It was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. In Khmer, the Cambodian language, Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple grounds".
#3/thread on Angkor wat
Christianity and islam may be the largest religion of today’s world but Sanatan dharm has the largest religious monument in the world in the form of Angkor wat. It is situated in combodia and spread across over 400 acres / 1.6 km².
It was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. In Khmer, the Cambodian language, Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple grounds".
But, it gradually turned into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century & is still used for worship today.
Another aspect is that the five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru,
There are 1,200 square meters of carved bas reliefs at Angkor Wat, representing eight different Hindu stories. Perhaps the most important narrative represented at Angkor Wat is the “samundra manthan” (Churning of the Ocean of Milk),