Banteay Srei (Khmer: បន្ទាយស្រី [ɓɑntiəj srəj]) is a 10th century CE Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati.

[1] Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today.

These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as the jewel of Khmer art.

The foundational stela says that Yajnavaraha, grandson of King Harshavarman I,[6]: 117  was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those who suffered from illness, injustice, or poverty.

Originally, it carried the name Tribhuvanamaheshvara—great lord of the threefold world—in reference to the Shiva statue that served as its central religious image.

The temple's modern name, Banteay Srei—citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty—is probably related to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves.

[12] The temple was rediscovered in 1914 and was the subject of a celebrated case of art theft when André Malraux stole four devatas in 1923 (he was soon arrested, and the figures were returned).

[14] To prevent the site from water damage, the joint Cambodian-Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system between 2000 and 2003.

The lintels at Banteay Srei are beautifully carved, rivalling those of the 9th century Preah Ko style in quality.

Noteworthy decorative motifs include Kala (a toothy mythical lion), the guardian dvarapalas (an armed protector of the temple) and devatas (gods and goddesses), the false door, and the colonette.

At Banteay Srei, wrote Glaize, "the work relates more closely to the art of the goldsmith and to carving in wood than to sculpture in stone".

Besides being the most extravagantly decorated parts of the temple, these have also been the most successfully restored (helped by the durability of their sandstone and their small scale).

"[24] The east-facing pediment on the southern library shows Shiva and Parvati seated on the summit of Mount Kailasha, their mythological abode.

Ravana is shaking the mountain in its very foundations as the animals flee from his presence and as the wise saints and mythological beings discuss the situation and pray to Parvati and Shiva.

Just under Shiva and Parvati sits a group of bearded wise saints and ascetics, under whom the second tier is occupied by the mythological beings with the heads of animals and the bodies of humans; the lowest tier belongs the common people, who mingle sociably with tame deer and large gentle cattle and other animals.

The west-facing pediment on the northern library depicts Vishnu as Krishna killing his own evil maternal uncle Kamsa in Mathura.

The six stairways leading up to the platform were each guarded by two kneeling statues of human figures with animal heads; most of those now in place are replicas, the originals having been stolen or removed to museums.