Buddhist section

In Hínayána Buddhism, Buddha is the Supreme Being. Following the example of the Brahmanic and Buddhist gods, he is not married. But he had a wife and child when he was still a Bodhisattva.

It was earlier mentioned that during the Bayon period, artists sculpted a number of Buddha and Lokesvara in the likeness of Jayavarman VII (Ka.1730) and represented his wife Jayarájadeví in the appearance of both a Brahmanic deity such as Laksmí (Ka. 1698?) and a Buddhist divinity such as Prájnápáramitá (Ka.1724).

This tends to prove that King Jayavarman VII was considered to be Buddha or Lokesvara and his wife, Laksmí or Prájápáramitá, these two great religions’major deities.

Two Buddhist boundary stones found in Banteay Meanchey province, - Caitya(?)-[Ka.1734], and which belong to the museum and are identical to the ones at the Musee nationa des arts asiatiques Guimet (Ma.17487), are carved with a representation of Vajrin, Vajrasattva’s saktí and Prájnápáramitá, Lokesvara’s saktí.

Buddhist boundary post (Ka.1735)

 Buddhist boundary post (Ka.1734)

 

There are a great number of bronze and sandstone statues of Prájnápáramitá and Laksmí dated from the Angkorian era and the reign of Jayavarman VII, in particular. Whereas the bronze Prájanápáramitá are usually adorned the sandstone ones are not.

It may be assumed that the standing Prájnáramitá is a representation of Queen Jaharájadeví, as we have found the two halbes of a sculptre at the Conservation d’ Angkor (no.1340 for the body, no.416 for the head) that resembles the museum’s kneeling Prájnápáramitá and an identical one owned by the Mesee national des arts asiatiques Guimet (MG,18043).