Chapter XXXVIII: Camboja242 (2)

From the time of Chou Ta-kuan to the present day I have found few notices about the religion of Camboja. Hinayanist Buddhism became supreme and though we have few details of the conquest we can hardly go wrong in tracing its general lines. Brahmanism was exclusive and tyrannical. It made no appeal to the masses but a severe levy of forced labour must have been necessary to erect and maintain the numerous great shrines which, though in ruins, are still the glory of Camboja[319]. In many of them are seen the remains of inscriptions which have been deliberately erased. These probably prescribed certain onerous services which the proletariat was bound to render to the established church. When Siamese Buddhism invaded Camboja it had a double advantage. It was the creed of an aggressive and successful neighbour but, while thus armed with the weapons of this world, it also appealed to the poor and oppressed. If it enjoyed the favour of princes, it had no desire to defend the rights of a privileged caste: it offered salvation and education to the average townsman and villager. If it invited the support and alms of the laity, it was at least modest in its demands. Brahmanism on the other hand lost strength as the prestige of the court declined. Its greatest shrines were in the provinces most exposed to Siamese attacks. The first Portuguese writers speak of them as already deserted at the end of the sixteenth century. The connection with India was not kept up and if any immigrants came from the west, after the twelfth century they are more likely to have been Moslims than Hindus. Thus driven from its temples, with no roots among the people, whose affections it had never tried to win, Brahmanism in Camboja became what it now is, a court ritual without a creed and hardly noticed except at royal functions.

It is remarkable that Mohammedanism remained almost unknown to Camboja, Siam and Burma. The tide of Moslim invasion swept across the Malay Peninsula southwards. Its effect was strongest in Sumatra and Java, feebler on the coasts of Borneo and the Philippines. From the islands it reached Champa, where it had some success, but Siam and Camboja lay on one side of its main route, and also showed no sympathy for it. King Rama Thuppdey Chan[320] who reigned in Camboja from 1642-1659 became a Mohammedan and surrounded himself with Malays and Javanese. But he alienated the affections of his subjects and was deposed by the intervention of Annam. After this we hear no more of Mohammedanism. An unusual incident, which must be counted among the few cases in which Buddhism has encouraged violence, is recorded in the year 1730, when a Laotian who claimed to be inspired, collected a band of fanatics and proceeded to massacre in the name of Buddha all the Annamites resident in Camboja. This seems to show that Buddhism was regarded as the religion of the country and could be used as a national cry against strangers.

As already mentioned Brahmanism still survives in the court ceremonial though this by no means prevents the king from being a devout Buddhist. The priests are known as Bakus. They wear a top-knot and the sacred thread after the Indian fashion, and enjoy certain privileges. Within the precincts of the palace at Phnom Penh is a modest building where they still guard the sword of Indra. About two inches of the blade are shown to visitors, but except at certain festivals it is never taken out of its sheath.

The official programme of the coronation of King Sisowath (April 23-28, 1906), published in French and Cambojan, gives a curious account of the ceremonies performed, which were mainly Brahmanic, although prayers were recited by the Bonzes and offerings made to Buddha. Four special Brahmanic shrines were erected and the essential part of the rite consisted in a lustral bath, in which the Bakus poured water over the king. Invocations were addressed to beings described as "Anges qui êtes au paradis des six séjours célestes, qui habitez auprès d'Indra, de Brahmâ et de l'archange Sahabodey," to the spirits of mountains, valleys and rivers and to the spirits who guard the palace. When the king has been duly bathed the programme prescribes that "le Directeur des Bakous remettra la couronne â M. le Gouverneur Général qui la portera sur la tête de Sa Majesté au nom du Gouvernement de la République Française." Equally curious is the "Programme des fêtes royales à l'occasion de la crémation de S.M. Norodom" (January 2-16, 1906). The lengthy ceremonial consisted of a strange mixture of prayers, sermons, pageants and amusements. The definitely religious exercises were Buddhist and the amusements which accompanied them, though according to our notions curiously out of place, clearly correspond to the funeral games of antiquity. Thus we read not only of "offrande d'un repas aux urnes royales" but of "illuminations générales ... lancement de ballons ... luttes et assauts de boxe et de l'escrime ... danses et soirée de gala.... Après la crémation, Sa Majesté distribuera des billets de tombola."

