The Biography of King Jayavarman VII That Every Khmer Should Know
In the minds of every Khmer person, no one can forget the name of a Khmer king who stands out admirably, namely King Jayavarman VII in the most glorious period of Khmer history, the 12th century (1162-1201 AD). His name and deeds are famous not only in Cambodia but also shocked famous historians in the world.
Brief Biography
King Jayavarman VII was the son of King Dharanindvarman II (1150-1160), his mother was Chodiamoni, the daughter of King Hasivarman III, and he was a cousin of King Suryavarman II. He married Queen Jayaraja Devi as his queen and had a son named Srindravarman. Jayavarman VII, originally named Jayathon, was born around 1125 and came to power in 1162, sometime between the 12th and early 13th centuries. During his reign, Cambodia had a vast empire stretching east to Cham, south to the sea, west to Burma, and north to China, meaning that our country was not yet divided. The greatness of the Khmer kingdom at that time was not the result of imperialism; he simply occupied and consolidated areas that were formerly Khmer territory.
He was a powerful warrior king and had a strong moral code for his people. He suppressed the rebellions in the country, uniting all Khmer people under his rule to follow his lead. After suppressing the rebellions and uniting the nation, he ordered an army to attack the Champa at Vichai in retaliation for the Cham invasion of his father's kingdom.
While he was fighting in Champa, his father died. In 1165, when King Yasovarman II was assassinated by an officer, he returned to Cambodia to rescue King Dayavarman II. But it was in vain, because King Tribhuvanadityavarman had already ascended the throne. So he had to wait for a good opportunity for about 12 years, until 1177, when the Chams invaded and burned the capital of Angkor and killed King Tribhuvanadityavarman. At that time, the throne was vacant. He saw that the opportunity had come for him to ascend the throne. But before declaring himself the king of Cambodia, he had to eliminate all the Cham invaders from the land first. Therefore, he began political activities to revive Cambodia. He called and gathered the Khmer people to attack Cham again. The Hand of King Jayavarman VII
The construction of Angkor Thom or Angkor III: King Jayavarman VII was a Khmer king who made a great contribution to the nation by liberating the land from foreign control. In addition to being a warrior king, he was also one of the Khmer kings who built the most achievements, especially Angkor Thom or Angkor III. An inscription in Sai Phong (opposite Vientiane, Laos) also shows that he was a king who spread virtue to the people very much, because of his efforts and concern for the well-being of the people, as he understood that "the people's sorrows are his pain and are greater than his own pain."
In the early 13th century, during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, the territory was more extensive than any other king. After the death of Queen Jayaraja Devi, he arranged a marriage with Queen Indra Devi, the sister of Queen Jayaraja Devi. Queen Indra Devi, a learned queen, was appointed a teacher in a Buddhist temple.
The first urgent task at the beginning of his reign in 1181 CE was to build the capital of Angkor Thom to replace Yasothapura, which had been burned down by the Cham. To protect the city, he built a 12-kilometer-long stone wall around the city. In the center of the capital, he built the Bayon temple to honor Buddhism.
Bayon is a mountain temple built during his reign. In the central courtyard, there is a statue of the Buddha, almost 9 meters high. This shows that he had the talent to adapt the old (mountain temple) to the new (Buddha kingdom) to inspire the Brahmins and his subjects.
Jayavarman VII was a king who had a strong faith in Buddhism (Lok Svaraka), continuing from his father. It is not known when he died, but he was lost to history between 1202 and 1208. In addition to being a great warrior, he was also the king who built the most temples and the king who spread virtue to the people, building many hospitals throughout the kingdom.
In the field of architecture, in addition to building the capital (Angkor Thom) or the third Angkor, he built the temple of Preah Khan in 1191 as a memorial to his father, the temple of Ta Prohm in 1186 to house the image of the mother and the image of the Guru at Banteay Chhmar to dedicate to his son, the son of the king, the son of the traitor Raho.
In the Angkor region, he built the temples of Banteay Kdei, Neak Poen, Ta Som, Kraol Ko, Bei, Nokor, Ta Prohm, Chom Preah (in Surin, Siam), and Sing (in Kanchanaburi, Siam).M) Kamphaeng Toch Temple (Srey Slaket, Siem Reap Province), Neang Ram Temple (Nakhon Ratchasima), which is a hospital. For the sake of national reconciliation and national unification, he even renovated old temples that were dilapidated or built new temples in the Bayon style on the foundations of old temples, such as at Prasat Ko in Kampong Thom Province, which is why we see at the door of Prasat Ko, which was built by his hand, the presence of the 7th century Phetra style, which is the Prey Kuk style. Each temple has many valuable items such as at Ta Prohm Temple, there is a gold plate weighing more than five hundred kilograms, 35 silver plates, 40620 pearls, 4540 diamonds, 876 Chinese gold plates, 523 necklaces and 512 silk beds. To protect and maintain all these temples, he established many dependent villages and assigned administrative tasks and many other permanent staff such as inspectors, attendants and dancers. In addition to building temples, he paid attention to the people by building 121 guesthouses for travelers, pagodas for students, and monks to study various subjects.
In addition, he organized a health ministry by establishing 102 hospitals throughout the kingdom with staff and doctors, providing food and medicine of all kinds. People of all classes could receive treatment in the hospitals. Each year, his health ministry spent 11,192 tons of rice, 2,124 kilograms of sesame, 105 kilograms of caraway seeds, 3,402 kilograms of fenugreek, 4,000 tablets of fever medicine, and 1,960 boxes of rhizome medicine.
In addition, the royal treasury released raw materials for mixing medicines such as honey, soap, milk, oil, wax, etc. three times a year. After the death of King Jayavarman VII, the construction of temples was stopped, but the Khmer influence remained prosperous until the end of the 13th century, before the collapse of the Khmer Empire due to the fires of the Vatavata War.