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Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima · 15.2203°, 102.4939°
The largest Khmer temple in Thailand and terminus of the Ancient Khmer Highway from Angkor — 225 km of road, bridges and hospitals whose ceremonial gate faces Angkor itself. Built slightly before Angkor Wat, its central prang is widely seen as a design ancestor of that masterpiece; unusually for the empire, its heart is Tantric-Mahayana Buddhist.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
Local legend weaves Phimai into the tale of Pachit and Oraphim — lovers whose trials named towns across the Khorat plateau; the temple's Buddhist dancer-lintels over Hindu doorframes record two faiths sharing one cosmology.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Khmer (Angkor)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…