Terrace of the Leper King

The Terrace of the Leper King (or Leper King Terrace) (Khmer: ព្រះលានស្តេចគម្លង់, Preah Lean Sdach Kumlung) is located in the northwest corner of the Royal Square of Angkor Thom, Cambodia.

Leper King's altar

It was built in the Bayon style under Jayavarman VII, though its modern name derives from a 15th-century sculpture discovered at the site. The statue depicts the Hindu god Yama, the god of death.

The statue was called the "Leper King" because discolouration and moss growing on it was reminiscent of a person with leprosy, and also because it fit in with a Cambodian legend of an Angkorian king Yasovarman I who had leprosy.[1] The name that the Cambodians know him by, however, is Dharmaraja,[2] as this is what was etched at the bottom of the original statue.

The U-shaped structure is thought by some to have been used as a royal cremation site.

  • Terrrace of the Leper King
  • Terrace of the Leper King
  • The statue which gave the terrace its name has been replaced by a replica.
gollark: This seems to neglect any happiness you might get from not being utterly isolated in the meantime.
gollark: Or, well, a fairly high chance.
gollark: I suppose you also have to assume that the child has a 100% chance of helping you with your thing.
gollark: The assumption there is of course very assumptive.
gollark: If we approximate it by saying that having and raising a child consumes 50% of your resources and the other half of said resources can be used on direct contributions to things, and the child will definitely help with whatever your goal is, than the child provides a 50% benefit.

References
  1. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & the Greater Mekong by Nick Ray, Tim Bewer, Andrew Burke, Thomas Huhti, Siradeth Seng. Page 212. Footscray; Oakland; London: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007.
  2. Dharmaraja, 'King of Dharma' is a title of Yama.


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