It must be noted that after their death, the Khmer
kings were given a posthumous name. Most of these names relate to the name of
their supreme god.
The practice of individual cults erecting a
deity in the image of a respected person probably dates from the reign of Rajendravarman
(944-968), as indicated by the Eastern Mebon inscription studied by George
Coedés and Louis Finot. Stanza 207 mentions that, ‘Thestatues of Siva and Deví
bear aclose resemblance to his mother and father’, i.e a resemblance to
Rajendravarman’s parents.
Photo 22a:
Head of Lokesvara(?) Photo 22b:
Head of Lokesvara(?)
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This tradition most likely endured under the
reigns of his successors. The museum’s collections show clear evidence of
individual cults under the reign of Jayavarman VII. Works of art such as the
Lokesvara heads and some statues of Lokesvara have similar facial expressions
as that of one of the king’s heads. The same can be said of the statue of the
kneeling Prájbápáramitá, which bears a strong likeness to Queen Jayavarájadeví
(see below).
Photo 22c:
Head of Lokesvara Photo 22d:
Head of Jyavarman VII
A man’s veneration for an individual is expressed
through the respect shown to the individual, deceased or alive, in erecting a
statue depicting this individual as a god or goddess. The representation of the
individual therefore embodies both the divine – the god – and the human – the
king – and becomes as object to be worshipped as well as a subject of adoration
when the statue is a ‘portrait-statue’.
Individual worship is also the expression of the
living’s abnegation and devotion to the deceased, who is then seen as a god or
goddess. Thus Jayavarman VII erected a statue of his father in the likeness of
Jayavaramesvara Lokesvara, and a statue of his mother with the appearance of
Prájnápáramitá.
As for himself and his image, and perhaps on
Queen Indradeví’s orders, he is represented with the appearance of Buddha and
Jayabuddhamahátha – ‘Jaya’ meaning glory and ‘mahánátha’ meaning great
savior-that were spread around the twenty-three provinces of the Khmer empire.
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