Group of Temples in My Son Sanctuary Vietnam

Group B-C-D (‘Market’ Tower Group)

Group B-C-D is the most important group of temples in My Son Sanctuary. It comprises 27 buildings, more than any other groups, therefore local people give it a nickname ‘market’ tower group.

From the Performance House, visitors will see Group C first. This group has 7 buildings (C1 to C7), and C1 is the biggest monument. Having been standing since the 10th century, it’s a brick temple used to worship Shiva god. Its entrance faces to the East, and on other sides, there are three ‘fake doors’ with fairy lady carvings. Inside, Cham people place worshipping objects – a statue of Shiva god and a Yoni (representing Shiva’s female power). The statue was founded by French archaeologists in 1903, and then was brought to Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang. Now, it’s a national treasure.

Building C2 is another highlight. It’s the gateway, allowing emperors, monks and prayers to go from D2 (Assembly Hall) to C1 (Temple). Here, visitors can have good pictures. Building C3 and Building C4 serve as the house to store things used during ceremonies or the holy water.

Group B is next to Group C, and it has 14 buildings (B1 to B14). The foremost building is Temple B1. Apart from any other temples in My Son, it’s constructed totally by stone, around 1226 and might be the first and the last stone temple in Champa history. Historians think that Cham builders extracted heavy blocks of sandstone in nearby rocky hills and transferred them by using water power. Inside this temple, visitors will see a big couple of worshipping objects – Linga and Yoni. Linga represents Shiva god and his power, while Yoni represents female power. Together they significant the new beginning or development. At its entrance, it’s possible to see old Sankrit, the written language of Cham people at that time.

Nowhere else in the world, except My Son Sanctuary, Shiva god is worshipped by two versions: statue and representative object. That’s the reason why it’s unique.

Near the entrance of Temple B1, there’re Building B2 (gateway), Building B6 (house to store the holy water) and Building B5 (house to store things used in ceremonies). Building B5 is one of the tallest and the best preserved constructions in My Son. It has beautifully carved bas-relief on its wall, elephant decoration above the windows, and boat-shaped roof. This one is good for pictures.

Not far away, Temple B4 is to worship Ganesha god (God of wisdom and luck) and Temple B5 is for Skanda god (God of war).

Group D has 6 buildings, but doesn’t have any temples. Two main buildings are Building D1 and Building D2 which served as assembly halls for Temple B1 and Temple B2. Both of them are filled with ancient artifacts and sculptures found at My Son today, including bombs left from the Vietnam war. See more information & details

Group A (‘Pagoda’ Tower Group)

On the other side of Khe The stream, Group A is important equally to the Group B-C-D. Its importance in the history of My Son Sanctuary is confirmed by its name ‘A’, the first letter in the alphabet. Locals call it ‘Pagoda tower’ due to its pagoda-like architecture.

Cham towers of the Group A lie within an enclosed wall, with only one entrance gate in the west side. It means that Group A looks towards Group B-C-D. According to French archaeologists, there are 13 towers ever constructed here. Their names are A1, A2, A3,.., A13. Nowadays, only 6 of 13 towers are still standing on the ground, including A1, A8, A10, A11, A12, and A13. Abandonment for centuries, harsh climate, bombings, flooding are reasons leading to these losses. From 2020 to 2022, Indian and Vietnamese conservationists worked together to restore the last surviving heritages here.

In the heart of the protected ‘holy area’, the Temple A1 was built in the 10th century. When My Son Sanctuary was discovered, French people recorded that it’s the largest temple in the holy land, and an architectural masterpiece of Champa kingdom. It rised up to 24 meters, and stands on a squared base, with each side 10-meters long. Interestingly, this building has two entrances, one looking to the East, to follow Hindu temple rules, and one looking to the west, to the core of the sanctuary. The main entrance is to the west, so the other is inaccessible. Cham kings used the Temple A1 to worship Shiva God during its whole life. Within it, visitors can see Yoni alone. 

Outside and around the main worshipping tower, there are 8 small shrines added, making it different from any others. The ones are dedicated to the Guardians of the Directions in Hinduism, including Kubera (God of Fortune, north), Yama (God of Justice and Death, south), Indra (God of Weather, Sky, Rain, and Storms, east), Varuna (God of Sea, Ocean, and Rain, west), Ishana (God of Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Time, northeast), Agni (God of Fire, southeast), Wayu (God of Wind and Air, northwest), and Nirra (God of Death, southwest). Unfortunately, in 1969 (the Vietnam War), this giant and amazingly-designed tower collapsed due to bombings from USA/South Vietnam Republic air forces.

To the left of Temple A1, there is the Temple A10. It’s smaller but older. Champa king Indravarman II requested to build it in 875, to worship Shiva God (same year with Dong Duong site). Unlike Temple A1, it has only one entrance. The delight of this tower is its pedestal which was recognized as Vietnam’s national treasure in 2021. The pedestal includes a square base, a Yoni, and a Linga above it, all made of stone. Its size is largest in My Son Sanctuary and even in Vietnam until now (2,26m high, 2,58m wide). In the first archeological research at the holy land in 1903-1904, French scholars realized that Temple A10 wasn’t intact due to the discovery of robberies. They saw a couple of giant Linga and Yoni in the ‘holy hole’ but could lift it up. In 2020, Indian and Vietnamese experts excavated the temple, and then found the ceremonial objects. To remake the pedestal, from 17 heavy pieces of stone, the work was challenging but well done after that, with the assistance of Cham Sculpture Museum.

