Kambujadesa Which Forms the Subject-Matter of This Course of Lectures
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
PREFACE In July 1942 I was invited by the university of Madras to deliver a course of lectures under the Sir William Meyer (Endowment) Lectureship, 1942-43. These lectures are published here in the form in which I delivered them, early in March 1943, with the addition of the footnotes and a list of Inscriptions, on which the study of the subject is primarily based. The scope and object of these lectures have been sufficiently indicated at the beginning of Lecture I, and I shall consider my labours amply rewarded if they serve to awaken an interest in, and promote the study of a highly important but little-known subject. The series of works on ancient Indian colonisation in the Far East which I planned nearly twenty years ago have not yet been completed. Three volumes dealing with Champa (Annam) and Suvarniadvipa (Malayasia) are out, the and remaining two volumes dealing with Kambuja (Cambodia) , Burma and Siam still await publication. These two volumes will deal more comprehensively with the subject covered by these lectures. In view of the present situation in the country, it is diffi- cult to say when, if ever, those two volumes will see the light of the day. Till then, the present work may be regarded as completing the series of my studies on the history of ancient Indian colonies in the Far East. As inscriptions have been frequently referred to in the course of these lectures, I have added at the end a list of old Kambuja inscriptions, arranged chronologically as far as possible. The serial number is quoted in the text against each inscription to enable the reader to find out the necessary details by a reference to the list. In some cases a short summary is given of the contents of the Inscription in order to draw the attention of the reader either to its general importance or to certain special features to which it has not been possible to refer in the body of these lectures. The list is not, of course, exhaustive, the total number of Kambuja inscrip- tions, so far discovered, amounting to nearly 900. And it is need- less to add that most of the inscriptions contain a great deal more than it has been possible to indicate in the short summaries of con- tents . In conclusion I take this opportunity to thank most sincerely the Syndicate of the University of Madras for having invited me to deliver these lectures an invitation, which I consider to be a high distinction and a great privilege. I would also like to offer cordial thanks to my esteemed friend Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri M.A., who presided over these lectures, and whose company and hospitality I enjoyed in ample measure during my stay at Madras. 4 BEPIN PAL ROAD -\ KALIGHAT, CALCUTTA, C R C. MAJUMDAR. MAY 8, 1943. ) ABBREVIATIONS. 1. Aymonier=Le Cambodge by E. Aymonier, 3 Vols, Paris, 1900-1903. 2. BCALirpulletin de la Commission Archeologique de 1'Indo-chine. 3. BEFEXiczBulletin de 1'Ecole Frangaise d'Extreme-Orient. 4. ChampanAncient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol. I, Champa by Dr. R. C. Majumdar, (Lahore, 1927). 5. Chatterji=Indian Influence in Cambodia (Calcutta University, 1928). 6. Corpus=Inscriptions Sanscrites du Cambodge by M. Earth and A. Bergaigne (Paris, 1885). 7. Et, As.zzEtudes Asiatiques (Hanoi, 1925). 8. Ferrand-Textes-Relations de voyages et Textes Geographiques Arabs, Persans et Turks relatifs a 1'Extreme Orient by G. Ferrand (Paris, 1913-14). 9. Inscriptions-Inscriptions du Cambodge by G. Coedes (Hanoi, 1937). 10. MasperonL'Empire Khmer by G. Maspero (Phnom Penh, 1904). 11. SuvamadviparrAncient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol. II, Suvarnadvlpa, (Part I, Political History, Part H, Cultural History) by Dr. R. C. Majumdar (Dacca, 1937). CONTENTS LECTURE PAGE I. THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIAN COLONISATION IN CAMBODIA. 1 II. THE KINGDOM OF PU-NAN . 25 III. THE RISE OF KAMBUJADE&A . 45 IV. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE KAMBUJA KINGDOM . 67 V. THE RISE OF ANGKOR . 91 VI. THE KAMBUJA EMPIRE . 115 LIST OF INSCRIPTIONS . 143 INDEX .. 