OK, we know that Apsaras are important at Angkor and other temples, and in Hindu mythology. Here are a couple of things I’ve long wondered about. Maybe some knowledgable person can weigh in.

1. It’s odd that most of the carved Apsaras around Angkor have their feet turned to the side, in a way that’s quite impossible. There are exceptions, but most were carved that way. On various visits I’ve asked several guides I’ve seen at Angkor and at the SR National Museum. Most just say they don’t know. Two told me that due to limited skills the Angkor sculptors just couldn't get the perspective right. That's a little hard for me to believe because in every other way, the figures are so accurate and lifelike. But maybe that's true, and the Apsaras with normal ankles were carved later, after skills evolved? Or maybe certain artists were just better at carving the feet realistically. Or maybe there’s some symbolic meaning in the rotated ankles. Anybody???

2. I wonder if the royal palaces had real life Apsaras; costumed dancing girls to entertain the Kings and other royals. I mean, other royal households in Asia had harems and resident concubines, so did Angkor? Maybe it’s a bit silly to imagine well proportioned young ladies in head dresses and little else, lounging around the pools to entertain men of the royal family (a sort of Khmer version of the Playboy Mansion). But seriously, I do wonder about this and haven’t been able to find any answers. Any idea?

Thanks in advance.

IraHayes wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:53 pm ...It is possible that the depiction of their feet turned to the side was intended to convey a sense of movement or fluidity, as if they were in the midst of a dance...

Now THAT is a very interesting idea that never occurred to me. I've been thinking about this since writing the post and I just can't accept the idea that the sculptors couldn't get that detail right, when they did everything else so beautifully. Yours is my favorite theory so far.

Thank you for the excellent replies.

Have seen Cambodian women who can do that easily with their feet; I reckon it is spot on.

John Bingham wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:29 pm 1. It's stylistic. The standing Apsaras have a rather lumpen and stiff appearance with the feet you mentioned. Also feet pointed forwards is rude!



The dancing ones have a fluidity and the hands and feet are beautifully carved.





I'm not an expert but if you study Khmer Empire statuary you will find that some of the earlier ones were done with more finesse. Some of the earlier statues used supporting arches and various supports like batons etc so the bodies could be made more realistically. Later these supports were not used and legs were thickened giving a much less realistic appearance.

2. Real life Apsaras? Apsaras are supernatural beings that do not exist on this plane. The traditional dancers here do portray various mythical characters such as Hanuman and Aparas. The dancers of the Royal Ballet have in history served as a sort of recruiting ground for the King's "harem". The size of the "harem" of course depended on the resources of the monarch. HRH Norodom Sihanouk often mentioned how his grandfather had more than sixty wives but he wanted to take it easy so only had a few.

That is a lot of new information for me that I'd like to digest and reply to later. Especially interesting your comment that feet pointing forward is rude. (As I guess it was 1000 years ago.)

Meanwhile here's a photo of some Apsaras that I took last week, I believe at Preah Khan. Their feet are almost forward, but not quite. A dancer could do that without injury.

I'm pretty sure I've seen some apsaras with their feet pointing straight forward, too. But maybe those were just "exceptions".

@DavidK99 great post! Thank you for this observation regarding Apsarian foot placement, I don't recall this but now that it's been pointed out it seems glaring. I found one Apsara with feet forward in Cambodia so far that I posted here.

As far as the function of Apsara I recall hearing or reading that Apsaras, Devatas and actual women of the Temples of Cambodia and anywhere that went through Indianization occasionally were engaged or imagined to have engaged in esoteric teachings of key people in the community. It is said that intimacy could be involved in these teachings.