“This ancient temple features the unique architecture of the Champa culture,” writes International Traveller. The Po Nagar Temple was built between the 8th and 13th centuries “during the prosperous reign of Hinduism in the Cham kingdom,” it’s the largest temple left in Central Vietnam. Located at the mouth of the Cai River in Nha Trang, the multi-tiered temple is structured in 3 levels and the outside of the buildings are “adorned with intricate carvings of deities and religious iconography,” explains Discover Nha Trang.
“I did not know that there were ancient Hindu temples in Vietnam,” says World Citizen Trail, “and I was totally ignorant of the presence of any indigenous Hindus in the country.” This temple was built within the Kingdom of Champa, which was one of the many “Indic” cultures that flourished in South East Asia between the 6th and 15th century. “These Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms thrived outside the mainland of what is present day India, for over a thousand years … the Cham people of Vietnam practiced a form of ancient Hinduism that was centered on the Hindu God, Shiva and the Mother Goddess.”