TA PROHM

Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. )

DRAFT prepared in the context of the ERC DHARMA project
during reading sessions in 
The edition is based on that of Cœdès in BEFEO  of , pp. –.

I. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ sambhāravistaravibhāvitadharmmakāya-
sambhoganirmitivapur bhagavān vibhaktaḥ
(A) yo gocaro jinajinātmajadehabhājāṃ
vuddhāya bhūtaśaraṇāya namo stu tasmai

स ार व तर व ा वत मकायस ोग न म तवप गवान् व ः

यो गोचरो िजनिजना मज ह ाज व ाय त र ाय नमो त त

. Veneration (namaḥ) be (astu) to the Buddha, who is the resort of [all] creatures (bhū-
taśaraṇāya), who is the Lord (bhagavān) who is perceptible (gocaraḥ) [respectively] to Buddhas,
sons of Buddhas [, namely the Bodhisattvas] and [ordinary] embodied souls (jinajinātmajade-
habhājām), in as much as he is divided (vibhaktaḥ), having realised (°vibhāvita°) , through the
greatness of his [two] provisions [of Knowledge and Merit] (sambhāravistara°), the “body” of
Dharma (°dharmmakāya°), as a result of which he possesses bodies of Sambhoga and Nirmāṇa
(°sambhoganirmitivapuḥ).
II. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ vande niruttaram anuttaravodhimārggaṃ
bhūtārthadarśananirāvaraṇaikadṛṣṭim
(A) dharmman trilokaviditāmaravandyavandyam
antarvasatṣaddariṣaṇddavikhaṇddakhaddgam

Cœdès sees only two groups here. Cf. K.  st.  (where Cœdès [] has not changed his interpretation
on this point). But in fact only Buddhas have all three types of “embodiment”. Buddhas alone truly possess
and can perceive the dharmakāya; Bodhisattvas are capable of seeing the sambhogakāyas of Buddhas in their pure
worlds, and ordinary souls, if they are lucky, may see a nirmāṇakāya, such as Śakyamuni. Some improvements
on Cœdès’s translation may be found in Maxwell .

The sambhāra, as pointed out by Cœdès, refers to the pair of jñānasambhāra and puṇyasambhāra, which are
necessary for becoming a Buddha already in early Mahāyāna literature. All the Buddhas have a single dharmakāya,
which may be the unity of the purity of the minds of all the Buddhas. Out of this dharmakāya arise the qualities
that make the various sambhogakāyas, which in turn may produce the embodiments known as nirmāṇakāyas.


व न रमन रवोि मा ग ताथद न नरावर कदि म्

मि ोक व दतामरव व म तवस षड रष ड व ड डम् २

I revere (vande) the Dharma, than which nothing is higher (niruttaram), which is the path
towards unsurpassed awakening (anuttarabodhimārgam), which is the only means of vi-
sion that is without obstruction for seeing things as they really are (bhūtārthadarśananirā-
varaṇaikadṛṣṭim), a [veritable] sword for cutting through the group of six internal enemies
(antarvasatṣaḍariṣaṇḍavikhaṇḍakhaḍgam), famous throughout the triple universe and vener-
ated by the gods (/ venerated by those who are venerated by the gods [namely Bodhisattvas]
and by [all creatures] known [to live] in the triple universe) (trilokaviditāmaravandyavandyam).

III. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ samyagvimuktiparipanthitayā vimukta-
saṅgo pi santatagṛhītaparārthasaṅgaḥ
(A) saṅgīyamānajinaśāsanaśāsitānyān
saṅgho bhisaṃhitahitaprabhavo vatād vaḥ

d. vatād vaḥ : om. BEFEO  (cf. K. ).

स यि वमि प रपि थतया वम स ो प स ततगहीतपराथस ः

स ीयमानिजन ासन ा सता या स ो ि स हत हत वो वता ः ३

May the Saṅgha, which is the source of all benefits that may be desired (abhisaṃhitahitapra-
bhavaḥ), help (avatāt) you (vaḥ), by whom others are instructed with the teachings of the
Buddhas when these are declaimed (saṅgīyamānajinaśāsanaśāsitānyān) — [the Sańgha] which,
although (api) it has let go of attachments (vimuktasaṅgaḥ), since they are inimical to total
liberation (samyagvimuktiparipanthitayā), continuously retains a hold upon the attachment to
the welfare of others (santatagṛhītaparārthasaṅgaḥ).

The first three stanzas are devoted to the three jewels, which are also the three refuges (śaraṇa), and so this
second stanza venerates the Dharma.

Dharma may also be the path to lower awakening, e.g. that of the pratyekabuddha.

The six passions (kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and mātsarya) are common in Arthaśāstra and in kāvya,
but they are not a common set in Buddhist literature.

