The bas-relief in the center of this fan-like sculpture is Garuda. This Buddhist, mythological deva (or tep in Khmer) has the crowned head of a predatory bird (similar to an eagle) and a human body with extraordinary strength and power. According to legend, their golden wingspan stretched for miles. The parents for this “king of the birds” were Kashyap and Vinata. Also called a Suparna, this supernatural deity is the mortal enemy of the nāga (half snake and half human). They were born by his stepmother, Kadru.
