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Thailand: A lintel portraying Vishnu above the demon Rahu, Prasat Hin Phanom Rung (Phanom Rung Stone Castle), Buriram Province, northeast Thailand

Thailand: A lintel portraying Vishnu above the demon Rahu, Prasat Hin Phanom Rung (Phanom Rung Stone Castle), Buriram Province, northeast Thailand

Phanom Rung is a Khmer temple complex set on the rim of an extinct volcano at 1,320 feet above sea level, in Buriram province in the Isaan region of Thailand. It was built in sandstone and laterite in the 10th to 13th centuries. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, and symbolises Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling. In Hindu mythology, Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses.

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