The Preah Neang Deví according to inscription K.485 found on Phimean Akas temple

Ancient Cambodia’s Indian cultural heritage does not only comprise religious art; but also includes the art of writing.

The writings found on stones, which the Khmers call inscriptions or ‘stone writing’, were written in Sanskrit or ancient Khmer and are an undisputed source and undeniable source of information when studying Cambodian religion and history.

Generally, Sanskrit inscriptions are verses introduced by invocations to the gods and praises to the kings; the inscriptions in ancient Khmer are written in prose and refer to social and religious events.

Among these inscriptions, the one found at Phimean Akas temple (K. 485) is of particular significance in the study of the Preah Neang Deví.

The inscription is written in Sanskrit on a four-sided boundary stone; fifty-two lines are written on three sides and forty-four lines on the fourth side. It was broken into 70 pieces that Henri Marchal, the then curator of Angkor Conservation, pieced back together to re-assenble before presentin it to the Albert Sarraut Museum.

Geogre Coedes states that the inscription was written under the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181-1218). The author is Indradeví (stanza CII) whose name is identified, for the first time, in stanza XCV.

The inscription begins with invocations to the gods and praises to King Jayavarman VII. It mentions the king leaving for Vijaya, the former capital of Champa, present-day Binh Dinh in Vietnam, and relates Champa’s acts of aggression towards Cambodia.

This important inscription on Cambodia history provides additional insight into the Preah Neang Deví.

We learn that Jayavarman VII’s first wife was called Jayarájadeví and that she was Indradeví’s younger sister. When her husband left the country, she submitted to asceticism and practiced strict Brahmanist and Buddhist rituals to bring the king success and protect him from danger (stanza LXIV).

Queen Jayarájadeví was a beautiful and kind woman. Stanza XCIII tells of her achievements, in particular the erection of statues that represented members of her family, mainly her parents and grandparents, and her friends. We also know that she contributed to the purchase of materials for the construction of temples throughout the country (stanza CXXI).

Stanza CXXIX tells how she takes in, and brings up as her own daughters, destitute young girls abandoned by their mothers, in the village of Dharmakíti that is yet ‘known for its moral principles and full of happiness and prosperity’.

Young Queen Jayarájadeví dies before her husband’s coronation. After her death, the king marries her older sister, Indradeví.

Stanza XCIX tells us that Queen Indradeví is considered to be the incarnation of Sarasvatí, Indra’s sakti. Her grace, her intelligence and her knowledge will lead her to become head professor and, at the same time, master of the wives grouped together in several convents.

Indradeví is a generous practicing Buddhist. Like her sister Jayarájadeví, she distributes property to the people and enhances religious thinking.

Stanza XCVI also mentions Indradeví’s commissioning and production of numerous sculptures of Jayarájadeví and the king, to honour and display them throughout the empire.

Some important inscribed steles, including the one bearing inscription K. 485 were moved to the Conservation d’Angkor, most likely in 1970.