Here this must refer not to the Saṅgha of monks (who are instead referred to by vaḥ and further qualified as
saṅgīyamānajinaśāsanaśāsitānyān), but rather to the Saṅgha of Bodhisattvas, who must incidentally belong to the
th Bodhisattvabhūmi or higher, since only from that level onwards is recidivism impossible (they are avaivartika
Bodhisattvas).
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

IV. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ trailokyakāṅkṣitaphalaprasavaikayonir
agrāṅgulivitapabhūṣitavāhuśākhaḥ
(A) hemopavītalatikāparivītakāyo
lokeśvaro jayati jaṅgamapārijātaḥ

b. °aṅguli° BEFEO  : corriger en °aṅgulī°. b. °vitapa : lire °viṭapa°.

ो यकाि तफ सवकयो नर ा ि वतप षतवा ा ः

मोपवीत तकाप रवीतकायो ो रो जय त ज मपा रजातः

Lokeśvara is victorious above all (jayati), a moving wish-fulfilling tree (jaṅgamapārijātaḥ),

whose body is encircled by the creeper that is his golden sacred thread (hemopavītalatikāparivī-
takāyaḥ), whose branches are his arms, which are ornamented by the sprouts that are are his
fingers (agrāṅgulivitapabhūṣitavāhuśākhaḥ), who is the one source that produces [all] the fruits
that are desired throughout the triple universe (trailokyakāṅkṣitaphalaprasavaikayoniḥ).

V. [upajāti]
(A) @ munīndradharmmāgrasarīṃ guṇāḍhyān
dhīmadbhir adhyātmadṛśā nirīkṣyām
(A) nirastaniśśeṣavikalpajālāṃ
bhaktyā jinānāṃ jananīṃ namadhvam

मनी म सर ग ाढ ा ीमि र या मद ा नरी याम्

नर त न ष वक पजा ्या िजनान जनन नम वम्

Bow down (namadhvam) with devotion (bhaktyā) before the mother (jananīm) of the Bud-
ddhas (jinānām), who is the foremost among the teachings of the Buddhas (munīndradhar-
mmāgrasarīm), who is rich in virtues (guṇāḍhyām), who casts aside the entire multitude of

This attribute arguably suggests a multi-armed form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. From Cambo-
dia, no thousand-armed form is known from sculptures in the round, but there are bas-relief representations
in Banteay Chmar (where we find another inscription that begins with the same opening verses, K. )
with large numbers of arms: see www.angkorphotographytours.com/blog/banteay-chhmar-temple/
#Western_Gallery_Avalokisteshvaras_wall.


determinate cognitions (nirastaniśśeṣavikalpajālām), who is to be perceived (nirīkṣyam) by the

wise (dhīmadbhiḥ) by means of internal introspection (adhyātmadṛśā).

VI. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ āsīd akhaṇddamanudaṇddadharāvanīndra-
vandyo varaś śrutavatāṃ śrutavarmmasūnuḥ
(A) śrīśreṣṭhavarmanṛpatiś śucibhir yaśobhiś
śreṣṭho vadātavasudhādharavaṃśayoniḥ

सीद डमनद ड रावनी व ो वर तवत तव मसनः

ी वमनप त िचि य ोि ो वदातवस ा रव यो नः ६

There was once (āsīt) a glorious king called Śreṣṭhavarman (śrīśreṣṭhavarmanṛpatiḥ), venerated
by the kings who wield the unbreakable sceptre of Manu (akhaṇḍamanudaṇḍadharāvanīndra-
vandyaḥ), most excellent (varaḥ) among the learned (śrutavatām), son of Śrutavarman, most

Cœdès splits differently, since he thinks that we should understand anirīkṣyāṃ, on the grounds that Pra-
jñāpāramitā is not to be searched for within the soul of the worshipper. But this split seems to us less likely.
It further seems unnecessary to us to assume that the expression adhyātma implies belief in the existence of the
soul, a consideration which might have led Cœdès to his interpretation. As Harunaga Isaacson has pointed
out, the attributes nirīkṣyām and guṇāḍhyām echo the first and third verses of the Nirvikalpastuti, in praise of
Prajñāpāramitā, attributed to Rāhulabhadra:
nirvikalpe namas tubhyaṃ prajñāpāramite ’mite
yā tvaṃ sarvānavadyāṅgi niravadyair nirīkṣyase 
ākāśam iva nirlepāṃ niṣprapañcāṃ nirakṣarām
yas tvāṃ paśyati bhāvena sa paśyati tathāgatam 
tava cārye guṇāḍhyāyā buddhasya ca jagadguroḥ
na paśyanty antaraṃ santaś candracandrikayor iva 

TRANSLATION !!

Prajñāpāramitā, personified as a goddess, is the perfection of the wisdom of the Buddhas. She is thus foremost
among the things taught (dharma) by the Buddhas. But she is also stands here for a body of sūtra-literature, the
Prajñāpāramitāsūtras. As such, she is foremost among the scriptural teachings (dharma) of the Buddhas, namely
the Mahāyānasūtras. It is also possible, as Harunaga Isaacson suggested, that the attribute nirastaniśśeṣavikalpa-
jālām, is a conscious echo of the opening verse of Dharmakīrti’s svavṛtti on the Pramāṇavārttika:
vidhūtakalpanājālagambhīrodāramūrtaye
namaḥ samantabhadrāya samantaspharaṇatviṣe

TRANSLATION !!


