Editing Khmer architecture (section)

===Apsara and devata===
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|image1    = Apsarasdevatakdei01.jpg
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|caption1  ='''Apsaras''' (left) and a '''devata''' (right) grace the walls at [[Banteay Kdei]].
|image2    =Bayon, Angkor Thom, Camboya, 2013-08-16, DD 04.jpg
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|caption2  =Two '''apsaras''' appear on this pillar at the 12th-century Buddhist temple the [[Bayon]].
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[[Apsaras]], divine nymphs or celestial dancing girls, are characters from Indian mythology. Their origin is explained in the story of the churning of the [[Ocean of Milk]], or [[samudra manthan]], found in the [[Vishnu Purana]]. Other stories in the Mahabharata detail the exploits of individual apsaras, who were often used by the gods as agents to persuade or seduce mythological demons, heroes and ascetics. The widespread use of apsaras as a motif for decorating the walls and pillars of temples and other religious buildings, however, was a [[Khmer people|Khmer]] innovation. In modern descriptions of Angkorian temples, the term "apsara" is sometimes used to refer not only to dancers but also to other minor female deities, though minor female deities who are depicted standing rather than dancing are more commonly called "[[devatas]]".<ref>See Roveda. ''Images of the Gods'', pp. 200 ff.</ref>

Apsaras and devatas are ubiquitous at [[Angkor]], but are most common in the foundations of the 12th century. Depictions of true (dancing) apsaras are found, for example, in the [[Architecture of Cambodia#Hall of Dancers|Hall of Dancers]] at [[Preah Khan]], in the pillars that line the passageways through the outer gallery of the [[Bayon]], and in the famous bas-relief of [[Angkor Wat]] depicting the churning of the Ocean of Milk. The largest population of devatas (around 2,000) is at [[Angkor Wat]], where they appear individually and in groups.<ref>See Glaize, ''Monuments of the Angkor Group'', p. 37.</ref>

[[File:Banteay Kdei, Angkor, Camboya, 2013-08-16, DD 15.JPG|thumb|left|This '''dvarapala''' stands guard at [[Banteay Kdei]].]]