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Quote of the Day: A Queen’s Eulogy
In the city named the Temple of Patience,
in the city of Former Eloquence, and eventually
in the city of Angkor, this Brahmin girl of royal rank
became the beloved of King Jayavarman.Her lowered head on the raised feet of the king,
she approached the Ganges, whose fallen feet lay on Shiva’s head.
Among the lovelies who loved learning, she scattered the king’s favors,
lovely nectars in the form of learning.Wise by nature, a polymath, perfectly pure,
devoted to King Jayavarman,
having composed this pure paean
at the expense of all other arts, she gleamed.— Queen Indradevi (c. 1181-1218), Translated from Sanskrit by Trent Walker
Indradevi was the second wife and consort of King Jayavarman VII (c.1181–1218) of the Khmer Empire. She came from a Brahman family, but practiced Mahayana Buddhism. A noted poet, Indradevi had great command of the Sanskrit language and was well versed in Buddhist doctrine. She worked as a teacher, teaching Buddhist nuns at various convents throughout Angkor. From 1190–1200, Indradevi penned a composition eulogizing her late younger sister, Jayarajadevi.
Jayarajadevi was the first wife of Jayavarman VII. They married when he was just a prince, way down the line of succession. The couple spent almost the entirety of their marriage apart. She was in Angkor, while he was away in the neighboring Kingdom of Champa in a war campaign. Various inscriptions described Jayarajadevi as a pious wife. She spent her time doing charity work. She ran orphanages for young girls who were abandoned by their parents, provided them education and livelihoods. She organized theaters for women from all backgrounds. Upon her husband’s safe return to Angkor, she donated all her property to the poor. Jayarajadevi died shortly after her husband ascended the throne. Jayavarman later married Indradevi.
Indradevi’s eulogy to her younger sister was inscribed on a large stone stele at Phimeanakas temple in Angkor Thom. The composition was in Sanskrit, comprised of 102 stanzas, the last three are included above. French archaeologists found the damaged stele among the rubble at the ruined temple in 1916.
Khmer poems are recited or chanted in various styles, sometimes accompanied by a string instrument. Trent Walker also recorded his chanting of the above stanzas in their original Sanskrit. Here’s the link to the recording.
This is lovely, and you are one of the reasons I love Ricochet so much. Thanks!
Very nice, LC. Every time you post, we learn something valuable. Thanks.
“The City of Former Eloquence.” Sounds like there’s a saga to be told on why that sobriquet was bestowed.
The geneticist in me is thinking how genetically similar his children by these two sister would be. Also, it’s so interesting that this ancient eulogy contained the sense of her sister as having been a “polymath.” I’m wondering if there was one word in the Khmer language designating that intellectual range or rather the poem contained an entire phrase or stanza with the sense of her breadth of knowledge.
Lovely, LC…As I read it, I smelled jasmine. :-)
I wondered about that, too.
And I’m just charmed by the lines:
No children from the second marriage. They were already in their 60s when they married.
This is wonderful, LC. Thank you for sharing this with us, both the eulogy and the history.
For any who do not know, this is part of the Quote of the Day Series. If you would like to share one (or more) of your favorite quotes, you can sign up here.
So beautiful.
Thank you.
Lovely! I learned something, as I always do with you.
Starkly beautiful and the chanting was lovely as I could actually hear it! Thank you.
You go girl! So glad that you are on our side.
BTW and just out of idle curiosity, please remind me of why you are a conservative. Joking.
But seriously: Love your OPs. Keep them coming dude.
Thank you, LC! Beautiful poetry, beautifully sung.
So did Khmer speak Sanskrit at the time, or was that like Latin in the West? Were they ruled by India?
Was Jayarajadevi a second name for her or did she coincidentally marry a king with a similar name? I’m guessing the former.
Sanskrit was the language of literature since the start of the Common Era. Khmer replaced Sanskrit after the fall of the empire in the 15th century. A Khmer queen, the first monarch of the first unified Khmer kingdom, married an Indian Brahmin. And there were intermarries between the locals and Indians back then.
Those were the names they assumed when they ruled as king and queen.