For the expression manudaṇḍadhara, cf. Raghuvaṃśa :.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

excellent (śreṣṭhaḥ) for his bright (śucibhiḥ) fame (yaśobhiḥ), the source of the pure lineage of
kings of the earth (avadātavasudhādharavaṃśayoniḥ).

VII. [indravajrā]
(A) @ śrīkamvuvaṃśāmvarabhāskaro yo jāto jayādityapurodayādrau
(A) prāvodhayat prāṇahṛdamvujāni tejonidhiś śreṣṭhapurādhirājaḥ

c. prāṇa° : corr. prāṇi° ?

ीक वव ा वर ा करो यो जातो जया द यपरोदया ौ

ावो य ा द वजा न जो नि पराि राजः ७

Śreṣṭhavarman (yaḥ), the overlord of the city of Śreṣṭha (śreṣṭhapurādhirājaḥ), a storehouse

of fiery energy (tejonidhiḥ), a sun in the sky that was the lineage of Śrī Kambu (śrīkamvu-
vaṃśāmvarabhāskaraḥ), when he was born (jātaḥ) on the sunrise-mountain of Jayādityapura
(jayādityapurodayādrau), awakened (prābodhayat) the lotuses that were the hearts of living
beings (prāṇihṛdamvujāni).

VIII. [upajāti]
(A) @ jātā tadīye navagītakīrtticandrollasanmātṛkulāmvurāśau
(A) rarāja lakṣmīr iva yā satīnām agresarī kamvujarājalakṣmīḥ

जाता तदी नवगीतकी च ो स मातक ा वरा ौ

रराज मी रव या सतीनाम सरी क वजराज मीः

Born (jātā) in the ocean that was his mother’s family, which gleamed bright with the moon of
his fame, ever freshly sung (navagītakīrtticandrollasanmātṛkulāmvurāśau), a certain (yā) Kam-
bujarājalakṣmī shone (rarāja) like (iva) Lakṣmī, the foremost (agresarī) among chaste women
(satīnām).

Where is this city? Note that it is mentioned also in K. , st. .

Kambujarājalakṣmī seems earlier to have been supposed to be the wife of Bhavavarman I, mentioned in the
next stanza, but Claude Jacques has written an article in the Encyclopédia Universalis in which he suggests that
she was instead the maternal grandmother of Jayavarman VII: “On sait maintenant que cette princesse a vécu
en réalité au XIIe , et non pas au VIe siècle. Épouse d’un roi Harshavarman, elle était la grand-mère mater-
nelle du roi Jayavarman VII.” NOTE: access to article to be found www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/
kambujarajalaksmi-princesse-cambodgienne.


IX. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ bharttā bhuvo bhavapure bhavavarmmadevo
vibhrājamānarucirañjitamaṇddalo yaḥ
(A) pūrṇaḥ kalābhir avanīndrakulaprasūteḥ
karttāmṛtāṃśur iva tāpaharaḥ prajānām

d. tāpaharaḥ : tāpoharaḥ BEFEO , corr. dans BEFEO  p. ** n. .

वो वप वव म वो व ाजमान िचरि तम ड ो यः
प ः क ाि रवनी क स ः क मत रव तापहरः जानाम्

Lord (bhartā) of the earth (bhuvaḥ), Bhavavarmadeva, [situated] in Bhavapura, who like (iva)
the moon (amṛtāṃśuḥ) was the progenitor (kartā) of a line of lords of the earth [of the Khmers]
(avanīndrakulaprasūteḥ), who removes the sufferings (tāpaharaḥ) of his subjects (prajānām),
whose realm delights in his resplendent beauty (/whose orb rejoices in resplendent beauty)
(vibhrājamānarucirañjitamaṇḍalaḥ), who is full (pūrṇaḥ) of [all the] arts/digits (kalābhiḥ).

X. [vasantatilaka]
(A) @ sarvvānavadyavinayadyutivikramo yas
tadvaṃśajo janitaviśvajanīnavṛttiḥ
(A) śrīharṣavarmmanṛpatir hatavairiharṣo
janyeṣu diṅmukhavikīrṇayaśovitānaḥ

स व नव वनय त व मो य त जो ज नत व जनीनवि ः
ीहषव मनप तहतव रहष ज ष द वकी य ो वतानः ०

Born in his lineage (tadvaṃśajaḥ) was the king Śrī Harṣavarman, whose good manners, beauty
and valour were held beyond criticism by all (sarvvānavadyavinayadyutivikramaḥ), who gave
rise to acts that benefit the whole world (janitaviśvajanīnavṛttiḥ), who destroyed the joy of
his enemies (hatavairiharṣaḥ) in battles (janyeṣu), who spread the canopy of his fame across the
very edges of the directions (diṅmukhavikīrṇayaśovitānaḥ).