The ordinary Buddhism of Camboja at the present day resembles that of Siam and is not mixed with Brahmanic observances. Monasteries are numerous: the monks enjoy general respect and their conduct is said to be beyond reproach. They act as schoolmasters and, as in Siam and Burma, all young men spend some time in a monastery. A monastery generally contains from thirty to fifty monks and consists of a number of wooden houses raised on piles and arranged round a square. Each monk has a room and often a house to himself. Besides the dwelling houses there are also stores and two halls called Salâ and Vihéar (vihâra). In both the Buddha is represented by a single gigantic sitting image, before which are set flowers and incense. As a rule there are no other images but the walls are often ornamented with frescoes of Jâtaka stories or the early life of Gotama. Meals are taken in the Salâ at about 7 and 11 a.m.[321], and prayers are recited there on ordinary days in the morning and evening. The eleven o'clock meal is followed by a rather long grace. The prayers consist mostly of Pali formulæ, such as the Three Refuges, but they are sometimes in Cambojan and contain definite petitions or at least wishes formulated before the image of the Buddha. Thus I have heard prayers for peace and against war. The more solemn ceremonies, such as the Uposatha and ordinations, are performed in the Vihear. The recitation of the Pâtimokkha is regularly performed and I have several times witnessed it. All but ordained monks have to withdraw outside the Sîmâ stones during the service. The ceremony begins about 6 p.m.: the Bhikkhus kneel down in pairs face to face and rubbing their foreheads in the dust ask for mutual forgiveness if they have inadvertently offended. This ceremony is also performed on other occasions. It is followed by singing or intoning lauds, after which comes the recitation of the Pâtimokkha itself which is marked by great solemnity. The reader sits in a large chair on the arms of which are fixed many lighted tapers. He repeats the text by heart but near him sits a prompter with a palm-leaf manuscript who, if necessary, corrects the words recited. I have never seen a monk confess in public, and I believe that the usual practice is for sinful brethren to abstain from attending the ceremony and then to confess privately to the Abbot, who assigns them a penance. As soon as the Pâtimokkha is concluded all the Bhikkhus smoke large cigarettes. In most Buddhist countries it is not considered irreverent to smoke[322], chew betel or drink tea in the intervals of religious exercises. When the cigarettes are finished there follows a service of prayer and praise in Cambojan. During the season of Wassa there are usually several Bhikkhus in each monastery who practise meditation for three or four days consecutively in tents or enclosures made of yellow cloth, open above but closed all round. The four stages of meditation described in the Piṭakas are said to be commonly attained by devout monks[323].

The Abbot has considerable authority in disciplinary matters. He eats apart from the other monks and at religious ceremonies wears a sort of red cope, whereas the dress of the other brethren is entirely yellow. Novices prostrate themselves when they speak to him.

Above the Abbots are Provincial Superiors and the government of the whole Church is in the hands of the Somdec práh sanghrâc. There is, or was, also a second prelate called Lòk práh só̆kŏn, or Braḥ Sugandha, and the two, somewhat after the manner of the two primates of the English Church, supervise the clergy in different parts of the kingdom, the second being inferior to the first in rank, but not dependent on him. But it is said that no successor has been appointed to the last Braḥ Sugandha who died in 1894. He was a distinguished scholar and introduced the Dhammayut sect from Siam into Camboja. The king is recognized as head of the Church, but cannot alter its doctrine or confiscate ecclesiastical property.

6

No account of Cambojan religion would be complete without some reference to the splendid monuments in which it found expression and which still remain in a great measure intact. The colonists who established themselves in these regions brought with them the Dravidian taste for great buildings, but either their travels enlarged their artistic powers or they modified the Indian style by assimilating successfully some architectural features found in their new home. What pre-Indian architecture there may have been among the Khmers we do not know, but the fact that the earliest known monuments are Hindu makes it improbable that stone buildings on a large scale existed before their arrival. The feature which most clearly distinguishes Cambojan from Indian architecture is its pyramidal structure. India has stupas and gopurams of pyramidal appearance but still Hindu temples of the normal type, both in the north and south, consist of a number of buildings erected on the same level. In Camboja on the contrary many buildings, such as Ta-Keo, Ba-phuong and the Phimeanakas, are shrines on the top of pyramids, which consist of three storeys or large steps, ascended by flights of relatively small steps. In other buildings, notably Angkor Wat, the pyramidal form is obscured by the slight elevation of the storeys compared with their breadth and by the elaboration of the colonnades and other edifices, which they bear. But still the general plan is that of a series of courts each rising within and above the last and this gradual rise, by which the pilgrim is led, not only through colonnade after colonnade, but up flight after flight of stairs, each leading to something higher but invisible from the base, imparts to Cambojan temples a sublimity and aspiring grandeur which is absent from the mysterious halls of Dravidian shrines.