To the right of the Temple A1, the Temple A13 was excavated and restored in 2023. It’s built in the 9th century, in order to worship Vishnu God. A long beautifully carved sculpture was discovered here.

Outside the wall of Group A, visitors can see the ruins of Group A’. This group has 4 towers, and is not restored yet.

Group G (‘Chess Board’ Tower Group)

Between the Group A and the Group E-F, on the top of a made-made hill/mound, the Group G has 5 buildings. It’s constructed in the 11st-12nd centuries by Jaya Harivarman III, who got married to the princess of Dai Viet kingdom Huyen Tran in 1306. About architecture, it has one assembly hall, one entrance gate, main temple, one stele house/pavilion and one functional building. At the entrance gate, literite (stone) is used for building, besides bricks and sandstone. This feature is unseen anywhere else at My Son. The main temple’s entrance has three staircases (instead of one as usual) and around its base, there are interesting terracotta dragon faces used for decoration. Inside the temple, Linga and Yoni are lost. On a high place, Temple G won’t be damaged by floods (streams running at the foot of the hill).

From 2003 to 2013, Group G was restored by sponsor and support from Italy, through Lerici Foundation of the Polytechnic University of Milan, and in partnership with Unesco experts. This was the first temple restored after the Vietnam war, and restored by international standard techniques. During a decade, experts found the way to produce new bricks using the same materials, especially the ‘glue’ to connect bricks. A group of Vietnamese people was also trained and worked here. Later, they joined all other preservation and restoration programs.  

On 22nd June 2013, Temple G was opened again to visitors, on occasion of the 5th Quang Nam Heritage Festival.

Group E-F (‘Stairfruit Hole’ Tower Group)

Not too far away from the Group G, the Group E-F includes the Temple E and the Temple F. Both of them were constructed in 12nd and 13th centuries, on the flat land, and protected by a connecting brick wall. Nickname of this complex is ‘Ho Khe tower’ or ‘Starfruit Craters tower’ because there are many starfruit trees and bomb craters around it.

From the Temple G, the Temple E is firstly seen. It has 9 buildings/towers, named from E1 to E9. The Temple E1 is the temple to worship Shiva God, and becomes partly ruined because of bombings in the Vietnam War. ‘Side’ Temple E4 is in its north direction, the entrance gate E2 and the assembly hall E3 are in its front, and buildings from E5 to E9 are in its south and west directions.

In the first archaeological discovery at My Son Sanctuary in 1903, French scholars found the pedestal of Temple E1. In 1918, due to security reasons, it’s moved to Da Nang and has been preserved in the Museum of Cham Sculpture. This pedestal is assembled by 16 blocks of stone, and famous for the richness of depictions of Hindu monks, humans, animals, and plants. Historians determined that the decorative style on it marked a new stage in Cham art: the beginning of localisation. In 2012, it’s inscribed as Vietnam’s national treasure.

At the present, the most complete building is E7, the warehouse where kings store ceremonial costumes, offsprings,… It has a boat-shaped roof ridge, recalling coastal cultures. This tower was restored from 2011 to 2015, with all experts as Vietnamese. Total cost at that time was 9 billion dongs. It’s possible to go inside, but there is nothing to see there.

Next to the Temple E1, that’s Temple F1. It was damaged, and then covered by soil with stone, due to the bombing in 1969. In 2002, local archaeologists carried out a project to preserve and restore it. However, lack of experience led to a high risk of collapse. For that reason, a metal roof and supporting columns were set right after. Until today, there are no more activities here to minimize negative impacts to the site.

Temple H

The Temple H sits on the top of a 47-meters-high hill, on the way to the Performing Theatre and the Group B-C-D. It’s constructed in 13rd century. Visitors need to climb stairs to sightsee this temple, and that’s a difference about it to other places at My Son Sanctuary. At the foot of the hill, there is Khe The stream, the main river.

As a whole, the Temple H looks to the east, the traditional direction of a Hindu temple, and also to the core of the sanctuary (Group B-C-D). It has 4 buildings in total, and all of them were partly ruined. Reasons are its abandonment, climate, invasion of jungles, and especially bombings in 1969 and 1972 from USA/South Vietnam Republic air forces. In the 1980s and 1990s, Polish experts focused on more important temples, so they just removed the plants here and brought fine sculptures to the D1 and D2 buildings to preserve. One of the sculptures depicts a dancing Shiva God.

The arrangement of buildings at the Temple H is different from others at My Son Sanctuary. To access the main worshipping hall, people will walk through an entrance gate (called Gopura), and then the assembly hall (called Mandapa). Traditionally, the entrance gate should lie between the worshipping hall and the assembly hall. The last building is the warehouse (called Kosagraha).

From 2016 to 2019, the Temple H was excavated and researched carefully, before being restored by Indian and Vietnamese experts.

Temple K

Not far away from the inner buggy transfer station, the Temple K was constructed in the 11st-12nd centuries.

Temple K was restored from 2016 to 2018, a part of the project under the partnership between Vietnamese and Indian governments. In this project, it’s the first building completed. 

Temple L, M, N

These temples are small, hidden away in the jungle, and have nothing much to see. Therefore, at the present, visitors can not visit.