King Jayavarman VII had two queens, Queen Jayaraja Devi and Queen Indradevi. The two queens were biological sisters. Queen Jayaraja Devi was crowned before King Jayavarman VII ascended the throne. After Queen Jayaraja Devi died, Queen Indradevi, who was a virgin, was crowned as the next queen.
Royal Biography According to Inscriptions
A large inscription from the temple of Preah Khan in Siem Reap, a former Khmer city full of stories, was discovered by Georges Sedes, a Frenchman, who published it in 1941. The publication of the most important data related to the royal biography of King Jayavarman VII, the great hero of the Great Dynasty. Some Khmer people are still not aware of this important information. However, Cambodian historians have unofficially translated it for the Khmer people as a general historical knowledge. It is also worth mentioning that this inscription (k-908) has a total of 111 verses. Khmer archaeologist Michel Trane has stated that the original 18 verses of this inscription are identical to the contents of the Ta Prohm inscription. The scholar translated several Kathas, especially the biography of King Jayavarman VII, as follows:
“A king who was held in high esteem by all the kings of the land, respected by the people. He was the greatest scholar among scholars, the son of the kings Sruthvarman and Sreeshresthavarman, a good man through his glorious achievements, the source of a pure royal dynasty” (Katha 6).
“He is the sun in the sky, of the Cambodian lineage, born on the eastern mountain of Jayadityapur. He awakened the lotus hearts of all beings, the storehouse of brilliance, the emperor of Shresthapur” (Katha 7).
“Born in the great kingdom of the maternal family, where the moon shines with the rays of his excellent fame, bright as the goddess Lakshmi, he led the foremost of women (namely, the queen) Kampucharacha Lakshmi” (Katha 8).
“The husband of the land of Bhavapura, King Bhavavarmandeva, endowed with radiant beauty, who brought love to his kingdom, full of talent, the origin of the royal family, like one endowed with the rays of immortality. He relieved the suffering of his people” (Katha 9).
“He who has good conduct, fame, and heroism, who cannot be blamed for anything. And he was born in that family, and created works for all people, King Srihasvarman, who destroyed the joy of the enemy in battle, and whose royal activities were so brilliant that they were spread by word of mouth in all directions” (Katha 10).
“Through this king and queen, the princess Sri Jayaraja Chodyamni was born” … “Like a lotus, created with strength like a lotus, with beauty like the dawn, with irreproachable behavior like a lotus, born with kindness” (Katha 11-12).
“Having taken his royal throne at Sreimanya Sodharapura, King Jayavarman Deva, after having driven back the waves of his enemies, set up a pillar that reached the sea, a pillar of victory in all directions. He and his ancestors settled at Mahidharapura” (Chapter 13).
“The daughter of King Srihasaravarman gave birth to a great man, King Jayavarman VII, endowed with energy that shone like a red flame, resembling Queen Aditi, who made Brahma the king of the gods, who, through his excellent devotion to the protection of the land, slew the enemy commanders” (Katha 18).
There is no doubt that King Jayavarman VII was a true Khmer king, descended from the mighty kings of the Phnom Penh and Chenla periods, who were of great influence and power, and he was also a great statesman who defended the Khmer homeland with unparalleled sacrifice.
The Handprints of the King in Building 5 Major National Roads During His Reign
In addition to building hospitals and monasteries, countless temples were built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. He also built 5 major national roads for travel across the empire. Mr. Vong Sotheara, a professor of Khmer epigraphy and history and vice-chairman of the Department of History at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said recently that during his reign, the great king built 5 major communication routes. The first route is the western route, starting from Yasothapura, passing through the mountains of the district and heading towards Stok Kak Thom and Banteay Chhmar. The second route is the northwestern route of the country.From Yasothapura to Prasad Phimay. The third route, the northern part (not known for sure), is described as a circular route, going from the capital to the cities of Jayavati, Jayasinghavati, Jayaviratai, Jayarachkiri, Sreysuviraburi, and back to Yasothapura. The fourth route, the northeastern route from Yasothapura to the Cham capital, and the fifth, the eastern route from Yasothapura, probably headed towards Sambor Prey Kuk, where traces of many ancient bridge structures can be seen along National Road No. 6, from the ancient bridge at Kampong Kdei to Damdek. Professor Vong Sotheara continued to say that the construction of the five-month road along the road has built 121 Dhamma Salas and streetlights for public shelters for travelers in general. He continued that in the inscription of Preah Khan Temple, it is said that along the northwest road, there are 17 Dhamma Salas, the north road has 14 Dhamma Salas and streetlights. On the northeast road, there are 57 Dhamma Salas, including one streetlight and one in Suryabhavat, Kiphnom Chisor, one in Vichyathith, and one in Kalyan Sittaka, which probably corresponds to Romdoul District, Svay Rieng Province. In addition, 30 Dhamma Salas remain, because there are no inscriptions. The remaining Dhamma Salas are likely to have been built along the western and eastern routes, according to Professor Vong Sotheara. He continued that in addition, His Majesty built hospitals, which in the language of that era were called Araksalas, with 102 rooms, with many offerings to support the livelihood and activities of each hospital: specialist doctors, assistant doctors, medicine makers, water collectors, and various servants, totaling approximately 90 people for each hospital. Professor Vong Sovathara continued by emphasizing that “patients of all social statuses could receive treatment without discrimination” (Sai Phong Inscription No. K 368). He added that because of his concern for well-being, some researchers have suspected that he was born with leprosy, relying only on the interpretation of the carvings on the walls of Bayon and the later invented legend of the King of Leprosy.