One might almost suppose that the Cambojan architects had deliberately set themselves to rectify the chief faults of Indian architecture. One of these is the profusion of external ornament in high relief which by its very multiplicity ceases to produce any effect proportionate to its elaboration, with the result that the general view is disappointing and majestic outlines are wanting. In Cambojan buildings on the contrary the general effect is not sacrificed to detail: the artists knew how to make air and space give dignity to their work. Another peculiar defect of many Dravidian buildings is that they were gradually erected round some ancient and originally humble shrine with the unfortunate result that the outermost courts and gateways are the most magnificent and that progress to the holy of holies is a series of artistic disappointments. But at Angkor Wat this fault is carefully avoided. The long paved road which starts from the first gateway isolates the great central mass of buildings without dwarfing it and even in the last court, when one looks up the vast staircases leading to the five towers which crown the pyramid, all that has led up to the central shrine seems, as it should, merely an introduction.

The solidity of Cambojan architecture is connected with the prevalence of inundations. With such dangers it was of primary importance to have a massive substructure which could not be washed away and the style which was necessary in building a firm stone platform inspired the rest of the work. Some unfinished temples reveal the interesting fact that they were erected first as piles of plain masonry. Then came the decorator and carved the stones as they stood in their places, so that instead of carving separate blocks he was able to contemplate his design as a whole and to spread it over many stones. Hence most Cambojan buildings have a peculiar air of unity. They have not had ornaments affixed to them but have grown into an ornamental whole. Yet if an unfavourable criticism is to be made on these edifices--especially Angkor Wat--it is that the sculptures are wanting in meaning and importance. They cannot be compared to the reliefs of Boroboedoer, a veritable catechism in stone where every clause teaches the believer something new, or even to the piles of figures in Dravidian temples which, though of small artistic merit, seem to represent the whirl of the world with all its men and monsters, struggling from life into death and back to life again. The reliefs in the great corridors of Angkor are purely decorative. The artist justly felt that so long a stretch of plain stone would be wearisome, and as decoration, his work is successful. Looking outwards the eye is satisfied with such variety as the trees and houses in the temple courts afford: looking inwards it finds similar variety in the warriors and deities portrayed on the walls. Some of the scenes have an historical interest, but the attempt to follow the battles of the Ramayana or the Churning of the Sea soon becomes a tedious task, for there is little individuality or inspiration in the figures.

This want of any obvious correspondence between the decoration and cult of the Cambojan temples often makes it difficult to say to what deities they were dedicated. The Bayon, or Śivâśrama, was presumably a linga temple, yet the conjecture is not confirmed as one would expect by any indubitable evidence in the decoration or arrangements. In its general plan the building seems more Indian than others and, like the temple of Jagannâtha at Puri, consists of three successive chambers, each surmounted by a tower. The most remarkable feature in the decoration is the repetition of the four-headed figure at the top of every tower, a striking and effective motive, which is also found above the gates of the town. Chou Ta-kuan says that there were golden statues of Buddhas at the entrance to the Bayon. It is impossible to say whether this statement is accurate or not. He may have simply made a mistake, but it is equally possible that the fusion of the two creeds may have ended in images of the Buddha being placed outside the shrine of the linga.

Strange as it may seem, there is no clear evidence as to the character of the worship performed in Camboja's greatest temple, Angkor Wat. Since the prince who commenced it was known by the posthumous title of Paramavishṇuloka, we may presume that he intended to dedicate it to Vishṇu and some of the sculptures appear to represent Vishṇu slaying a demon. But it was not finished until after his death and his intentions may not have been respected by his successors. An authoritative statement[324] warns us that it is not safe to say more about the date of Angkor Wat than that its extreme limits are 1050 and 1170. Jayavarman VII (who came to the throne at about this latter date) was a Buddhist, and may possibly have used the great temple for his own worship. The sculptures are hardly Brahmanic in the theological sense, and those which represent the pleasures of paradise and the pains of hell recall Buddhist delineations of the same theme[325]. The four images of the Buddha which are now found in the central tower are modern and all who have seen them will, I think, agree that the figure of the great teacher which seems so appropriate in the neighbouring monasteries is strangely out of place in this aerial shrine. But what the designer of the building intended to place there remains a mystery. Perhaps an empty throne such as is seen in the temples of Annam and Bali would have been the best symbol[326].