All the attributes can qualify both the moon and Bhavavarman, who is presumably Bhavavarman I.

Perhaps this formulation is intended to suggest that he gave rise to conduct in his subjects that benefitted
all people. Harunaga Isaacson observes that viśvajanīnavṛtti as a compound occurs also in Bhaṭṭikāvya :.
Parallels with the Bhaṭṭikāvya in Cambodian inscriptions have perhaps not been noticed hitherto.

As Judit Törzsök has suggested, the idea could be that his fame formed a canopy that protected the faces of
the ladies who are the directions.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

XI. [upajāti]
(A) @ mahībhujā śrījayarājacūddāmaṇir mahiṣyām udapādi tena
(A) tasyāṃ yaśaścandramarīcigaurā gaurīva gaurīguruṇāgradevyām

b. ° maṇir : maṇīr BEFEO , corr. dans BEFEO  p. ** n. .

मही जा ीजयराजचडामि म ह यामदपा द न

त य य मरीिचगौरा गौरीव गौरीग ा ाम्

By that (tena) king (mahībhujā) was engendered (udapādi) in that [Kambujarājalakṣmī] (ta-
syām), his chief queen (mahiṣyām), [a daughter called] Śrī Jayarājacūḍāmaṇi, who was bright
with the rays of the moon of his fame (yaśaścandramarīcigaurā), just as (iva) Gaurī, who was
pale as fame and as the rays of the moon ( yaśaścandramarīcigaurā), [was engendered] by the
father of Gaurī (gaurīguruṇā) in his chief wife [Menakā] (agradevyām).

XII. [upajāti]
(A) @ vāgīśvarīvātiśayair girāṃ yā dhātrīva dhṛtyā kamaleva kāntyā
(A) arundhatīvānavagītavṛttyā tyāgādinā mūrttimatīva maittrī

वागी रीवा त य गर या ा ीव या कम व का या
तीवानवगीतव या यागा दना म मतीव री २

Jayarājacūḍāmaṇi (yā) was like (iva) Vāgīśvarī in the grandiloquence (atiśayaiḥ) of her speech
(girām), like (iva) Earth (dhātrī) in her steadfastness (dhṛtyā), like (iva) Lakṣmī (kamalā) in
loveliness (kāntyā), like (iva) Arundhatī in her blameless conduct (anavagītavṛttyā), like (iva)
Maitrī (/kindness) incarnate (mūrtimatī) in her generosity and such like virtues (tyāgādinā).

As Harunaga Isaacson observes, the reference to the birth of Gaurī to Menā by Himālaya, combined with
the use of the verb-form udapādi, is probably intended to recall Kumārasambhava : to the minds of readers:
sā bhūdharāṇām adhipena tasyāṃ samādhimatyām udapādi bhavyā
samyakprayogād aparikṣatāyāṃ nītāv ivotsāhaguṇena sampat


This pronoun could either refer back to Kambujarājalakṣmī, mentioned above in stanza , as we have here
assumed, or it could refer to Menakā, if we assume that the story was felt to be so well-known that one could
refer to her without preamble as “that” excellent goddess.

Maitrī is perhaps particularly a Buddhist virtue.


XIII. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ śrīmadyaśodharapure dhigatādhirājyo
rājā jitārivisaro jayavarmmadevaḥ
(A) ā vāridheḥ pratidiśan nicakhāna kīrtti-
stambhān mahīdharapurābhijanāspado yaḥ

ीम ो रप ि गताि रा यो राजा िजता र वसरो जयव म वः

वा र ः त द ि च ान की त ा मही रपराि जना पदो यः ३

There was a king (rājā) [called] Jayavarmadeva [VI], whose family place was Mahīdharapura
(mahīdharapurābhijanāspadaḥ), who (yaḥ), having acceded to the kingdom (adhigatarājyaḥ)
in glorious Yaśodharapura, after conquering a broad array of enemies (jitārivisaraḥ), planted
(nicakhāna) columns of victory (kīrtistambhān) in every direction (pratidiśam) up to (ā) the
oceans (vāridheḥ).

XIV. [upajāti]
(A) @ tadbhāgineyo vinayorjitaś śrīmahīdharāditya iti pratītaḥ
(A) śrīsūryyavarmmāvanipālamātṛjaghanyajo yo vijitārivarggaḥ

त ा ग यो वनयो जत ीमही रा द य इ त तीतः

ीस यव म व नपा मातजघ यजो यो विजता रव गः

His sororal nephew (tadbhāgineyaḥ), full of modesty (vinayorjitaḥ), famous (pratītaḥ) by the
name (iti) Śrī Mahīdharāditya, the younger brother of the mother of king Śrī Sūryavarman
[II] (śrīsūryyavarmmāvanipālamātṛjaghanyajaḥ), who had conquered the group of his [internal
and external] enemies (vijitārivargaḥ), …

XV. [upajāti]
(A) @ ślāghyāvadātānvayadīpakena virājitā rājapatīndralakṣmīḥ
(A) vikhyātacāritravareṇa rājapatīśvaragrāmakṛtasthitir yā

By Aṣṭādhyāyī .., abhijana can by itself mean a place where one’s forebears resided, but since the word
can also mean “family”, the addition of the word āspada disambiguates.

