Indravarman's Monuments and Public Buildings
While Jayavarman II was credited for the founding of the Khmer Empire ca. 800 AD, Indravarman I was credited for an extensive building program. He set the foundations for the future Angkorian kings to follow. The king's first act was to performed a public service for his subjects by building an irrigation network for the rice fields. The goal was usually achieved by constructing a large reservoir to retain water during the Monsoon season and then released it during the dry season through a network of canals and channels. And in Hindu mythology the reservoir also represents an ocean and the temple-mountain represents Mount Meru, the home of the gods. The king and his Brahman advisors performed many rituals throughout the year to reinforce this belief. For example, the ritual of rain-making performed before the rice planting season, etc. Immediately, after Indravarman I acceded, he declared in his Práḥ Kô inscription: "In five days from today I shall begin digging, etc." Dig he did with a reservoir of an immense size: the Indratāṭaka was the biggest reservoir ever built before his time being 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) long by 800 metres (2,600 ft) wide. However, later rulers managed to out-build him and made his reservoir looked small. Now dry, it could have held about 7.5 million cubic metres of water during the Monsoon season.
The king's second act was - as mentioned above - to build shrines and dedicated them to his god, ancestors, and parents, etc. At his capital city Hariharālaya, Roluos at present, Indravarman I built Práḥ Kô which he dedicated to his parents, wife, and the dynasty founder Jayavarman II.
The king's third act was to build a temple-mountain (or complete a construction begun by Jayavarman III) which he dedicated to a liṅga called after himself. Cœdès identified thirteen Angkorian kings after Indravarman built such shrines for these dual purposes (state and memorial shrine). The shrines were built with stepped pyramid surrounded by lakes. In the centre of the capital of Hariharālaya, Indravarman I built Bakong surrounded by double walled moats. The Bakong was his state shrine, therefore, it also housed the official Śiva's liṅga. Although his shrines are bigger than his predecessors, they are modest compared to the later shrines. It was also the first time in Khmer architecture where nāgas are employed as guardians for the bridge between human world and the temple, house of gods.
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