Though the monuments of Camboja are well preserved the grey and massive severity which marks them at present is probably very different from the appearance that they wore when used for worship. From Chou Ta-kuan and other sources[327] we gather that the towers and porches were gilded, the bas-reliefs and perhaps the whole surface of the walls were painted, and the building was ornamented with flags. Music and dances were performed in the courtyards and, as in many Indian temples, the intention was to create a scene which by its animation and brilliancy might amuse the deity and rival the pleasures of paradise.

It is remarkable that ancient Camboja which has left us so many monuments, produced no books[328]. Though the inscriptions and Chou Ta-kuan testify to the knowledge of literature (especially religious), both Brahmanic and Buddhist, diffused among the upper classes, no original works or even adaptations of Indian originals have come down to us. The length and ambitious character of many inscriptions give an idea of what the Cambojans could do in the way of writing, but the result is disappointing. These poems in stone show a knowledge of Sanskrit, of Indian poetry and theology, which is surprising if we consider how far from India they were composed, but they are almost without exception artificial, frigid and devoid of vigour or inspiration.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 242: See among other authorities:

(_a_) E. Aymonier, _Le Cambodge_, Paris, 3 vols. 1900, 1904 (cited as Aymonier).

(_b_) A. Barth, _Inscriptions Sanscrites du Cambodge (Notices et extraits des MSS. de la Bibliot. Nat._), Paris, 1885 (cited as _Corpus_, I.).

(_c_) A. Bergaigne, _Inscriptions Sanscrites de Campâ et du Cambodge_ (in same series), 1893 (cited as _Corpus_, II.).

(_d_) L. Finot, "Buddhism in Indo-China," _Buddhist Review_, Oct. 1909.

(_e_) G. Maspéro, _L'Empire Khmèr, Phnom Penh_, 1904 (cited as Maspéro).

(_f_) P. Pelliot, "Mémoires sur les Coutumes de Cambodge par Tcheou Ta-kouan, traduits et annotés," _B.E.F.E.O._ 1902, pp. 123-177 (cited as Pelliot, _Tcheou Ta-kouan_).

(_g_) _Id._ "Le Founan," _B.E.F.E.O._ 1903, pp. 248-303 (cited as Pelliot, _Founan_).

(_h_) Articles on various inscriptions by G. Coedès in _J.A._ 1908, XI. p. 203, XII. p. 213; 1909, XIII. p. 467 and p. 511.

(_i_) _Bulletin de la Commission Archéologique de l'Indochine_, 1908 onwards.

(_j_) _Le Bayon d'Angkor Thom, Mission Henri Dufour_, 1910-1914. Besides the articles cited above the _Bulletin de l'Ecole Française d'Extrême Orient_ (quoted as _B.E.F.E.O._) contains many others dealing with the religion and archaeology of Camboja.

(_k_) L. Finot, _Notes d'Epigraphie Indo-Chinoise_, 1916. See for literature up to 1909, G. Coedès, _Bibliothèque raisonnée des travaux relatifs à l'Archéologie du Cambodge et du Champa_. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1909.]

[Footnote 243: See especially P.W. Schmitt, _Die Mon-Khmer Völker. Ein Bindeglied zwischen Völkern Zentral-Asiens und Austronesiens_. Braunschweig, 1906.]

[Footnote 244: Cambodge is the accepted French spelling of this country's name. In English Kamboja, Kambodia, Camboja and Cambodia are all found. The last is the most usual but _di_ is not a good way of representing the sound of _j_ as usually heard in this name. I have therefore preferred Camboja.]

[Footnote 245: See the inscription of Bàksĕ, Càṃkró̆ṇ, _J.A._ XIII. 1909, pp. 468, 469, 497.]

[Footnote 246: The Sui annals (Pelliot, _Founan_, p. 272) state that "Chên-la lies to the west of Lin-yi: it was originally a vassal state of Fu-nan.... The name of the king's family was Kshatriya: his personal name was Citrasena: his ancestors progressively acquired the sovereignty of the country: Citrasena seized Fu-nan and reduced it to submission." This seems perfectly clear and we know from Cambojan inscriptions that Citrasena was the personal name of the king who reigned as Mahendravarman, _c_. 600 A.D. But it would appear from the inscriptions that it was his predecessor Bhavavarman who made whatever change occurred in the relations of Camboja to Fu-nan and in any case it is not clear who were the inhabitants of Fu-nan if not Cambojans. Perhaps Maspéro is right in suggesting that Fu-nan was something like imperial Germany (p. 25), "Si le roi de Bavière s'emparait de la couronne impériale, rien ne serait changé en Allemagne que la famille régnante."]