As Harunaga Isaacson points out, it would arguably be more attractive to have vinayorjitaśrī° as a qualifier
(“characterised by glory swollen by modesty”), but doubling of this stop (ś) in ligature with a semivowel seems
not to be common in Cambodian inscriptions, and we have the same doubling when the same verse occurs in
st.  of K. . It would nonetheless be useful to draw up a list of cases, like this one, where we appear to have
doubling of a stop in ligature with a sibilant and of cases where we appear to have the reverse: deduplication of
stops in ligature with sibilants. Perhaps the phenomenon, though rare, can be found attested here and there.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

ा यावदाता वयदीप न वरािजता राजपती मीः

व यातचा र व राजपती र ामकति थ तय

… [and] Rājapatīndralakṣmī, who made her residence in Rājapatīśvara village (rājapātīśvara-

grāmakṛtasthitiḥ), shining (virājitā) because of [Mahīdharāditya], that excellent person of
famed deeds/conduct (vikhyātacāritravareṇa), who was a lamp in his praiseworthy bright lin-
eage (ślāghyāvadātānvayadīpakena), …
XVI. [upajāti]
(A) @ tayos tanūjo mahitadvijendro dvijendravego dvijarājakāntaḥ
(A) dikcakravālotkaṭakīrttigandho yo dhīśvaraś śrīdharaṇīndravarmmā

तयो तनजो म हत ो गो जराजका तः

द च वा ो कटकी ग ो यो ी र ी र ी वम ६

…of these two (tayoḥ), the son (tanūjaḥ) by whom brahmins were honoured (mahitadvijen-
draḥ), who had the speed of Garuḍa (dvijendravegaḥ), who was as beautiful as the moon (dvi-
jarājākāntaḥ), was the king (adhīśvaraḥ) Śrī Dharaṇīndravarman [II], the fragrance of whose
fame was powerful within the circle of the horizons in all directions (dikcakravālotkaṭakīrti-
gandhaḥ).
XVII. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ śākyenduśāsanasudhājanitātmatṛptir
bhikṣudvijārthijanasātkṛtabhūtisāraḥ
(A) sārañ jighṛkṣur aśubhāyatanād asārāt
kāyād ajasrajinapādakṛtānatir yaḥ

ा ासनस ाज नता मत जा थजनसा कत तसारः

सारि घ र ायतनादसारा कायादज िजनपादकतान तयः ७

This is certainly a place: see K. , st. . Cf. also st.  below. See Maxwell :– for a discussion
of where this place may be.


As S. L. P. Anjaneya Sarma points out, this adjectival phrase is used in the Śiśupālavadha ::
hastasthitākhanḍitacakraśālinaṃ dvijendrakāntāḥ śritavakṣasaṃ śriyā
satyānuraktaṃ narakasya jiṣṇavo guṇairnṛpāḥ śārṅgiṇamanvayāsiṣuḥ


Maxwell (:) speaks of incense, but perhaps what is implicit is a comparison of the world with a
lotus, with his fame as the flower’s fragrance.


Dharaṇīndravarman (yaḥ) derived pleasure for himself from the nectar that was the teachings
of the Moon that was the Śākya (śākyenduśāsanasudhājanitātmatṛptiḥ), he made the major part
of his wealth over to Buddhist monks, brahmins and suppliants (bhikṣudvijārthijanasātkṛtab-
hūtisāraḥ), [and,] being desirous of getting (jighṛkṣuḥ) value (sāram) from his essence-less
(asārāt) body (kāyāt), which is the resort of all that is inauspicious (aśubhāyatanāt), he con-
stantly bowed before the feet of the Buddha (ajasrajinapādakṛtānatiḥ).

XVIII. [śārdūlavikrīḍita]
(A) @ eṣā śrījayavarmmadevanṛpatin dedīpyamānaujasan
tasmād vīram ajījanat kṣitibhujaś śrīharṣavarmmātmajā
(A) vrahmarṣer iva devarājam aditir devī sudharmmāśritaṃ
goptuṃ gāṃ śatakoṭihetiviratārātipravīraṃ raṇe

एषा ीजयव म वनप त दी यमानौजसन्

त मा ीरमजीजनि त ज ीहषव म मजा
ष रव वराजम द त वी स म ि त
गो ग तको ट त वरतारा त वीर र

That lady (eṣā) [Jayarājacūḍāmaṇi], the daughter of Śrī Harṣavarman (śrīharṣavarmātmajā), by

that [king Dharaṇīndravarman] (tasmāt) gave birth (ajījanat) to the king Śrī Jayavarman [VII]
(śrījayavarmmadevanṛpatim), of glorious bright vigour (dedīpyamānaujasam), a hero (vīram) to
protect (goptum) the earth (gām),

Or “to suppliants who were monks and brahmins”.

