[4] Some historians believe that Neak Pean represents Anavatapta,[5]: 174  a mythical lake in the Himalayas whose waters are thought to cure all illness.

[6]: 124–125 [7] The name is derived from the sculptures of snakes (Nāga) running around the base of the temple structure, neak being the Khmer rendering of the Sanskrit naga.

"[8] Neak Pean was originally designed for medical purposes (the ancients believed that going into these pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease); it is one of the many hospitals that Jayavarman VII built.

Each is connected to the central water source, the main tank, by a stone conduit "presided over by one of Four Great Animals (maha ajaneya pasu) namely Elephant, Bull, Horse, and Lion, corresponding to the north, east, south, and west quarters....The stone conduits in the little pavilions are fashioned to represent the heads of the Four Great Animals...the only exception being that on the east, which represents a human head instead of a bull's.

Willetts believed that "this is Jayavarman as he would have wished to have appeared to his people"[9] Zhou Daguan refers to Neak Pean in his visit to Angkor in the late 13th century.