[Footnote 247: It is remarkable that the Baudhâyana-dharma-sûtra enumerates going to sea among the customs peculiar to the North (I. 1, 2, 4) and then (II. 1, 2, 2) classes making voyages by sea as the first of the offences which cause loss of caste. This seems to indicate that the emigrants from India came mainly from the North, but it would be rash to conclude that in times of stress or enthusiasm the Southerners did not follow their practice. A passage in the second chapter of the Kautilîya Arthaśâstra has been interpreted as referring to the despatch of colonists to foreign countries, but it probably contemplates nothing more than the transfer of population from one part of India to another. See Finot, _B.E.F.E.O._ 1912, No. 8. But the passage at any rate shows that the idea of the King being able to transport a considerable mass of population was familiar in ancient India. Jâtaka 466 contains a curious story of a village of carpenters who being unsuccessful in trade built a ship and emigrated to an island in the ocean. It is clear that there must have been a considerable seafaring population in India in early times for the Rig Veda (II. 48, 3; I. 56, 2; I. 116, 3), the Mahabharata and the Jâtakas allude to the love of gain which sends merchants across the sea and to shipwrecks. Sculptures at Salsette ascribed to about 150 A.D. represent a shipwreck. Ships were depicted in the paintings of Ajanta and also occur on the coins of the Andhra King Yajñaśrî (_c_. 200 A.D.) and in the sculptures of Boroboedoer. The Dîgha Nikâya (XI. 85) speaks of sea-going ships which when lost let loose a land sighting bird. Much information is collected in Radhakumud Mookerji's _History of Indian Shipping_, 1912.]

[Footnote 248: Voyages are still regularly made in dhows between the west coast of India and Zanzibar or Mombasa and the trade appears to be old.]

[Footnote 249: See Jâtaka 339 for the voyage to Baveru or Babylon. Jâtakas 360 and 442 mention voyages to Suvaṇṇabhûmi or Lower Burma from Bharukaccha and from Benares down the river. The Milinda Pañha (VI. 21) alludes to traffic with China by sea.]

[Footnote 250: Râm. iv. 40, 30.]

[Footnote 251: Pelliot, _Founan_, p. 254. The Western and Eastern Tsin reigned from 265 to 419 A.D.]

[Footnote 252: Pelliot, _Founan_, p. 254. Most of the references to Chinese annals are taken from this valuable paper.]

[Footnote 253: The inscription of Mi-son relates how Kauṇḍinya planted at Bharapura (? in Camboja) a javelin given to him by Aśvatthâman.]

[Footnote 254: This is the modern reading of the characters in Peking, but Julien's _Méthode_ justifies the transcription Kau-ḍi-nya.]

[Footnote 255: See S. Lévi in _Mélanges Charles de Harlez_, p. 176. Deux peuples méconnus. i. Les Murunḍas.]

[Footnote 256: _Nanjio Catalogue_, p. 422.]

[Footnote 257: I-Tsing, trans. Takakusu, p. 12.]

[Footnote 258: _Corpus_, I. p. 65.]

[Footnote 259: _Corpus_, I. pp. 84, 89, 90, and _Jour. Asiatique_, 1882, p. 152.]

[Footnote 260: When visiting Badami, Paṭṭadkal and Aihole in 1912 I noted the following resemblances between the temples of that district and those of Camboja. (_a_) The chief figures are Harihara, Vâmana and Nṛisiṃha. At Paṭṭadkal, as at Angkor Wat, the reliefs on the temple wall represent the Churning of the Sea and scenes from the Râmâyana. (_b_) Large blocks of stone were used for building and after being put in their positions were carved _in situ_, as is shown by unfinished work in places. (_c_) Medallions containing faces are frequent. (_d_) The architectural scheme is not as in Dravidian temples, that is to say larger outside and becoming smaller as one proceeds towards the interior. There is generally a central tower attached to a hall. (_e_) The temples are often raised on a basement. (_f_) Mukhalingas and kośhas are still used in worship. (_g_) There are verandahs resembling those at Angkor Wat. They have sloping stone roofs, sculptures in relief on the inside wall and a series of windows in the outside wall. (_h_) The doors of the Linga shrines have a serpentine ornamentation and are very like those of the Bayon. (_i_) A native gentleman told me that he had seen temples with five towers in this neighbourhood, but I have not seen them myself.]