This could refer simply to rakta, māṃsā and so forth, or it could refer to pāpa, for the body is the seat of
evil deeds. Nonetheless, having a human body gives a soul unique advantages and therefore Dharaṇīndravarman
wished to gain what benefit he could from having such a body, inauspicious though it might be, by using it to
venerate the Buddha. This is the interpretation of Harunaga Isaacson, which seems more plausible than those
of Maxwell (:: “…he would have liked to have taken the marrow out of his own body…”), which
derives from that of Cœdès (:: “…désirant extraire la moëlle de ce corps sans moëlle…”), and Nietupski
(:: “He seeks to know (jighṛkṣur) substance from the insubstantial body…”). It is possible that Cœdès
actually intended by his translation to express the interpretation that we have retained, for here is his slightly
reworked translation of the same stanza when it occurs as st.  of K.  (:):
Trouvant sa satisfaction dans ce nectar : — la religion —, de cette lune : — le Çâkya —, mettant
le meilleur de ses richesses à la disposition des bhikṣu, des brâhmanes et de tous ses sujets qui
l’imploraient, désirant extraire la moelle du corps, séjour impur et sans moelle, il honorait sans
cesse les pieds du Jina.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

just as (iva) the goddess (devī) Aditi, by the great sage [Kaśyapa] (brahmarṣeḥ),
gave birth to Indra (devarājam), who sits in the assembly of the gods (sudharmāśri-
tam), who caused enemy heroes to give up because of his weapon called Śatakoṭi
(śatakoṭihetiviratārātipravīram) in battle (raṇe), in order to protect (goptum) the
clouds (gām),
[Jayavarman] who is devoted to excellent religious deeds ( sudharmāśritam), who brought to their
end enemy heroes by means of hundreds of sharp-pointed arrows.

XIX. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ ṣāṇmāturasya vividhan nu vapuḥ prahṛṣṭair
ekaṃ kṛtaṃ vidhir avekṣya vidhitsur arttham
(A) gāḍhopagūhanamudā haraśārṅgyanaṅgād
aiśvaryyaśauryyavapurekanidhiṃ vyadhād yam

षा मातर य व व वपः क कत वि र य वि सर थम्

गाढोपगहनमदा हर ा न ाद य ौ यवप क न ा म्

Surely (nu) after seeing (avekṣya) the variegated (vividham) body (vapuḥ) of the Six-Mothered
[Skanda] (ṣāṇmāturasya) made into one (ekaṃ kṛtam) by the delighted [gods] (prahṛṣṭaiḥ), the
creator (vidhiḥ), desirous of bringing about (vidhitsuḥ) his purpose [viz. the killing of Tārakā-
sura], made (vyadhāt) Jayavarman (yam), out of Śiva, Viṣṇu and Kāma (haraśārṅgyanaṅgāt),
by means of the [sexual] joy of tight embrace (gāḍhopagūhanamudā), as the single storehouse
of sovereignty, heroism and beauty (aiśvaryaśauryavapurekanidhim).

Cf. Raghuvaṃśa : (in the text known to Mallinātha):
śamitapakṣabalaḥ śatakoṭinā śikhariṇāṃ kuliśena purandaraḥ
sa śaravṛṣṭimucā dhanuṣā dviṣāṃ svanavatā navatāmarasānanaḥ

Indra tamed the force of the wings of the mountains with his hundred edged thunderbolt, while
Daśaratha, whose face was like a fresh red lotus, quelled the force of his enemies and their allies
just with his resounding bow that released showers of arrows.


The joy of tight embrace need not be sexual, but it seems likely to be. Perhaps the idea is that Skanda
was produced from six mothers and by a number of gods, who were delighted (by the joy of tight embraces,
at least in the case of Śiva), and similarly Jayavarman was engendered by the joy of sexual embrace, between
Jayarājacūḍāmaṇi and Dharaṇīndravarman, although one wonders whether the poetic fancy here is that it was as
though Brahmā had caused Śiva, Viṣṇu and Kāma to enjoy sexual union. One might also wonder whether it was
deliberate that Jayarājacūḍāmaṇi was compared to six goddesses and goddess-like figures in stanzas  and ,
in order to make an implicit comparison between her and Skanda’s mothers. Note that this stanza, which seems
tricky to interpret, did not find its way into later epigraphs that give a version of his praśasti.


