A PDF report on THE FALL OF DVĀRAVATĪ AS MENTIONED IN THE KHMER INSCRIPTION by U-tain Wongsathit, Kangvol Katshima, and Chatupohn Khotkanok
https://www.academia.edu/44951442/THE_F ... ION_K_1198
THE FALL OF DVĀRAVATĪ AS MENTIONED IN THE KHMER INSCRIPTION
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Very interesting paper! This paper gives some good insight how the Mon populations became ruled by Khmer people, and how ancient Khmer culture was dispersed throughout the region of Eastern Thailand. Already centuries before, many communities of Dvaravati became Khmer, witnessed by the Khmer inscriptions which started to accompany the Mon inscriptions from the time of Chenla.kke802 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:57 amA PDF report on THE FALL OF DVĀRAVATĪ AS MENTIONED IN THE KHMER INSCRIPTION by U-tain Wongsathit, Kangvol Katshima, and Chatupohn Khotkanok
https://www.academia.edu/44951442/THE_F ... ION_K_1198
It is interesting to read how Suryavarman was a Hinduist usurper who fought against a Buddhist dynasty. The Khmer king from Eastern Thailand, jayaviravarman, who was in war with Suryavarman I was Buddhist, and the Buddhist temples of Eastern Thailand were transformed into Hinduist temples by Suryavarman I after they were conquered.
This reminds me of the reign of Suryavarman II, who was the first Vishnu worshipper, and who was in war with all the Buddhist reigns of Burma, Champa, Thailand, and Angkor, and who converted all Buddhist temples into Hinduist temples.
Interestingly, Suryavarman I is named in the inscription as 'Niarvanapada' after his death, meaning 'he who went to Nirvana'; a clear reference to his Buddhist faith, but any tolerance in regards to the Buddhist faith is not seen from his actions, according to the information of the inscriptions that are discussed in this paper.
I also read somewhere that in his later reign, he became tolerant in regards to Buddhism, but from this paper we can see clearly see he was a Hinduist fighting to overthrow the Buddhists, and changing the the Mon/Khmer communities into Hindu worshippping communities.
Did Suryavarman I have a change of heart, and became drawn to the Buddhist faith later in life?
Whilst this is certainly all very interesting, my reticence is that it is all too traditional historicity; i.e. it is exclusively involved with elite society, and 95(?)% of the populace is wholly invisible. The masses were required to supply corvee labour to build the temples that are so admired today, but once completed were excluded for any ceremonies or activities in the temple complexes unless they were servants, cooks, dancers, courtesans and suchlike. Whether the temples and monarchs were Hindu or Mahayana Buddhist was of no relevance to 'the people'.
Almost certainly, the masses remained animist, living in wooden huts of which we are starting to realise covered huge areas around Siem Reap and involved perhaps a million or more people (I hesitate to use the term 'citizens' as that implies a greater legal recognition than was the case). It's interesting that whilst Mahayana Buddhism never touched them - they were excluded from such royal apparatus, it was the Theravada Buddhism that spread from Thailand that had a deep and lasting impact on the culture and society of ordinary people. Unlike temples, that would have left little trace as Theravada monks were 'of the people', living a simple lifestyle in vihars that were built of the same materials as the houses. Kings, battles, temples leave me quite cold; social history seems far more relevant to my tastes, albeit being harder to uncover - although new technology like lidar is making big inroads.
Almost certainly, the masses remained animist, living in wooden huts of which we are starting to realise covered huge areas around Siem Reap and involved perhaps a million or more people (I hesitate to use the term 'citizens' as that implies a greater legal recognition than was the case). It's interesting that whilst Mahayana Buddhism never touched them - they were excluded from such royal apparatus, it was the Theravada Buddhism that spread from Thailand that had a deep and lasting impact on the culture and society of ordinary people. Unlike temples, that would have left little trace as Theravada monks were 'of the people', living a simple lifestyle in vihars that were built of the same materials as the houses. Kings, battles, temples leave me quite cold; social history seems far more relevant to my tastes, albeit being harder to uncover - although new technology like lidar is making big inroads.
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If you want 'visibility' of the Khmer commoner population, I can suggest you to read "Customs of Cambodia", a translation of the Chinese report of Chinese diplomat named Zhou Daguan.guest9 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:35 pmWhilst this is certainly all very interesting, my reticence is that it is all too traditional historicity; i.e. it is exclusively involved with elite society, and 95(?)% of the populace is wholly invisible. The masses were required to supply corvee labour to build the temples that are so admired today, but once completed were excluded for any ceremonies or activities in the temple complexes unless they were servants, cooks, dancers, courtesans and suchlike. Whether the temples and monarchs were Hindu or Mahayana Buddhist was of no relevance to 'the people'.
Almost certainly, the masses remained animist, living in wooden huts of which we are starting to realise covered huge areas around Siem Reap and involved perhaps a million or more people (I hesitate to use the term 'citizens' as that implies a greater legal recognition than was the case). It's interesting that whilst Mahayana Buddhism never touched them - they were excluded from such royal apparatus, it was the Theravada Buddhism that spread from Thailand that had a deep and lasting impact on the culture and society of ordinary people. Unlike temples, that would have left little trace as Theravada monks were 'of the people', living a simple lifestyle in vihars that were built of the same materials as the houses. Kings, battles, temples leave me quite cold; social history seems far more relevant to my tastes, albeit being harder to uncover - although new technology like lidar is making big inroads.
He visited Angkor at the end of 13th century, and wrote the most detailed description of Angkor and its inhabitants. Some interesting information:
- All Khmer men were expected to become a monk for a certain period.
- Every community had a pagoda.
- The women who worked in the temples, were married and lived in the villages as commoners.
- All the men were expected to fight in the war, and they did so succesfully to fight off an invasion of Siam that ravaged the whole country.
- There were monks everywhere, and they also employed the highest positions of the royal court.
- There were still many animistic practices, but Buddhism was the most revered religion of all.
Mind you, this report was written only 50 years after Jayavarman VII's death, the first king who made sure that Mahayana Buddhism was officially instated while the whole country was still under total control of the former Hinduist regimes and doctrines (Buddhism was respected by some kings, but only alongside the more revered Hinduist doctrine).
Whether the temples and monarchs were Hindu or Mahayana Buddhist was of no relevance to 'the people'.
In case of Angkor, Buddhism changed the whole economic and social cultural landscape when the Hindu temples were converted to Buddhist temples. Once the monarch and temples were Mahayana Buddhism, only 50 years later do we see a completely new and emancipated society (and the arrival of the first Theravada Buddhist monks), according to the report of Zhou Daguan.
The history of how Buddhism became the main religion is therefore of utter importance in order to understand the social history of the Khmer people.
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