[Footnote 261: _E.g._ Mahendravarman, Narasinhavarman, Parameśvaravarman, etc. It may be noticed that Paṭṭadkal is considerably to the N.W. of Madras and that the Pallavas are supposed to have come from the northern part of the present Madras Presidency. Though the Hindus who emigrated to Camboja probably embarked in the neighbourhood of Madras, they may have come from countries much further to the north. Varman is recognized as a proper termination of Kshatriya names, but it is remarkable that it is found in _all_ the Sanskrit names of Cambojan kings and is very common in Pallava names. The name of Aśvatthâman figures in the mythical genealogies of both the Pallavas and the kings of Champa or perhaps of Camboja, see _B.E.F.E.O._ 1904, p. 923.]

[Footnote 262: Some authorities think that Kaundinya is meant by the wicked king, but he lived about 300 years before I-Ching's visit and the language seems to refer to more recent events. Although Bhavavarman is not known to have been a religious innovator he appears to have established a new order of things in Camboja and his inscriptions show that he was a zealous worshipper of Śiva and other Indian deities. It would be even more natural if I-Ching referred to Iśânavarman (c. 615) or Jayavarman I (c. 650), but there is no proof that these kings were anti-buddhist.]

[Footnote 263: Schiefner, p. 262.]

[Footnote 264: See Maspéro, _L'Empire Khmèr_, pp. 24 ff.]

[Footnote 265: Perhaps a second Bhavavarman came between these last two kings; see Coedès in _B.E.F.E.O._ 1904, p 691.]

[Footnote 266: See Mecquenem in _B.E.F.E.O._ 1913, No. 2.]

[Footnote 267: But the captivity is only an inference and not a necessary one. Finot suggests that the ancient royal house of Fu-nan may have resided at Javâ and have claimed suzerain rights over Camboja which Jayavarman somehow abolished. The only clear statements on the question are those in the Sdok Kak Thom inscription, Khmer text c. 72, which tell us that Camboja had been dependent on Javâ and that Jayavarman II instituted a special state cult as a sign that this dependence had come to an end.

It is true that the Hindu colonists of Camboja may have come from the island of Java, yet no evidence supports the idea that Camboja was a dependency of the island about 800 A.D. and the inscriptions of Champa seem to distinguish clearly between Yavadvîpa (the island) and the unknown country called Javâ. See Finot, _Notes d'Epig._ pp. 48 and 240. Hence it seems unlikely that the barbarous pirates (called the armies of Java) who invaded Champa in 787 (see the inscription of Yang Tikuh) were from the island. The Siamese inscription of Râma Khomhëng, c. 1300 A.D., speaks of a place called Chavâ, which may be Luang Prabang. On the other hand it does not seem likely that pirates, expressly described as using ships, would have come from the interior.]

[Footnote 268: For these annals see F. Garnier, "La Chronique royale du Cambodje," _J.A._ 1871 and 1872. A. de Villemereuil, _Explorations et Missions de Doudard de Lagrée_, 1882. J. Moura, _Le Royaume de Cambodje_, vol. II. 1883. E. Aymonier, _Chronique des Anciens rois du Cambodje. (Excursions et reconnaissances_. Saigon, 1881.)]

[Footnote 269: _E.g._ Ang Chan (1796-1834) received his crown from the King of Siam and paid tribute to the King of Annam; Ang Duong (1846-1859) was crowned by representatives of Annam and Siam and his territory was occupied by the troops of both countries.]

[Footnote 270: The later history of Camboja is treated in considerable detail by A. Leclerc, _Histoire de Cambodge_, 1914.]

[Footnote 271: Inscrip. of Moroun, _Corpus_, II. 387.]

[Footnote 272: Other local deities may be alluded to, under the names of Śrî Jayakshetra, "the field of victory" adored at Basset Simâdamataka, Śrî Mandareśvara, and Śrî Jalangeśvara. Aymonier, II. p. 297; I. pp. 305, 306 and 327.]

[Footnote 273: Inscrip. of Lovek.]

[Footnote 274: Prea Eynkosey, 970 A.D. See _Corpus_, I. pp. 77 ff.]

[Footnote 275: This compound deity is celebrated in the Harivamsa and is represented in the sculptures of the rock temple at Badami, which is dated 578 A.D. Thus his worship may easily have reached Camboja in the sixth or seventh century.]

