4th Century "My Son" Ancient Hindu Temple Complex in Vietnam

4th Century "My Son" Ancient Hindu Temple  Complex 

in Vietnam

Vietnam is a South East Asian country  on the South China Sea which has become a bone of contention between China and South East Asian Countries. This country is famous for its beaches, rivers, Buddhist pagodas and bustling cities. Three quarters of the country consists of mountains and hills.

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From 2nd to 15th centuries the  kingdom of Champa flourished around present day Danang and spread  south to what is known as Nha Trang and Phan Rang. The Cham embraced Hinduism and accepted Sanskrit as a sacred language. They borrowed heavily from Indian art and culture.

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Most Important Cham site of Vietnam is one of the most stunning sights- "My Son". It is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples. These temples have been constructed between 4th to 14th centuries AD by the kings of Champa. The temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva, also known as 'Bhadresvara'.

My Son is situated near the village Duy Phu in Central Vietnam approximately 10 km from the historic town of Tra Kieu (then known as Simhapura). The temples have been built in a valley which is  roughly 2 km wide and is surrounded by two mountain ranges.

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The My Son temple complex is regarded as one of the foremost temple complexes in South East Asia and also foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam.

My Son is considered to be counterpart to the grand cities of South East Asia's other Indian-influenced civilizations - Angkorwat (Cambodia), Bagan (Myanmar), Aythaya (Thailand) and Borobudur (Java).

At one time this compex encompassed over 70 temples as well as numerous stele bearing historically important inscriptions in Sanskrit and Cham.

My Son is perhaps the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina. It will not be out of place to mention here  that a large majority of My Son's architecture was destroyed by US carpet bombing during a single week of Vietnam war.