The museum’s collections illustrate two main epics
in Khmer literature, the Reamkerti and the Vessantara játaka.
Among the ten játaka, only the Vessantara játaka
describes the Bldhisttva Vessantara giving alms. One must remember that the
Bodhisattva’s wife is his female energy, which manifests itself through
physical beauty and morals. Thus, a handsome appearance creates beauty. In
Brahnaism, Laksmi is the goddess of
beauty.
In the Vessantara játaka, Queen Mahámáyádeví, wife
of Suddhodana, Buddha’s father, is granted ten favors by the god Indra, but
only five of them relate to physical beauty:
- Beautiful eyes with eyebrows curved as a bow
- A flat stomach during pregnancy
- Firm breasts
- The absence of white hair
- Smooth (and golden) skin
Khmer society admires women, who boast the physical
beauty, or pancavidh kalyáni, that include the teeth, the lips, the skin and
the hair, to which it adds ‘a beautiful life’. The lady in the Buddhist tale of
the Visákhá is endowed with these five qualities of physical beauty.
Similarly to the conception of the canons of beauty,
a code of conduct for the wives of the Bodhisattva appears in Khmer literature.
Thus, in the Rámáyana, Sitá remains faithful to Rámawhen she rejects
Rávana’s proposal. In the Vessantara játaka, Madrí gives her possessions and
herself to the beggars. And in the Mahosatha játaka, Amará, Bodhisattva
Mahosatha’s wife, is as intelligent as her husband.