[Footnote 276: Jayato jagatâm bhûtyai Kritasandhî Harâcyutau, Parvatîśrîpatitvena Bhinnamûrttidharâvapi. See also the Inscrip. of Ang Chumnik (667 A.D.), verses 11 and 12 in _Corpus_, I. p. 67.]

[Footnote 277: The Bayang Inscription, _Corpus_, I. pp. 31 ff. which mentions the dates 604 and 626 as recent.]

[Footnote 278: _Corpus_, II. p. 422 Śaivapaśupatâcâryyau. The inscription fixes the relative rank of various Acâryas.]

[Footnote 279: See _B.E.F.E.O._ 1906, p. 70.]

[Footnote 280: See specially on this subject, Coedès in _Bull. Comm. Archéol. de l'Indochine_, 1911, p. 38, and 1913, p. 81, and the letterpress of _Le Bayon d'Angkor Thorn_, 1914.]

[Footnote 281: I have seen myself a stone lingam carved with four faces in a tank belonging to a temple at Maḥakut not far from Badami.]

[Footnote 282: Suvarṇamayalingagateśvare te sûkshmântarâtmani. Inscrip. of Prea Ngouk, _Corpus_, I. p. 157.]

[Footnote 283: _E.g._ see _Epig. Indica_, vol. III. pp. 1 ff. At Paṭṭadkal (which region offers so many points of resemblance to Camboja) King Vijayâditya founded a temple of Vijayeśvara and two Queens, Lokamahâdevî and Trailokyamahâdevî founded temples of Lokeśvara and Trailokyeśvara.]

[Footnote 284: Aymonier, II. pp. 257 ff. and especially Finot in _B.E.F.E.O._ 1915, xv. 2, p. 53.]

[Footnote 285: See above.]

[Footnote 286: Sammohana and Niruttara are given as names of Tantras. The former word may perhaps be the beginning of a compound. There are Pali works called Sammohavinodinî and S. vinâśinî. The inscription calls the four treatises the four faces of Tumburn.]

[Footnote 287: This shows that matriarchy must have been in force in Camboja.]

[Footnote 288: Jânapada as the name of a locality is cited by Böthlingck and Roth from the Gaṇa to Pâniṇi, 4. 2. 82.]

[Footnote 289: Possibly others may have held office during this long period, but evidently all three priests lived to be very old men and each may have been Guru for forty years.]

[Footnote 290: This place which means merely "the abode of Hari and Hara" has not been identified.]

[Footnote 291: _Corpus_, II. Inscrip. lvi. especially pp. 248-251.]

[Footnote 292: Veal Kantel. _Corpus_, I. p. 28.]

[Footnote 293: Inscr. of Prah Khan, _B.E.F.E.O._ 1904, p. 675.]

[Footnote 294: _B.E.F.E.O._ 1904, p. 677.]

[Footnote 295: Just as a Vedic sacrifice was performed in the court of the temple of Chidambaram about 1908.]

[Footnote 296: Aymonier, _Cambodja_, I. p. 442.]

[Footnote 297: Śâstâ sounds like a title of Śâkyamuni, but, if Aymonier is correct, the personage is described as a Bodhisattva. There were pagoda slaves even in modern Burma.]

[Footnote 298: See Coedès, "La Stèle de Tép Praṇaṃ," in _J.A._ XI. 1908, p. 203.]

[Footnote 299: Inscrip. of Ta Prohm, _B.E.F.E.O._ 1906, p. 44.]

[Footnote 300: See Senart in _Revue Archéologique_, 1883. As in many inscriptions it is not always plain who is speaking but in most parts it is apparently the minister promulgating the instructions of the king.]

[Footnote 301: Inscript. of Prasat Prah Khse, _Corpus_, I. p. 173.]

[Footnote 302: Buddhânâm agraṇîr api, _J.A._ XX. 1882, p. 164.]

[Footnote 303: See Coedès, "Inscriptions de Bàt Cuṃ," in _J.A._ XII. 1908, pp. 230, 241.]

[Footnote 304: The Bodhisattva corresponding to the Buddha Akshobhya. He is green or blue and carries a thunderbolt. It seems probable that he is a metamorphosis of Indra.]

[Footnote 305: An exceedingly curious stanza eulogizes the doctrine of the non-existence of the soul taught by the Buddha which leads to identification with the universal soul although contrary to it. Vuddho vodhîm vidaddhyâd vo yena nairâtmyadarśanaṃ viruddhasyâpi sâdhûktaṃ sâdhanaṃ paramâtmanaḥ.]