XX. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ yaṃ prāpya kāntam anavadyaguṇaikarāśim
āśaṃsitan nu dharaṇīndrabhujaṅgajātam
(A) prācyān nikāmagaṇikā rucim apy apāsya
dhātrī ratiṃ vidadhatī suṣuve śubhāni
°guṇaikarāśim āśaṃsitan ] Jacques; °guṇaikarāgī māśaṃsitan Cœdès(BEFEO )

य ा य का तमनव ग कराि मा सत र ी ज जातम्

ा याि कामगि का िचम यपा य ा ी र त वद ती सष ा न २०

The Earth (dhātrī), a [veritable] courtesan full of desire (nikāmagaṇikā), after obtaining
(prāpya) the desirable (āśāṃsitam) Jayavarman (yam) as lover (kāntam), a [veritable] heap only
of unimpeachable virtues (anavadyaguṇaikarāśim), the son of her [former] patron Dharaṇīn-
dravarman (dharaṇīndrabhujaṅgajātam), surely (nu) even (api) cast aside (apāsya) her earlier
(prācyām) liking (rucim) [for his father and], bestowing (vidadhatī) pleasure (ratim) [on him],
gave birth to (suṣuve) propitious things (śubhāni).
XXI. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ āsphālitabhramitavairikarīndraśaila-
rājo bhujora(ga)valena raṇāmvudhau yaḥ
(A) lakṣmīsitadviradarājaturaṅgaratna-
prāpto harer jaladhimanthanam anvakārṣīt
b. bhujora(ga)° ] bhujorati° Cœdès, Jacques. One could read ta or ga. There
seems to be no trace of an i. d. jaladhi° : jaladhī° BEFEO .

फाि त िमतव रकरी राजो जोर(ग)व न र ा व ौ यः

मी सत रदराजतर र ा ो ह ज ि म थनम वकाष त् २

With the strength of the snakes that were his arms (bhujoragavalena), Jayavarman (yaḥ)
struck and caused to turn the great mountains that were the lordly elephants of his ene-

As Harunaga Isaacson, to whom we owe this interpretation of the stanza, has pointed out, a bhujaṅga is
sometimes defined as gaṇikāpati, “the patron of a courtesan”.

We could instead take the nu with the whole verse: “…surely, on obtaining him, she…”

Cœdès reads bhujor ativalena, which would be less satisfactory since there would then be no allusion to
the serpent used to churn the milk ocean, and furthermore the form bhujor would be anomalous, for we expect
bhujayor, unless we assumed the use of bhuj (as well as bhuja) for “arm”, and for that we know of no other
attestations.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

mies (āsphālitabhramitavairikarīndraśailarājaḥ) imitated (anvakārṣīt) the churning of the

ocean (jaladhimanthanam) by Viṣṇu (hareḥ), in that he obtained wealth/Lakṣmī, white
lordly elephants/Airāvata, horses/Uccaiḥśrava, jewels/Kautubha (lakṣmīsitadviradarājaturaṅ-
garatnaprāptaḥ).

XXII. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ śaṅke samastaguṇasaṃhatir aṃśumāli-
vaṃśodbhavo vanipatīndravarāṅgaratnam
(A) gacchaty ayam mama kṛte samitīty atīva-
harṣā yam ājikamalā dṛḍham ālaliṅge

a. °saṃhatir ] Jacques; °saṃmatir Cœdès

सम तग सह तर माि व ो वो व नपती वरा र म्

ग यय मम क सिमती यतीवहष यमािजकम ा दढमा ि २२

It seemed as though (iva) the Glory of War (ājikamalā) extremely joyfully (atīvaharṣā)
embraced (āliliṅge) Jayavarman (yam), with the thought (iti) I suspect (śaṅke) that this amal-
gamation of all virtues (samastaguṇasaṃmatiḥ), the head jewel of the best of kings (avanīn-
dravarāṅgaratnam), born of the lineage of the sun (aṃśumālivaṃśodbhavaḥ), goes (gacchati)
into battle (samiti) for my sake (mama kṛte)

XXIII. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ yasyāvdhipāragirikānanagītakīrttiṃ
śrutvottarottaragatir yudhi vidrutāriḥ
(A) dhāma smarann iva vidamvitavān sisṛkṣūn
dākṣīn anantagamanān avanīṃ pramātum

a. °kānana° : °kanana° BEFEO . c. vidamvitavān ] Understand: viḍambi-

tatvān.

य याि पार ग रकाननगीतकी वो रो रग तयि व ता रः

ाम मरि व वदि वतवाि सस दा ीनन तगमनानवन मातम् २३

In the case of Viṣṇu, he caused the mountain Mandara to revolve and act as a churning stick.

This assumes that she is Vijayaśrī. Alternatively, as S. L. P. Anjaneya Sarma suggests, we could understand
this to be a rūpakasamāsa identifying the battlefield with Lakṣmī.

We seem to require this to be a hetugarbhaviśeṣaṇa and a bahuvrīhi, even though it is not regular to form a
bahuvrīhi where the first element is an adverb. Perhaps the author actually intended atīva harṣād to be engraved.


Hearing of (śrutvā) Jayavarman’s (yasya) fame being sung on the shores of the ocean, on moun-
tains and in forests (abdhipāragirikānanagītakīrtim), the fleeing enemies (vidrutāriḥ) in battle
(yudhi), moving ever further and further (uttarottaragatiḥ), as though (iva), while [actually]
thinking of (smaran) his fieriness (dhāma), they were imitating (viḍambitavān) the sons of
Dakṣa (dākṣīn), who, desirous of procreating (sisṛkṣūn), went on moving endlessly (anan-
tagamanān) in order to measure (pramātum) the earth (avanīm).

