The ''Grande Inscription d’Angkor'', referenced as K. 301 or Inscription Modern Angkor Wat (IMA) #38, is the longest Khmer inscription at Angkor Wat. Dated to 1701, it is located on the east wall between the ''

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

'' galleries and facing the Chey Non '' stupa'' in the courtyard outside. It is considered to be the only dated

Middle Khmer Middle Khmer is the historical stage of the Khmer language as it existed between the 14th and 18th centuries, spanning the period between Old Khmer and the modern language. The beginning of the Middle Khmer period roughly coincides with the fall ...

metrical

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

Context

The ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' relates the return to Angkor of a court dignitary, a certain ''

Oknha ''Oknha'' ( km, ឧកញ៉ា, ) is a Khmer honorific. It has different meanings depending on the period it was used. Linguistics The word means "nobleman" or "lord". The translation of "''Oknha''" is not unanimous. Leaning on the meaning of ...

'' Jaiya Nan of Chey Non, in order to accomplish meritorious deeds. After both his two sons died on the battlefield and his wife's death left him a widower, Chey Non was deeply saddened. As a loyal father and husband, he built a laterite stupa near the entrance to the eastern gallery of Angkor Wat in honour of them. It seems impossible to determine whether or not Jaiya Nan composed the inscriptions himself or had them composed by another, perhaps a court poet. Given the unique and personal style of the texts, it seems sufficient to treat Jaiya Nan as the author, whether direct or indirect .

Content

The ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' is a 53 line poem composed with 152 verses using three different meters followed by a colophon and engraved on a designated wall in the complex of Angkor Wat. Divided in three parts with "true poetic inspiration" according to Khmer historian Mak Phoeun, it is a poem rich in

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

, literary

allusion Allusion is a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. Where the connection is directly and explicitly stated (as ...

and Buddhist references. The first section is in ''Brahmagiti'' metre, and pays homage to Buddha and various divinities asking for blessings. The author details his career and laments the death of his wife for whom he built a '' stupa''. The second part in the ''bhujangalila'' metre is apotropaic. The third part is in ''kakagati'' is devotional in hoping for a better future life. with the ultimate aim of meeting Maitreya. The poetic meters are identical use to those used in the poems attributed to King Thommo Reachea II who rule between 1627 and 1631.

Analysis

Literary references

Close-up on the Grande inscription d'Angkor

The poem makes literary references to various texts in Pali and traditions known to Khmer civilization:

Nagasena Nāgasena was a Sarvastivadan Buddhist sage who lived around 150 BC. His answers to questions about Buddhism posed by Menander I (Pali: ''Milinda''), the Indo-Greek king of northwestern India, are recorded in the '' Milinda Pañha'' and the Sa ...

of King Milinda of the ''

Milinda Panha The ''Milinda Pañha'' () is a Buddhist text which dates from sometime between 100 BC and 200 AD. It purports to record a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nāgasena, and the 2nd century BC Indo-Greek king Menander I (Pali: ''Milinda'' ...

'', figures of the

Jataka tales The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

both ''

Vessantara Jātaka The ''Vessantara Jātaka'' is one of the most popular jātakas of Theravada Buddhism. The ''Vessantara Jātaka'' tells the story of one of Gautama Buddha's past lives, about a very compassionate and generous prince, Vessantara, who gives away ev ...

'' and ''

Mahanipata Jataka The ''Mahanipata Jataka'' (), sometimes translated as ''the Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha'', are a set of stories from the Jataka tales (Khuddaka Nikāya) describing the ten final lives of the Bodisattva who would finally be born as S ...

'' such as Temiya, Mahosadha, Maddim Jali, Kanha. There are references to the

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

, Srivikrama,

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, Dhananjaya, and Preah Ketumala, the legendary builder of royal city as mentioned in '' The Poem of Angkor Wat,'' showing that this last legend was already well ingrained in popular belief.

Signs of political instability

Ian Harris argues that the ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' is a witness of unstable times during which many leaders adopted an attitude of withdrawal; while King Chey Chettha III spend much of his time in robes at Wat Preah Sugandha Mean Bon in Oudong away from state affairs, the ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' also records that a minister, Jaiya Nan, was ordained a total of five times.

Continuous use of Angkor Wat despite destructions

The ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' is one of the proofs of the continuous presence of Khmer people in Angkor Wat, before the place was rediscovered by French missionary Bouillevaux and explorer

Henri Mouhot Alexandre Henri Mouhot (May 15, 1826 — November 10, 1861) was a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th century. He was born in Montbéliard, Doubs, France, near the Swiss border, but spent his childhood in Russia and, possibly, parts ...

. The author mentions restorations of statues. As other late inscriptions of Angkor Wat, which mention works of restoration and celebrations that took place, the author of the ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor Wat'' mentions among his meritorious acts the restoration of broken images of Buddha, broken into pieces and lost, with their neck broken the head on the ground, their feet crushed and the arms pulled out, deploring this state of decay. What's more, human remains excavated from around the Chey Non stupa indicate that the place had become an ominous place of burial for locals after the 17th century.

Translations

The ''Grande Inscription d'Angkor'' was first translated by German anthropologist and published in print by

Adolf Bastian Adolf Philipp Wilhelm Bastian (26 June 18262 February 1905) was a 19th-century polymath best remembered for his contributions to the development of ethnography and the development of anthropology as a discipline. Modern psychology owes him a great ...

in 1867. It was published in French by Etienne Aymonier in 1900 and translated into modern Khmer by

Chhim Krasem Chhim Krasem or Krassem was a member of the Khmer intelligentsia during the first half of the 20th century during the period of transition from the French protectorate to the independent Kingdom of Cambodia. Biography Chhim Krasem was born i ...

first in 1938 and republished in 1984.

References

Bibliography

* {{Buddhism in Cambodia, state=collapsed Cambodian literature Historiography of Cambodia 18th century in Cambodia Khmer Empire National symbols of Cambodia Steles Poetry