Signs and symbols of socio-religious power : battle of Kurukshetra bas-relief at Angkor Wat

My thesis will be focusing on a bas-relief in the ancient Khmer temple of Angkor\ud Wat in Cambodia, depicting the battle of Kurukshetra from the Hindu epic poem\ud Mahabharata. The significance of this one relief is that it is the only scene from\ud the poem visually represented, while prominent scenes from another equally\ud important epic poem Ramayana are represented. Why would King Suryavarman\ud II, who commissioned the temple???s construction, be so selective in choosing\ud which scenes from Hindu mythology to visually depict? Was there a larger\ud message he was trying to convey through the depiction of these myths? Why was\ud Ramayana more popular than Mahabharata and what could the social and\ud religious factors be? By analyzing this bas-relief, I hope to present a better\ud understanding of the Khmer???s interpretation of not only the battle but how did its\ud symbolism fit into the larger narrative of Khmer cultural and religious identity