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...