163 LECTURE I THE BEGINNINGS OF INDIAN COLONISATION IN CAMBODIA. I propose to review, in a course of six lectures, the history of the Indian colony of Kambuja-desa1 (modern Cambodia) and some aspects of the civilisation that the Hindus, using this term in its broadest sense, had introduced in this distant land. I shall try to describe how the small isolated Hindu kingdoms in different parts of Cambodia were welded into a mighty kingdom that stretched from the Bay of Bengal to the sea of China, how the essential spirit of Hindu culture was transplanted to this distant corner of Asia, how the Hindu religion inspired it to build monuments whose massive grandeur still excites the wonder of the world and far surpasses anything known so far in India, how art and institutions, created on Indian models, grew and developed a unique character, how this mighty colonial kingdom flourished for more than a thousand years fed by constant streams of civilisation flowing from the motherland, and at last met with inevitable decline when this peren- nial source itself decayed and ceased to flow. The treatment of the will subject necessarily be of a general character, as minute discussions of controversial points will be out of place in a public lecture. But I shall try to bring together the most reliable data available on the subject, and when these series of lectures will be in published the form of a book, add notes to explain the different and the view-points source and authority of my statements. Two considerations have induced me to follow this method. In the first place I wish to awaken the general interest in a subject which is at but little present known. For although the history of Greater India constitutes an important and brilliant chapter of the History of it has not India, yet appealed to the general public, and even to professed students of Indian history to any considerable extent. I wish to Secondly, emphasise the broad features of the history and civilisation of Kambuja in order that a solid foundation may be 1. The term Kambuja-desa> or simply Kambuja has been used to indi- cate the ancient Hindu colonial kingdom, in the modern French Protectorate o Cambodia, I KAMBUJA-DE6A laid for further detailed studies on the subject It may be noted that there is at present no text which gives a critical review of the history of Kambuja as a whole, in the light of modern researches 2 on the subject. It is necessary for a comprehensive study of the subject to prepare a skeleton to which flesh and bone may be added later. The absence of such a skeleton hampers the efforts to study the subject in detail by utilising the abundant data pouring in every year from the archaeological researches of the French savants. Such a study will be facilitated by the establishment of a solid framework which it will be my endeavour to reconstruct in course of these lectures. Although the history of Hindu colonisation in Cambodia is the principal subject of this course of lectures, it is necessary, in order to view it in its true perspective, to make a broad survey of the state of Indo-China at the moment when the Hindus first came into contact with it. This is particularly important, for, as we shall see later, the Kambuja empire in its greatest extent embraced nearly the whole of this region with the exception of Upper Burma and Tonkin. The Hindu culture and colonisation in this vast region must be viewed on the background of the land and the peoples in 2. The following texts deal with the general history of Kambuja. 1. M. Aymonier Le Cambodye, 3 Vols. The main work is devoted to a description of the different localities in Siam and Cambodia with notices of the monuments and inscriptions. The concluding volume, published in 1904, gives a brief outline of the political history. 2. G. MasperoL'JEmpire Khmer (1904). This is the first systematic treatment of the political history of Kambuja. But it is only a very brief sketch, the ancient period being comprised in 27 pages. 3. A. Leclere Histoire du CambodgeA comprehensive history of the country from the earliest to modern times. (1914) . 4. Etienne Aymonier Histoire de Vancien Cambodge (191ft). It is a popular treatment of the subject, and was originally published in a Paris newspaper. It gives no authority for the statements made. 5. Dr. B. R. Chatterji Indian Cultural Influence in Cambodia, (1928). The only scholarly work, in English, on the subject. It treats the political history and different aspects of culture of Kambuja. It will be seen that none of Hie texts is later than 1928, the year memorable for the new theory of P. Stern about the evolution of the art of Kambuja, which has practically revolutionised our conception of the history and progress of < Kambuja culture. A number of new inscriptions discovered since 1928 have also pro- the foundly modified our views about political history of ftffllAN COLONISATION IN CAMBODIA ft and amid which they flourished. We would, therefore, begin with a short account of these two, emphasising particularly those features which throw light on, or help the study of, subsequent history. The great Indo-Chinese Peninsula covers the whole of the main- land of Asia to the east of India and south of China. Shut off by the high chains of hills from the continent on the north, it has ?asy means of communication, by sea and land, with both India and China.