In the Preah Khan sanctuary, a Buddhist temple located north of the city of Angkor Thom (Cambodia), this impressive group introduced the procession leading the faithful to the outer door of the ensemble.
Placed on each side of the causeway allowing to cross the moats that surround the monument’s outer wall, two long rows of giants, fierce in aspect (the asura) or peaceful (the deva), uphold the body of a gigantic polycephaly cobra. These majestic ensembles may be considered to be representations of secondary protective deities on the outskirts of the sites where they are found.
Although specifically Hindu, in that it refers to one of the deity Vishnu’s avatars, the theme this ensemble refers to is that of the “Churning of the Milk Ocean.” It features among the great ensembles of Great Vehicle Buddhism under Jayavarman VII (1182/83-c.1220). In turn Asura (demons) and deva (divinities) pull the body of the cobra, supposedly coiled around Mount Mandara, to make it swivel. The stir thus produced in the depths of the Milk Ocean will bring to light several treasures, including the liquor of immortality (amrita).
