Indravarman I
Encyclopedia
Indravarman I was a ruler of Khmer Empire
who reigned from Hariharalaya
between 877/78 and 889/890 AD.
temple, consecrated on Monday, the 25th January 880 AD (Foundation stele K. 713 a three pairs of temple towers for three deceased kings and their queens were built by him as a kind of "memorial temple", as can be seen by the inscriptions on the door frames of the towers: The central towers were dedicated to Jayavarman II
under his posthumous name Parameśvara and his queen Dharaṇīndradevī (K. 320a), the northern ones for Rudravarman (consecrated as Rudreśvara) and Rajendradevī (K. 318a), his mother's parents, and the southern towers for Pṛthivīndravarman (consecrated as Pṛthivīndreśvara) and Pṛthivīndradevī (K. 315 a) and K. 713 b).
inscriptions at Roluos
as proof of existence of two kings between him and Indravarman: Rudravarman and Pṛthivīndravarman.
According to the Lolei inscription K. 324 of Indravarman's successor Yaśovarman I, dated 8 July 893 AD, Rudravarman was the younger brother of the mother of 'Dharaṇīndradevī, the queen consort of Jayavarman II and mother of Jayavarman III
(whom Indravarman mentioned under his posthumous name Viṣṇuloka in his Bakong inscription K. 826 stanza XXX, dated 881/82 AD.
Although Michael Vickery, has pointed out that they are not mentioned in later times and that these "-varman" ancestors of Indravarman may easily be explained as posthumous upgrading of the king’s parents, which perhaps already occurred within their lifetimes, the following facts should be taken into account: 1) The inscriptions of the 9th century gave an account of events, i.e. genealogies and relative chronologies, referring to that century itself; 2) One should have great doubts concerning the reliability of later inscriptions that record wrong reign dates and stories about family connections never heard of before, which was pointed out especially by Vickery; 3) later inscriptions omitted very often not only these two kings, but also other important kings (Jayavarman IV mentioned only his three predecessors; Rājendravarman II, the founder of a new dynasty, has omitted in his Bàksĕi Čaṃkrŏṅ inscription K. 286, dated 23 February 948, all his predecessors with the exception of Jayavarman II and Jayavarman III); 4) In the 9th century the "-varman"-title was exclusively reserved for kings (by the way, Rudravarman was no father of a king); 5) It is surprising that later inscriptions were considered more trustworthy than contemporary ones, thus twisting things instead of following a historio-critical method.
The king's second act was - as mentioned above - to build shrines and dedicated them to his god, ancestors, and parents, etc. At his capital city Hariharālaya, Roluos at present, Indravarman I built Práḥ Kô which he dedicated to his parents, wife, and the dynasty founder Jayavarman II
.
The king's third act was to build a temple-mountain (or complete a construction begun by Jayavarman III) which he dedicated to a liṅga called after himself. Cœdès identified thirteen Angkorian kings after Indravarman built such shrines for these dual purposes (state and memorial shrine). The shrines were built with stepped pyramid surrounded by lakes. In the center of the capital of Hariharālaya, Indravarman I built Bakong surrounded by double walled moats. The Bakong was his state shrine, therefore, it also housed the official Śiva's liṅga. Although his shrines are bigger than his predecessors, they are modest compared to the later shrines. It was also the first time in Khmer architecture
where nāga
s are employed as guardians for the bridge between human world and the temple, house of gods.
Khmer Empire
The Khmer Empire was one of the most powerful empires in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdom of Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalized parts of modern-day Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia. Its greatest legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city...
who reigned from Hariharalaya
Hariharalaya
Hariharalaya was an ancient city and capital of the Khmer empire located near Siem Reap, Cambodia in an area now called Roluos. Today, all that remains of the city are the ruins of several royal temples: Preah Ko, the Bakong, Lolei.-Etymology:...
between 877/78 and 889/890 AD.
Indravarman's ancestors
According to the inscriptions of the Práḥ KôPreah Ko
Preah Ko was the first temple to be built in the ancient and now defunct city of Hariharalaya , some 15 kilometers south-east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia...
temple, consecrated on Monday, the 25th January 880 AD (Foundation stele K. 713 a three pairs of temple towers for three deceased kings and their queens were built by him as a kind of "memorial temple", as can be seen by the inscriptions on the door frames of the towers: The central towers were dedicated to Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II was a 9th century king of Cambodia, widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of the Southeast Asian mainland for more than six hundred years. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 850 AD, but some scholars now have set it back to...
under his posthumous name Parameśvara and his queen Dharaṇīndradevī (K. 320a), the northern ones for Rudravarman (consecrated as Rudreśvara) and Rajendradevī (K. 318a), his mother's parents, and the southern towers for Pṛthivīndravarman (consecrated as Pṛthivīndreśvara) and Pṛthivīndradevī (K. 315 a) and K. 713 b).
