Consecrated on 22 April 967 A.D., Bantãy Srĕi was the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch; its construction is credited to the courtiers named Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha / Yajñavarāha, who served as a counsellor to king Rajendravarman II.The foundational stela says that Yajnavaraha, grandson of king Harsavarman I, was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty. His pupil was the future king Jayavarman V (r. 968- ca. 1001). Originally, the temple was surrounded by a town called Īśvarapura.
"Bantãy Srĕi" (Citadel of Women) is the modern name of a 10th-century Khmer temple originally called "Tribhuvanamaheśvara" (Great Lord of the Threefold World), an appellation of the god Siva. Yajñavarāha's temple was primarily dedicated to the Hindu god Śiva.
Originally, it was carried the name Tribhuvanamaheśvara—great lord of the threefold world—in reference to the Shaivite linga that served as its central religious image. However, the temple buildings appear to be divided along the central east-west axis between those buildings located south of the axis, which are devoted to Śiva, and those north of the axis, which are devoted to Viṣṇu.
It has been speculated that the temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi, is due to the many devatas carved into the red sandstone walls.
The temple's modern name, Bantãy Srĕi—citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty—is probably related to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves. Some have speculated that it relates to the many devatas carved into the walls of the buildings. Read more here.
