{{Infobox royalty , name = Po Klaung Yăgrai , image = Angkor Thom Bayon 57.jpg , caption = Portrait of Po Klaung Yăgrai at

Bayon The Bayon (, ) ( ''BAI-on'') is a richly decorated Khmer temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII (), the Bayon stands at the centre of Jaya ...

temple. , title = Ruler of Panduranga , father = On Pasha , mother = Muk Chakling , spouse = ? , issue = ? , birth_date = 1151 , birth_place = Palei Chakling, Panduranga , death_date = 1205 , death_place = Băl Hangâu, Panduranga , place of burial = Panduranga , full name = Jatol , succession = Ruler of Panduranga , reign = 1167 - 1205 , predecessor = Po Sulekha , successor = Khmer occupation , regnal name = Po Klaung Yăgrai , house = ROCN Duty Ship Pennant

Panduranga , religion = Hinduism Po Klaung Yăgrai (1151–1205) was a king of the

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

polity of Panduranga, in what is now

Phan Rang Phan may refer to: * Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name * Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand * Phan River The Phan River () is a river of Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam.Vietnam Administrative Atlas, NXB Bản Đồ, 2004 It flo ...

, in southern

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Title

Po Klaung Yăgrai is the royal title, not the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

of this historical figure. According to understandings of local history, he was not born as a royal and was born with name Jatơl. His title ''Po Klaung Yăgrai'' could plausibly be translated from

Cham language Cham (Cham: , Cham Jawi, Jawi: چم, Latin script: Cam) is a Malayo-Polynesian languages, Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian languages, Austronesian family, spoken by the Cham people, Chams of Southeast Asia. It is spoken primarily i ...

into English as the "great water-dragon sovereign." The Cham-language title "Po" means

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

, "klaung" means great and the name "Yăgrai" likely comes from "Yă" meaning "water" and "garai" meaning "dragon." Another possibility is the term "Yă" is that it is an Old Cham language term truncation of the word "yang" meaning

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. French sources occasionally mistakenly referred to "garai" as related to the term "Jarai" people, likely because /g/ and /j/ could be pronounced the same in French. However, there is not strong evidence the terms are related. However, "Jarai" more likely is derived from the Old Cham root terms "Ja-" and "-rai" meaning "ordinary people who left" (implying they went to the uplands).

History

Po Klaung Yăgrai ruled from 1167 to his death and is credited to have built many irrigation works and dams. He probably is the same person as

king, Jaya Indravarman IV. He is worshipped at the Po Klong Garai Temple, built by Champa King Jaya Sinhavarman III (Chế Mân).

Legend

He started life as a lowly cowherd in the lowland village of Caklaing, but became king of

by destiny, ruling wisely and for the good of the people. When the Khmer of

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

invaded his kingdom, he challenged them to settle the matter peacefully in a tower-building contest. Po Klaung Garai prevailed in the contest, thereby obliging the invaders to return home. After his death, Po Klaung Garai became a god and protector of the people on earth; it is said that the tower he built in his contest with the Khmer was at the site of the tower that bears his name today.

External links

Temple of Po Klaung Yăgrai
1151 births 1205 deaths People from Ninh Thuận province Cham people Jarai people Vietnamese Hindus Hindu monarchs

Title

History

Legend

See also

External links