In July 2025, Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee will hold a ceremony to announce and receive the certificate of special national relic status for Ponagar Tower.
Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long signed a Decision on the ranking of 5 special national relics (17).
In this list, the Ponagar Tower architectural and artistic relic in Khanh Hoa is officially recognized as a special national monument.
Ponagar Tower is located on Cu Lao Hill, Bac Ward, Nha Trang City. The project was built from the 8th to 13th centuries by the Cham community to worship the goddess Po Inu Nagar - the mother god of the Cham people.
By 1653, along with the community between the Vietnamese and Cham people, the belief of worshiping the Mother of the Fatherland was transformed into the belief of worshiping the Mother of the Fatherland in the Vietnamese community.
The Ponagar Tower complex currently has 5 architectural works, distributed in two main areas: the Mandapa area and the tower temple area.
The Mandapa area consists of 4 rows of large rectangular columns built with terracotta, with a total of 10 large columns and 12 small columns.
The remaining tower area has 4 main towers. In which, the Northeast Tower (main Tower) is 23m high, first built in the 8th century, restored in the 11th century. Inside the tower is a statue of the goddess Po Nagar.
The 18m high South Tower, built in the 13th century, worships the god Shiva. According to Vietnamese legend, this is the place to worship the husband of Thien Y A Na, called the Great Tower.
The Southeast Tower is 7.1m high, dating back to the 11th - 12th centuries, worshiping the god Skandha - the son of the god Shiva. According to Vietnamese people, this is a place to worship grandfather and grandmother Tieu, the adoptive parents of Thien Y A Na.
The Northwest Tower is 9m high, a tower that is quite intact, worshiping the god Ganesha. Vietnamese legend believes that this is a place to worship the Lady and the Lady - the daughter of Thien Y A Na.
In 1979, Ba Po Nagar Tower was ranked as a national architectural and artistic relic.
In 2012, the Ponagar Tower Festival - held annually from the 20th to the 23rd of the third lunar month - was included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
The festival is an occasion to practice the worship of the Mother Earth (of the Cham people) and the worship of the Mother Earth (of the Vietnamese people).
Currently, Ponagar Tower relic still preserves 14 royal decrees, 28 stone documents on steles and many artifacts of historical, cultural and archaeological value.
Mr. Le Van Hoa - Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Department of Culture and Sports - assessed that Ponagar Tower being ranked as a special national event is an important event. Thereby, contributing to enhancing the position of the relic in the Vietnamese cultural heritage system.
