CITADEL OF WOMEN

CITADEL OF WOMEN

The temple's original name was Tribhuvanamahesvara — great lord of the threefold world — named as usual after the central image (in this case a Shaivite linga). The town of Isvarapura was centred on the temple. The modern name, Banteay Srei — citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty — is generally taken to refer to the intricacy of the carving and the tiny dimensions of the architecture.