of them) are worth looking at, if only to see the standards of beauty of ancient people. Their decorations deserve no less attention.

Noteworthy is the presence of all the most traditional jewelry of the ancient goddesses. Apsaras, let me remind you, do not belong to the highest goddesses, but rather to demigoddesses or spirits, that is, to the lower hierarchy of the world of gods. However, they look better than other goddesses. And the variety of their hairstyles and jewelry can be a good guide for young designers. Evil tongues claim that it was impossible to resist these seductresses and the gods used them as counterintelligence would later use spectacular women. However, many of them reached great heights in the divine hierarchy.

The tall headdress in some ways echoes the horned headdresses of the Sumerian gods, but at the same time with the horns of a cow, and therefore with the Egyptian Hathor. In general, a high headdress spoke of a high position, and to this day, headdresses are used that symbolize both spiritual and secular power (crowns).

The chest is emphasized and decorated with necklaces, paired bracelets on the legs and arms - both on the wrists and on the forearms. In India, such bracelets - bajubands - are still included in the set of traditional wedding jewelry. These bangles are different in different parts of India and their traditional shape is still maintained. Bracelets have a protective value, as does a hip ornament with bells that ward off evil spirits. Snakes as an attribute of the apsara image evoke an association with ancient snake goddesses. Here lies the connection with the prototype of the Greek Medusa Gorgon. By the way, Perseus’s murder of Medusa to save Andromeda may indicate the displacement of one ancient religious cult by another. And among the legends about the Apsaras there is one where she turns a person into stone with one glance.

Another bold)) off-topic assumption. Apparently, the ancients had a special attitude towards their ears, and, consequently, towards earrings and other ear decorations. They have peculiar ears sticking out in different directions, similar to the ears of a cow. And this apsara’s earrings seem to have pulled down her earlobes. Even now, some tribes still maintain the custom of excessively stretching their earlobes for beauty. Perhaps this canon of beauty, accepted in ancient times among some peoples, ultimately led to a similar image of the Buddha’s ears. Very large earrings, which require special support to be worn, are also now found among traditional Indian jewelry.

And this apsara has ornaments attached to her headdress that resemble koltas or temple rings, which would be worn throughout Eurasia.

Or another seditious thought - if we assume that the duties of temple dancers also included the duties of priestesses of love, then as a result of such a life children could appear at the temples. According to one of the myths, apsaras did not raise their children, but literally abandoned them, but from the connections between apsaras and mortal people, outstanding people were born, all kings and heroes. What I mean is that all sorts of legends came to mind about how future kings were caught from rivers in baskets. Perhaps I’m being vulgar here, but this didn’t happen in ancient cults, so I wrote it down here for memory, to think about later.

These are not noodles on the ears - these are also long earrings, stretched earlobes - the earrings turn into a necklace. Necklace earrings are something out of the ordinary, but there is logic in it - this is a way to make the earrings even heavier))

Majestic apsaras in the Hindu temple complex of Angkor Wat on the site of the ancient Khmer capital of Angkor.

A visit to the Angkor Wat temple was structured in such a way that at the end of the path a person walked out to the main entrance and the statue of Vishnu, making a metaphorical journey back to the point of creation of the Universe. The history of this temple is interestingly outlined in the Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia. But I think many will agree with me - temple bas-reliefs depicting apsaras are a hymn to female beauty. And they also brought to our time images of jewelry, headdresses and, most likely, the appearance of real living ancient women, albeit similar to goddesses)))

Many photos found

Graceful and sophisticated half-naked dancers dressed in flowing silk are a real pearl of Cambodian culture. Apsara maidens, spirits of clouds and water, were considered in Hindu mythology to be courtesans who seduced hermits, whose power threatened the power of the gods. And today you can see the magical dance of the apsaras, mesmerizing with its beauty. It is performed by the most beautiful Cambodian women.

Apsaras are the charming dancers of Cambodia. Photographer: Andrey Khutorskoy

Modern apsara dance

As a rule, only the most beautiful Cambodian women, short in stature, with a thin waist and wide hips, high breasts and graceful feet and hands, are awarded this honor. The latter is not accidental, because in dance smooth movements and bends of the fingers are of great importance. Finger movements are a special language, because dance conveys meanings embedded in culture for centuries.