King Suryavarman II
He was the king of the Khmer empire and reigned from 1113 AD
to 1145-1150 AD. He was the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest religious
monument in the world which he dedicated to the Hindu God, Vishnu. His
reign over the Khmer society has driven historians to rank Suryavarman to be one
of the greatest kings of the empire.
Suryavarman believed he was meant to be king, even though he was never first in line. Because of this, he ambushed the king at the time with a small army and crowned himself King. Suryavarman only lived for 45 years and is one of the very few kings of the Khmer Empire to only have one wife and one child. This was because he held extreme loyalty and love to Suryavana, Princess of Champa. When Suryavana died, Suryavarman never remarried and remained sad for the rest of his future. |
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K. 292 (AD.
1011) 933 śaka (AD. 1011), the 9th day of the crescent moon of
Bhadrapada, Sunday. Here is (our) oath: We all who belong to the division of
the tamrvāc 22 of the 1st (2nd, 3rd, 4th) category, swear, cutting our hands
e offering our lives and our devotion
gratefully and unerringly, to His Majesty Sūryavarman, who has enjoyed the
legitimate monarchy since 924 śaka (AD 1002), in the presence of the Sacred
Fire, of the Holy Jewel of the Brahmins and the ācāryas. We will not revere any
other sovereign; we will not be hostile to him, we will not comply with his enemies;
we will not commit any act which might do him harm. All these acts which are
the fruit of our grateful devotion towards His Majesty Sūryavarman, we will
endeavour to accomplish. In case of war we will strive to fight with all our hearts,
not to bind ourselves to life; by devotion (to the king) we will not run away
from combat. If, in times of no war, we die of disease, may we obtain the
reward of people devoted to their master. If we remain in the service of the
king, when the time to die (in service) arrives, we will do it in devotion...
‘A Record Of Cambodia and its People’ by Zhou Daguan translated by Peter Harris. |
This extract
is from a translated book of Zhou Daguan’s diary, who was a 13th
century Chinese diplomat that was in the Khmer Empire. He wrote a diary that
included this extract for him to record the interesting and different things he
saw on his stay at the Khmer Empire. Although this is the only primary source
we have of the Khmer Empire, which happens to be of only one man’s opinion and
perspective. This extract talks about how powerful Suryavarman was as a leader
through this oath the people used to recite. It shows that the people really
complied to his rules for example, ‘we will not be hostile to him, we will not
comply with his enemies; we will not commit any act which might do him harm…’
K. 357 (AD.
1113)
1035 saka (AD 1113), Mis Majesty Suryavarman... grandnephew on the maternal side of Their Majesties Jayavarman & Dharanindravarman, ascended to the throne and invited the vrah guru to proceed with the royal appointment. The king then performed the sacrifices, starting with the sacred mysteries, had the solemn rites accomplished... and gave rich presents such as palanquins, fans, fly-whisks, crowns, buckles, pendants, bracelets and rings... Still young, at the end of his religious studies, he commanded armies as vast as the ocean in a terrible battle. Bounding on the head of the elephant of the enemy king he killed him, as Garuda on the edge of a mountain would kill a serpent.
A Record Of Cambodia and its people’ by Zhou Daguan translated by Peter Harris.
1035 saka (AD 1113), Mis Majesty Suryavarman... grandnephew on the maternal side of Their Majesties Jayavarman & Dharanindravarman, ascended to the throne and invited the vrah guru to proceed with the royal appointment. The king then performed the sacrifices, starting with the sacred mysteries, had the solemn rites accomplished... and gave rich presents such as palanquins, fans, fly-whisks, crowns, buckles, pendants, bracelets and rings... Still young, at the end of his religious studies, he commanded armies as vast as the ocean in a terrible battle. Bounding on the head of the elephant of the enemy king he killed him, as Garuda on the edge of a mountain would kill a serpent.
A Record Of Cambodia and its people’ by Zhou Daguan translated by Peter Harris.
This second extract talks of Survayarman, although young, had
a lot of power and ability to perform as a great king. It also says when Survayarman
was still studying, he still sent out armies to battle. The extract
written by Zhou, convinces us that he had a great ability and talent of being a
good leader of the Khmer Empire, even at a young age. '…Still young, at the end
of his religious studies, he commanded armies as vast as the ocean in a
terrible battle.'