My Son Sanctuary: Ancient Cham Temples in Central Vietnam

The Valley of Temples

My Son Sanctuary sits in a narrow valley about 68 kilometers southwest of Da Nang, roughly 36 km south of Hoi An. It's an archaeological site of Hindu temples built by the Champa kingdom—an Indianized state that flourished for nearly a thousand years across central Vietnam. The valley itself is only about two kilometers wide, ringed by two mountain ranges.

Between the 4th and 13th centuries, over 70 temples and tombs were constructed here. They were dedicated to Shiva, venerated under various Sanskrit names by successive Cham kings. At its peak, My Son functioned as both a religious ceremonial center and a burial ground for Cham royalty. It ranks among the longest continuously inhabited archaeological sites in mainland Southeast Asia, and UNESCO recognized it as a World Heritage Site in 1999.

Bhadravarman and the Foundation

The earliest documented work at My Son comes from King Bhadravarman I, who ruled from 380 to 413 AD. He built a hall with a lingam—a stone symbol of Shiva—and named the deity Bhadresvara, combining his own name with the Sanskrit word for "lord." Bhadravarman erected a stele (stone slab) documenting the foundation, and he added a warning to future kings: destroy these temples, and you inherit the karma of destruction; maintain them, and the merit is yours. The plea worked—My Son remained Champa's spiritual center for generations.

The original temples were wooden. A massive fire in 535 or 536 AD destroyed most of them during the reign of Rudravarman I. By the 7th century, King Sambhuvarman undertook a full rebuild, reinstalling the deity as Sambhu-Bhadresvara. Sambhuvarman's stele praised the god as "the creator of the world and destroyer of sin" and called the king himself "like a terrestrial sun illuminating the night." The irony is heavy: shortly after, a 605 AD Chinese invasion sacked the complex. Liu Fang, the Chinese general, looted over a thousand Buddhist books and gold tablets before an epidemic killed him and many of his soldiers on the march north. Sambhuvarman rebuilt again and sent regular tribute to prevent future raids.

In the 20th century, French archaeologists identified one major structure—called A1 for its scale and decoration—as Sambhuvarman's temple. It was almost entirely destroyed by aerial bombing during the Vietnam War and is now mostly rubble.

Image by [Tycho] talk , http://shansov.net via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

Prakasadharma and Cham Expansion

King Prakasadharma (also called Vikrantavarman) ruled from about 653 to 687 AD and extended Champa's southern borders. Unlike most Cham rulers, he worshipped both Shiva and Vishnu. He started the practice of placing decorated metallic sleeves—called "kosas"—over lingams as an offering.

A crucial stele at My Son, erected by Prakasadharma in 657 AD, records his ancestry and his establishment of a deity to "overcome the seeds of karma that lead to rebirth." This inscription is key to reconstructing the sequence of Cham kings. Prakasadharma claimed descent from a Cambodian king, Isanavarman I, and traced his line back to a legendary Kakatiya king and a Naga princess—a lineage shared with Khmer royalty.

Image by Superbass via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

Visiting Today

My Son offers a rare window into a civilization that no longer exists. The remaining temple groups, carvings, and stelae tell stories of divine devotion and statecraft across ten centuries. Guided tours are available and well worth the investment; they explain both the architecture and the political intrigue behind each structure.

The site is set in a tranquil valley, which makes for a peaceful visit despite the ruins' damaged state. Go during cooler months (October to March) to avoid the worst heat and humidity. Allow several hours to walk the temple groups and absorb the scale of what was built and lost.