About Jayavarman VII (The Mighty King and His Dynasty)
King Jayavarman VII was the last great and powerful king of the Angkor Empire. Cambodian historian Aymonier studied Jayavarman VII and concluded that he was the founder of the most prosperous era in Cambodia. The national unification of King Jayavarman VII began with the publication in the journal of the French School of the Far East by Louis Finot of a Sanskrit inscription found by Georges Maspero at Say Fong, near Vientiane, which provides information about the construction of a hospital in 1186 AD. Louis Finot noted that this inscription was similar to a pillar inscription found in the Gulf of Siam, near the border of Cochinchina (Lower Cambodia), and that the name Jayavarman VII was frequently mentioned in Cham inscriptions as a great and magnificent warrior. He concluded that “the inscriptions, which extend from Lower Laos to the Annam Sea and to Lower Cochinchina, some tell of his victories, others of his good deeds. These have illuminated the image of this king from the darkness of Cambodia’s past.” The darkness has also been dispelled by the 40 years of tireless research of Louis Finot. The name of this king was only known in 1900, when the French School of the Far East was founded. He is now considered one of the great kings of Cambodia. He expanded his territory greatly, including Champa, and built many temples throughout the country. Among the many inscriptions he left behind are three: the Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, and Banteay Chhmar inscriptions, which were published in the Bulletin of the French School of the Far East. The hospital regulations in the inscription below come from the Phimean Akas temple, which was discovered in AD 1916 In the Palace of Angkor Thom and a Cham Inscription at Mỹ-Sơn, Louis Finot published in the Journal of the French Academy. Jayavarman VII was as powerful as the French kings Louis VII and Philippe Auguste, whose reigns coincided with his.
His royal lineage is well known. His father reigned briefly between 1155 and 1159. King Jayavarman VII was the half-brother of King Suryavarman II, who fought as far as Tonkin and built Angkor Wat as his royal palace. His mother was related to a foreign dynasty that ruled the country.11th century BC and queen of Cambodia in the pre-Angkor period. King Jayavarman was born between 1120 and 1125 CE during the reign of King Suryavarman II, and was married at a young age to Queen Jayaraja Devi, who had a strong influence on him in governing the country.
Later, he was ordered to lead an army to attack the Champa kingdom in the Vichai region (present-day Binh Dinh province, Vietnam). The absence of her husband plunged Queen Jayaraja Devi into a deep state of grief, as described in the royal palace inscriptions by Queen Indra Devi, her biological sister. The inscriptions describe her as lying in a ravine, weeping like Sita, separated from her husband. She prayed for his return. To overcome this great sorrow, she became a Brahmin and later a Buddhist monk.
Queen Indra Devi and Queen Jayaraja Devi, the great queens of King Jayavarman VII. The inscription reads, “Receiving education from her elder sister, she thought that Buddhism was a beloved and pleasing religion. She adopted the path of Buddhism, which is a peaceful path to cross the fire of suffering and the sea of pain.” While King Jayavarman VII was in Champa, his father, King Dharanindravarman II, died, and the king who succeeded him was named Yasovarman II, whose biography is unknown. During the reign of this king, there was a tragic event recorded in the inscriptions and sculptures at Banteay Chhmar Temple. The inscriptions and sculptures of this temple tell us that King Yasovarman II was attacked by Rahu, as before, during a solar or lunar eclipse, but was saved by a young king, probably one of the sons of the future King Jayavarman VII.