[Footnote 306: Aymonier, I pp. 261 ff. Senart, _Revue Archéologique_, Mars-Avril, 1883.]

[Footnote 307: Nanjio, 1244 and 1248.]

[Footnote 308: The common designation of Avalokita in Camboja and Java. For the inscription see _B.E.F.E.O._ 1906, pp. 44 ff.]

[Footnote 309: Stanza XLVI.]

[Footnote 310: The inscription only says "There are here (atra)." Can this mean in the various religious establishments maintained by the king?]

[Footnote 311: See also Finot, _Notes d'Epig_. pp. 332-335. The Mahâvaṃsa repeatedly mentions that kings founded hospitals and distributed medicines. See too, Yule, _Marco Polo_, I. p. 446. The care of the sick was recognized as a duty and a meritorious act in all Buddhist countries and is recommended by the example of the Buddha himself.]

[Footnote 312: Their somewhat lengthy titles are Bhaishajyaguruvaidûryaprabharâja, Sûryavairocanacaṇḍaroci and Candravairocanarohinîśa. See for an account of them and the texts on which their worship is founded the learned article of M. Pelliot, "Le Bhaiṣajyaguru," _B.E.F.E.O._ 1903, p. 33.]

[Footnote 313: His narrative is translated by M. Pelliot in _B.E.F.E.O._ 1902, pp. 123-177.]

[Footnote 314: Pelliot (_B.E.F.E.O._ 1902, p. 148) cites a statement from the Ling Wai Tai Ta that there were two classes of bonzes in Camboja, those who wore yellow robes and married and those who wore red robes and lived in convents.]

[Footnote 315: M. Finot conjectures that it represents the Siamese Chao (Lord) and a corruption of Guru.]

[Footnote 316: See chapter on Siam, sect. 1.]

[Footnote 317: _Corpus_, II. p. 422.]

[Footnote 318: The strange statement of Chou Ta-kuan (pp. 153-155) that the Buddhist and Taoist priests enjoyed a species of _jus primæ noctis_ has been much discussed. Taken by itself it might be merely a queer story founded on a misunderstanding of Cambojan customs, for he candidly says that his information is untrustworthy. But taking it in connection with the stories about the Aris in Burma (see especially Finot, _J.A._ 1912, p. 121) and the customs attributed by Chinese and Europeans to the Siamese and Philippinos, we can hardly come to any conclusion except that this strange usage was an aboriginal custom in Indo-China and the Archipelago, prior to the introductions of Indian civilization, but not suppressed for some time. At the present day there seems to be no trace or even tradition of such a custom. For Siamese and Philippine customs see _B.E.F.E.O._ 1902, p. 153, note 4.]

[Footnote 319: The French Archæological Commission states that exclusive of Angkor and the neighbouring buildings there are remains of 600 temples in Camboja, and probably many have entirely disappeared.]

[Footnote 320: Maspéro, pp. 62-3.]

[Footnote 321: The food is prepared in the monasteries, and, as in other countries, the begging round is a mere formality.]

[Footnote 322: But in Chinese temples notices forbidding smoking are often posted on the doors.]

[Footnote 323: The word dhyâna is known, but the exercise is more commonly called Vipassanâ or Kammathâna.]

[Footnote 324: M.G. Coedès in _Bull. Comm. Archéol._ 1911, p. 220.]

[Footnote 325: Although there is no reason why these pictures of the future life should not be Brahmanic as well as Buddhist, I do not remember having seen them in any purely Brahmanic temple.]

[Footnote 326: After spending some time at Angkor Wat I find it hard to believe the theory that it was a palace. The King of Camboja was doubtless regarded as a living God, but so is the Grand Lama, and it does not appear that the Potala where he lives is anything but a large residential building containing halls and chapels much like the Vatican. But at Angkor Wat everything leads up to a central shrine. It is quite probable however that the deity of this shrine was a deified king, identified with Vishṇu after his death. This would account for the remarks of Chou Ta-kuan who seems to have regarded it as a tomb.]

[Footnote 327: See especially the inscription of Bassac. Kern, _Annales de l'Extrème Orient_, t. III. 1880, p. 65.]

[Footnote 328: Pali books are common in monasteries. For the literature of Laos see Finot, _B.E.F.E.O._ 1917, No. 5.]