Pṛthivīndravarman and Rudravarman
Actually the classical succession of kings in 9th century was disputed by some epigraphists such as Kamaleswar Bhattacharya and Karl-Heinz Golzio. Since the poor activity and records of Jayavarman III, and the presence of the dedicated towers of Preah Ko, they had interpreted some SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
inscriptions at Roluos
Roluos (temples)
Roluos is a Cambodian modern small town and an archeological site about 13 km east of Siem Reap along NH6. Once it was the seat of Hariharalaya, first capital of Khmer Empire north of Tonlé Sap .Among "Rolous Group" of temples there are some of the earliest permanent...
as proof of existence of two kings between him and Indravarman: Rudravarman and Pṛthivīndravarman.
According to the Lolei inscription K. 324 of Indravarman's successor Yaśovarman I, dated 8 July 893 AD, Rudravarman was the younger brother of the mother of 'Dharaṇīndradevī, the queen consort of Jayavarman II and mother of Jayavarman III
Jayavarman III
Very little is known about Jayavarman II's son and successor, Jayavarman III the second ruler of Angkor. An inscription from Prasat Sak describes: "When he failed to capture a wild elephant while hunting, a divinity promised that he would secure the animal if he built a sanctuary." There are some...
(whom Indravarman mentioned under his posthumous name Viṣṇuloka in his Bakong inscription K. 826 stanza XXX, dated 881/82 AD.
Although Michael Vickery, has pointed out that they are not mentioned in later times and that these "-varman" ancestors of Indravarman may easily be explained as posthumous upgrading of the king’s parents, which perhaps already occurred within their lifetimes, the following facts should be taken into account: 1) The inscriptions of the 9th century gave an account of events, i.e. genealogies and relative chronologies, referring to that century itself; 2) One should have great doubts concerning the reliability of later inscriptions that record wrong reign dates and stories about family connections never heard of before, which was pointed out especially by Vickery; 3) later inscriptions omitted very often not only these two kings, but also other important kings (Jayavarman IV mentioned only his three predecessors; Rājendravarman II, the founder of a new dynasty, has omitted in his Bàksĕi Čaṃkrŏṅ inscription K. 286, dated 23 February 948, all his predecessors with the exception of Jayavarman II and Jayavarman III); 4) In the 9th century the "-varman"-title was exclusively reserved for kings (by the way, Rudravarman was no father of a king); 5) It is surprising that later inscriptions were considered more trustworthy than contemporary ones, thus twisting things instead of following a historio-critical method.
Indravarman's monuments and public buildings
While Jayavarman II was credited for the founding of the Khmer Empire ca. 800 AD, Indravarman I was credited for an extensive building program. He set the foundations for the future Angkorian kings to follow. The king's first act was to performed a public service for his subjects by building an irrigation network for the rice fields. The goal was usually achieved by constructing a large reservoir to retain water during the Monsoon season and then released it during the dry season through a network of canals and channels. And in Hindu mythology the reservoir also represents an ocean and the temple-mountain represents Mount Meru, the home of the gods. The king and his Brahman advisors performed many rituals throughout the year to reinforce this belief. For example, the ritual of rain-making performed before the rice planting season, etc. Immediately, after Indravarman I acceded, he declared in his Práḥ Kô inscription: "In five days from today I shall begin digging, etc." Dig he did with a reservoir of an immense size: the Indratāṭaka was the biggest reservoir ever built before his time being 3.8 km long by 800 meters wide. However, later rulers managed to out-build him and made his reservoir looked small. Now dry, it could have held about 7.5 million cubic meters of water during the Monsoon season.The king's second act was - as mentioned above - to build shrines and dedicated them to his god, ancestors, and parents, etc. At his capital city Hariharālaya, Roluos at present, Indravarman I built Práḥ Kô which he dedicated to his parents, wife, and the dynasty founder Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II
Jayavarman II was a 9th century king of Cambodia, widely recognized as the founder of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of the Southeast Asian mainland for more than six hundred years. Historians formerly dated his reign as running from 802 AD to 850 AD, but some scholars now have set it back to...
.
The king's third act was to build a temple-mountain (or complete a construction begun by Jayavarman III) which he dedicated to a liṅga called after himself. Cœdès identified thirteen Angkorian kings after Indravarman built such shrines for these dual purposes (state and memorial shrine). The shrines were built with stepped pyramid surrounded by lakes. In the center of the capital of Hariharālaya, Indravarman I built Bakong surrounded by double walled moats. The Bakong was his state shrine, therefore, it also housed the official Śiva's liṅga. Although his shrines are bigger than his predecessors, they are modest compared to the later shrines. It was also the first time in Khmer architecture
Architecture of Cambodia
The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century AD to the first half of the 15th century. If precise dates are required, the beginning may be set in 802 AD, when the founder of the Khmer Empire , Jayavarman II pronounced himself universal monarch and...
where nāga
Naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...
s are employed as guardians for the bridge between human world and the temple, house of gods.