The inscription reads, “When Bharatarahu rebelled against King Yasovarman to attack the palace, the city’s defenders were routed… The king entered the battle. Two soldiers joined him in the battle and defeated Bharatarahu.” However, King Yasovarman II was usurped by a high-ranking official named Triphuvanadita in 1165 CE. King Jayavarman VII hurried back from Champa to rescue King Yasovarman II. The inscription continued, “But King Yasovarman II was killed by a usurper, and King Jayavarman VII remained in Cambodia, waiting for a better time to restore the situation, which was full of crimes. The queen, who was saddened by her husband’s absence, melted away from her sorrow, wanting to see him free the country from the ocean of suffering that had engulfed it.” King Jayavarman VII, who had returned to the country late and found a usurper on the throne, did not return to Champa and, with the advice of his wife, remained in Cambodia “waiting for the right time.” He had to wait for 15 years. At the same time that there was a usurpation in Cambodia, there was also a usurpation in Champa in 1166-1167 AD, under the name Jayaindravarman. The king paid tribute to the King of Annam, named Li Anhton, in 1170 AD, in order to keep the country neutral.
At this time, the northern border of Champa was peaceful, and the Cham king also launched an army to invade Cambodia. The air inscription also reads: “King Jaya Indravarman (King of Cham) fearlessly like the city of Ravana on a chariot carrying weapons attacked Cambodia.” However, this invasion was unsuccessful. The Cham king, named Cheyindravarman, changed his strategy from land to sea. In 1177, the Cham king led a naval force against the Khmer, led by a Chinese sailor. The army sailed up the Mekong River and reached Lake Tanah Rata. Angkor fell to the Cham, and the Cham king, Tribhuvanadityavarman, was killed in battle. The Cham army captured the city, destroying and plundering much of its wealth. The throne was vacant, with no king to rule. King Jayavarman VII saw that the time had come, but before he could be proclaimed king, he had to free the country from foreign rule. He led an army to defeat the Chams by sea, as depicted on the walls of Bayon and Banteay Chhmar, and liberated the entire country. Four years after the Cham invasion in 1177 AD, in 1181 AD, Cambodia was at peace, and King Jayavarman VII was proclaimed king. At the same time, he rebuilt the capital. "The city of Yashodapura, like a maiden of a noble family, is united with her husband."His passion, which was overflowing with the palace of precious stones and surrounded by the mighty walls, was the city of Angkor. The couple was married by the king to create the happiness of the world, under the great victory that he had won. ” An inscription on the corner of the Angkor Thom ramparts states that the royal city where the king held the wedding ceremony was none other than the city of Angkor Thom, not the Bakheng temple at the end of the 9th century. But the present city, the center of which is the Bayon temple. When the Cham invaded the country in 1177 CE, according to the Chinese historian Ma Tuolin, King Jayavarman VII “sworn to avenge his enemies, and this work he secretly endured for 15 years.” But before fulfilling his vow to wage war against the Cham at home, he had to suppress a rebellion in the southern part of Battambang. To suppress this rebellion, he ordered a Cham king named Witthyananan to raise an army to suppress the rebellion. It is worth noting that this Cham king came to live with him since he was a child. The Cham inscription at Mission wrote: “During his childhood, in 1182 AD, Prince Vithyananda came to live in Cambodia. The King of Cambodia (King Jayavarman VII, who had ascended the throne the previous year) saw 33 characteristics of the prince. He also loved him with all his heart and taught him science and strategy. When the prince was in Cambodia, there was a region called Malang in the kingdom where bad people lived and rebelled against the Khmer king. The king saw that the prince was good at war and ordered him to lead the Khmer army to suppress the rebellion in Malang. The rebellion was successful. Because of his kindness, the Khmer king bestowed honors and valuable wealth on Vithyananan. In AD 1190 Jayavarman VII made the country of Dai Viet (of Maharaja Ly Kao Ton) neutral in order to make it easier to attack the Cham. In the same year, a good opportunity presented itself for the Cham king, Jayavarman IV, to raise an army to attack the Khmer again. Did Jayavarman VII raise an army against the Cham invasion? An inscription at Por Nokor (En Nha Trang) records that “he captured the capital of Champa and collected all the lingas.” This success was due to the fact that he ordered King Vitthanadan to raise an army to resist. King Vitthanadan captured the city of Vijaya (Binh Dinh) and captured the