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Phan Rang, Ninh Thuan · 11.6011°, 108.9469°
A hilltop Cham brick group above Phan Rang raised toward the end of the thirteenth century under Jaya Simhavarman III, though earlier steles, including one of 1050 commemorating a Cham victory over Panduranga, suggest it replaced or enlarged older structures. Three brick towers survive, a three-storeyed main tower, a smaller gate tower and a long saddle-roofed building, and the sanctum holds a sixteenth- or seventeenth-century mukhalinga that Cham worshippers treat as an image of the king himself. The site remains in active use for Cham festivals.
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.
Po Klong Garai, whose name means great water-dragon sovereign, is remembered as a cowherd who rose to the throne, ruled wisely, turned back a Khmer invasion by winning a tower-building contest, and became a protective deity after his death.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-27 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Champa
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…