PO NAGAR
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Cham temple dedicated to Po Nagar, the "Lady of the City", on Cu Lao mountain, on the left bank of the Cai River.
The magnificent Po Nagar Cham temple stands on Cu Lao mountain, on the left bank of the Cai River. It is the heart of Cham country and remains a highly venerated religious center. A stele dated 781 indicates that Jaya Satyavarman, the second king of the fifth Champa dynasty, whose reign lasted from 770 to 787, regained power over the region and had the devastated temple restored. This has enabled archaeologists to consider that the temple was built before the 8th century and would have been completed around the 13th century. The complex originally comprised seven or eight temples, of which only four remain. The other monuments were already in a state of ruin at the beginning of the 20th century, when Henri Parmentier, chief archaeologist, undertook the first restoration work. The Thap Chinh tower, 23 m high, dominates the site.
The temple is dedicated to Po Nagar, the "Lady of the City", also known as Thiên Y A Na in Vietnamese. This deity is likened to Durga, the goddess of war and mother of the universe in the Hindu pantheon. A superb sculpture of Durga can be admired above the entrance to the main temple. Inside the sanctuary is a 1.20 m stone statue of Ya Po Nagar, seated cross-legged, wearing only a skirt, with ten hands holding various symbolic objects. The statue stands in the altar on the remains of a shivalingam. A lingam can also be found inside one of the two adjacent towers.
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