Chamchaya Indravarman IV as a prisoner and presented him to King Jayavarman VII. He appointed King Jayavarman VII's younger brother, In (the younger brother of Queen Jayaraja Devi), to reign in Vijaya. With the name Surya Jayavamdeva, he led an army to conquer Banduranga (Phanrang) and ascended the throne there with the royal name Surya Vamdeva. The country of Champa was divided into two parts, one ruled by the Khmer king and the other by the Cham king Vitthyananda. But not long after, the Chams in Vijaya rose up, forcing Prince In to flee back to the Khmer country and appointing a Cham king named Rasopati to the throne in his place. Taking advantage of this opportunity, King Vithyananan reunited the Cham kingdom after killing Jayaindravarman V (Rasopati) and reigned over all of Champa from 1192 to 1203. In 1193 and 1194, King Jayavarman VII tried to get Vithyananan to recognize his authority, but to no avail. In 1203, he ordered another Cham king, Ongthanapatikaram, who was Vithyananan's uncle, to lead an army to defeat his nephew. From 1203 to 1220 CE, Champa became a province of the Khmer. The interference of neighboring countries to the east did not prevent him from expanding his territory to the north and west of Cambodia. It was during this reign that the Sai Phong inscription (near Vientiane) dates, and Chinese historians speak of the power of Jayavarman VII, annexing part of the Malay Peninsula and extending his rule to Burma. Furthermore, an inscription from Preah Khan Temple states that the water was given by the Brahman Suryabhakt and all the other Brahmans in the royal palace to the King of Yavana and the two kings of Champa. The Brahman Suryabhakt was probably the head of all the Brahmans in the royal palace. The King of Yavana was Emperor Ly Anh Tong, who reigned in 1175 AD, with the royal name Ly Cao Tong, and reigned until 1210 AD. The two kings of Champa were the king of Vijaya (Binh Dinh), who was the younger brother of Jayavarman VII, and the king of Bandurang (Phanrang), who was Vithyananan.Protected by Jayavarman VII.
It is known that the offering of water to the king meant acknowledging the vassalage of the country to which it was offered. This tradition still exists today. In the royal palaces of Phnom Penh or Bangkok, when a king is crowned, the water used for the ceremony is water obtained from the main rivers of the country and from the various provinces of the kingdom. The vassalage of the two Champa kingdoms to Cambodia did not last long, as did the Javanese and Annamite kingdoms. After the death of Queen Jayarajadevi, King Jayavarman VII married Queen Indradevi, the daughter of Queen Jayadevi. This queen was a woman of great learning. She became a teacher in a Buddhist temple and produced the Phimean Akasa Inscription, which is an important source of information about the life of King Jayavarman VII. It is not known exactly in what year Jayavarman VII died. He probably reigned until 1218 AD. His royal name was Mahaparamsaoka. This name indicates that he was a Buddhist, but despite this, he had a Brahmin priest named Vishikesa (or Vishikesa), which is evidence that Brahmanism was still quite influential at that time. According to the statue of King Jayavarman VII, he was strong, and Vishikesa had a small head of hair. This characteristic is clearly seen in many sculptures. Two statues have been found, one at Angkor Thom and the other at the temple of Phimai near Korat (Korat, Khorat) (Nakhon Ratchasima), which are preserved in the Bangkok Museum. Both statues are of King Jayavarman VII.
The exact date of his death is not known. It is questioned whether he had any illness that led to his death. There are two statues from that period, one in the small temple complex called the Hospital, located east of Takeo Temple. V. Goloubew has studied the sculpture in detail to understand the story of the “Mute King”, but there is no statue that fits this story. And he gave the following text of Dr. Mesnard, director of the Pasteur Institute in Prey Nokor, given to him in 1934, commenting on the sculpture of the Bayon Temple:
“The forearm and hand of the patient are the object of careful treatment by the women around them. The gesture of a woman is as if she were holding her right ear wide open to draw attention to the most important point.” “The lower limbs are supported by an object below the knee.” “A woman is lifting the person’s right leg with her right hand and her right hand is as if squeezing the leg.” “Does the gesture of these women indicate that the person has a disease in the extremities, such as leprosy?” Another important note is that near the person’s body there is a vase filled with a round wooden stick. This stick is probably a chaulmoogra stick. The Hydnocarpus anthelmintica is a tree that grows throughout the forest.
Source: Monovithya
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