Garuda at Preah Khan Temple

Garudas served as mythological guardians at the temple of Preah Khan at Angkor towards the end of the 12th century under King Jayavarman VII. No less than 72 of them adorned the outside walls of the temple’s fourth enclosure, with the four corner Garudas, carved in sandstone, with a human body, an ornate eagle-like head, standing an imposing three and a half meters in height, and overpowering two seven-headed Nagas. The feathered decoration and body ornamentation is fascinating in its sculpted detail. This particular half-man half-bird figure stands at the south-east corner of the temple’s outer wall and is simply magnificent.