Po Nagar Cham Tower, Nha Trang is one of the major Tourist Attractions in Nha Trang. This is a famous Cham tower with magnificent ascending smaller levels and rounded corner towers. Po Nagar Cham Tower, Nha Trang was built by the ethnic Chams between the seventh and twelfth century A.D. The Chams were an ancient civilization with its origin mainly in Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam and Cambodia. The excellence of their architecture and art style is of great historical and cultural importance.
Po Nagar Cham Tower, Nha Trang is characterized by tall arched forms built of brick and stone. This building is known as the 'Mandapa' which signifies it is an entrance building or meditation hall. It can be dated back to the early 800s A.D. and it is regarded as the earliest surviving structure at the Po Nagar site. Only four towers of at least seven temples remain standing here at this Hindu complex. The complex is named after a local goddess of rice farming, Po Nagar. Po Nagar became a people's goddess among the ethnic Vietnamese settled in the region. They dress statues of Po Nagar in Mahayana Buddhist robes.
The first pillars, enclosing a meditation hall, are in two rows under the main tower. The burnt orange color of the brick and terracotta monuments are distinctive and you will find several elements of Hinduism sculpted into the towers such like Brahma with his four arms and four faces and his wife Saravasti. Built during the Hindu period, some of the images of the Po Nagar sometimes resemble the form of Uma, the ten-armed wife of the Hindu god Siva. A sculpture of Vishnu can be found on the northernmost tower with Sanskrit writings on the sides of the entrance arch.
In order to experience the magnificence of Po Nagar Cham Tower in Nha Trang, you can scale the circular stone stairway. The dark interior corridor will lead you to the main room where the likeness of a gold Buddha sits in lotus pose.Both Cham and Vietnamese people still use Po Nagar Cham Tower, Nha Trang as a site for worshipping. Each of the remaining buildings is dedicated to a different Hindu deity.
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