XXIV. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ manye yadīyayaśasāṃ sadṛśo yadi syād
ratnākaraś ca bhuvanatrayañ ca viṣṇuḥ
(A) nāhartum ūrdhvam avanīm aśakat samudrāt
koṭikramair api na laṅghayituñ ca lokān

म यदीयय स सद ो य द या ाकर वन य व ः
नाहतम वमवनीम क सम ा को ट र प न यत ोकान् २

XXV. [upajāti]
(A) @ anekadhānekajagatsubhinno py ātmaikatā tu sphutam asya satyā
(A) sukhāni duḥkhāni yad ātmabhājām ātmany adhāt suhṛdaye yadīye

b. sphutam : sphutaṃ BEFEO . Comprendre : sphuṭam.

क ा कजग सि ो या कता त फतम य स या

स ा न ः ा न यदा म ाजामा म य ा स द यदी २

XXVI. [upajāti]
(A) @ saṃprāpya yanmakham akhaṇddam atīvatṛptir
akhaṇddalo nu janamejayaśāpatāpam
(A) utsṛjya hṛṣṭahṛdayas tridivasya bhūmes
tene vibhūtibhir abhūmibhavābhir aikyam

स ा य य म म डमतीवत र ो न जन जय ापतापम्
उस य दयि दव य व ति र िम वाि र यम् २६

We cannot interpret “as though they were thinking”, for that would involve an impossible fancy (utprekṣā),
since they might really be fleeing in fear of Jayavarman’s tejas. The likely source is Viṣṇupurāṇa: see .. and
the surrounding passage.
Ta Prohm Inscription of Jayavarman VII (K. ) 

XXVII. [upajāti]
(A) @ anaṅgakānto dbhutaśastraśikṣas saṃmohanenaiva cakāra nidrām
(A) durvāravairīndrakule raṇe yo vinidratān tatpramadāsamūhe

d. °samūhe : °samuhe BEFEO .

न का तो त ि समोह नव चकार न ाम्

व रवरी क र यो व न ता त मदासम २७

XXVIII. [vasantatilakā]
(A) @ campāgatasya yudhi yasya gṛhītamukta-
tadbūdharasya caritāmṛtam anyabhūpaiḥ
(A) śrutvā natair hṛtam ivāñjalibhir varāṅge
siktaṃ mahohutavahoditatāpaśāntyai

च पागत य यि य य गहीतम त र य च रतामतम य पः

वा नत तिमवा ि ि वरा स महो तवहो दतताप ा य २

XXIX. [upajāti]
(A) @ suvarṇadaṇddavyajanātapatramāyūraketudhvajapadmacīraiḥ
(A) rājyābhiṣeke śivikāṃ nṛpārhāṃ haimīṃ gurau prādita dakṣiṇāṃ yaḥ

सव द ड जनातप मायर त वजप चीरः

रा याि ष ि वक नपाह म गरौ ा दत दि यः २

XXX. [upajāti]
(A) @ dideśa yaś śrījayamaṅgalārthadevābhidhānaṃ priyam āspadañ ca
(A) grāmaṃ gurau rājapatīndrapūrvaṃ kule ca tasyāvanibhṛtkulākhyām

द य ीजयम ाथ वाि ान यमा पद

ाम गरौ राजपती पव क च त याव न क ा याम् ३०

XXXI. [upajāti] (A) @ bhaktyā ca yo mātari ratnamañca- śayyālasad rājagṛhaikabhāgam

(A) hiraṇyayaṣṭidhvajacāmarādi- ramyāñ ca haimīṃ śivikām ayacchat


XXXII. [indravajrā] (A) @ bhūbhāgam ekañ ca vibhūtibhārair āḍhyīkṛtaṃ prādita pūr-

vaje yaḥ (A) ratnasphurantīṃ śivikāñ ca hema- daṇddadhvajādyair abhito vikīrṇām
XXXIII. [upajāti] (A) @ tasyāgrajasyāgravadhūṣu devī- svāminyabhikhyām api yo vy-
atārīt (A) tadīyamukhyānucareṣu senā- pateś ca rājānucareṣv ivākhyām
XXXIV. [upajāti] (A) @ vibhajya bhojyādy api yaś caturdhā diśan gurau mātari pūrvaje
pi (A) bhaktyāvaśiṣṭaṃ vubhuje hiraṇya- kirīṭaratnādiṣu kaiva vāṇī a. vibhajya : « le bha
paraît gravé en surcharge sur un ta fautivement tracé auparavant » BEFEO , note.
XXXV. [upajāti] (A) @ utpāditā tena bhujā gṛhīta- dhātryāṃ purī rājavihāranāmnī (A)
ratnollasatsvarṇavibhūṣitāṅgī munīndramātur bharaṇe niyuktā b. °vihāra° : vibhāra° BEFEO
 (corrigé dans BEFEO , p. ).