this statement is accurate or not. He may
have simply made a mistake, but it is equally possible that the fusion
of the two creeds may have ended in images of the Buddha being placed
outside the shrine of the linga.

Strange as it may seem, there is no clear evidence as to the character
of the worship performed in Camboja's greatest temple, Angkor Wat.
Since the prince who commenced it was known by the posthumous title of
Paramavishnuloka, we may presume that he intended to dedicate it to
Vishnu and some of the sculptures appear to represent Vishnu
slaying a demon. But it was not finished until after his death and his
intentions may not have been respected by his successors. An
authoritative statement[324] warns us that it is not safe to say more
about the date of Angkor Wat than that its extreme limits are 1050 and
1170. Jayavarman VII (who came to the throne at about this latter
date) was a Buddhist, and may possibly have used the great temple for
his own worship. The sculptures are hardly Brahmanic in the
theological sense, and those which represent the pleasures of paradise
and the pains of hell recall Buddhist delineations of the same
theme.[325] The four images of the Buddha which are now found in the
central tower are modern and all who have seen them will, I think,
agree that the figure of the great teacher which seems so appropriate
in the neighbouring monasteries is strangely out of place in this
aerial shrine. But what the designer of the building intended to place
there remains a mystery. Perhaps an empty throne such as is seen in
the temples of Annam and Bali would have been the best symbol.[326]

Though the monuments of Camboja are well preserved the grey and
massive severity which marks them at present is probably very
different from the appearance that they wore when used for worship.
From Chou Ta-kuan and other sources[327] we gather that the towers and
porches were gilded, the bas-reliefs and perhaps the whole surface of
the walls were painted, and the building was ornamented with flags.
Music and dances were performed in the courtyards and, as in many
Indian temples, the intention was to create a scene which by its
animation and brilliancy might amuse the deity and rival the pleasures
of paradise.

It is remarkable that ancient Camboja which has left us so many
monuments, produced no books.[328] Though the inscriptions and Chou
Ta-kuan testify to the knowledge of literature (especially religious),