Banteay Srei Temple.

Consecrated in 967 A.D, Banteay Srei was speculated to have been known earlier as Banteay Serai, which literally means the Citadel of Victory, This was the only  major temple at Angkor  not built  by a monarch;  its construction is credited to a courtier named Yajnavaraha, who was a scholar and philanthropist and a counselor to king Rajendravarman. He was known to have helped those who suffered from illness, injustice or poverty.

Banteay  Srei  is built primarily in red sandstone, a medium that lends itself tothe elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable in fine details today. Measured by the standards of Angkorian construction, the buildings themselves are miniature in scale. It has been widely praised as a “precious gem”, or the “jewel of Khmer art”. Banteay Srei or Citadel of Women is probably related  to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings of devatas  found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of  the buildings themselves.