The

HAN-CHEY

Inscription

of Bhavavarman
Megumu
The earliest

completed

name of an old sanctuary

river north-east

inscription
just above

Honda
in Cambodia
Kompong

found at Han Chey,

Cham on the

from Phnom Penh, was published

thrice

Mekong

and translated

into French by Barth. This inscriptionis dividedby the first translator

into two parts, A and B. A seems to be completed
halts abruptly
A.

in 35 verses while

1) Invocation

stanza(s)

2) Eulogy of king Bhavavarman

2-16

3) Eulogy of king's son and successor

4) A personage
5) Erection
(3)

B.

at 12th.

who served both father

17-21
and son

22-31

of linga called Bhadresvara

32-35

1) Invocation

2) Eulogy of king Bhavavarman

2-11

3) A personage

who served Bhavavarman

jitam indu-vatamsena

murddhna

gaingam vabhara

12
yali,

uma-bhrubhaziga-jihormmi-mala-malum
ivamalam.
(A1)
(1)
Coedes, the biggest scholar in researching Cambodian inscriptions, thinks
this belongs to Bhavavarman
II, who without
exaggeration
is a gift of
Coedes to Cambodian history, but, as the others think, from the available
deta this certainly seems to belong to the reign of Bhavavarman
I (ca.
550-ca. 611).
(2)
A. Barth; Journal Asiatique 1882, Part II, pp, 195ff. & 1883, Part I, pp.
160ff. ditto; Inscriptions
Sanscrit du Cambodge et Champa, no. 1, pp. 8ff.
R. C. Majumdar; Inscriptions
of Kambuja, The Asiatic Society Monograph
Series, vol. viii, Calcutta, 1953
(3)
Considerable parts of section B have relation to section A, viz. B3 to
A3, B4 to A5, B5 to A5 & A6, B6 to A8, Bll to A16, B12 to A22.
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The HAN-CHEY

Inscription

of Bhavavarman

(M. Honda)

(35)

The onewho,with the moonas a crest on his head,has conquered

(his enemies)and possessed(his wife) Ganges(whois), as it were,a
white

vine

like

(s)

of Uma, (should

galand

in a oblique

apradhrsya-maha-satvah
the earth, invincible
kenapi

tungo

great

prasutasya

merur ivaparal.

he, being

(A2)
the lord of protectors

being, lofty like second Mt.

(13)
payo-nidhau,

of

(12)Meru.

somasyeva

yasya tejas to jajvaliti

Though

eye-brow

patir asin mahi-bhrtam,

(11)

was a king named Sri Bhavavarman,

somanvaye

as) frowing

be paid homage!).

(10)

raja Sri-bhavavarmmeti
There

line (as crooked

born

sad-ahave.

in the

lunar

(A3)

(14)
race, is like

a moon in the ocean,

(13)

yet his heat

somehow

antas-samuttha
(17)

flames

durgrahya

violently
in righteous
battle.
(16)
murtty-abhavad
atindriyah,

yada sad arayo yena jita vahyesu ka katha.

When

(18)
six enemies

appeared

in interior,

(A4)
difficult

to seize,

without

(4)
-bhangi- (Majumdar)
(5)
Peut-titre un m a-t-il disparu a la fin du pada (Barth)
(6)
-malum iva- requires emendation for the word malu has no apt
cance here (Majumdar).

signifi-

(7)
Typical description
of Siva, cf. B 1 & Prasat Tor 2c.
(8)
Ganges river is said to pour down from the head of Siva, about the
descent of Ganges see Ramayana vol. I, 38-44; Mbh. III, 108-9; Bhagavata
Purana, IX, 9; Visnu Purana, II, 2, 8.
(9)
It can be translated as "(being
Uma." Cf. Prasat Tor st. 4

afraid

of) a frown of (her rival suitor)

(10) Read sri-(Barth & Majumdar)

(11) Sandhi requires -satvas (Barth), better sattvah (Majumdar).
(12) Or "invincible,
noble, lofty like unrivalled Mt. Meru."
(13) Famous ocean stirring story from India is already here?
(14) Two great races or royal dynasties of the epic legends of India were
1) Somavamsa or the Lunar race and 2) Suryavarnsa or the Solar race. In
Cambodian history the former was considered to be earlier, cf. Briggs; The
Ancient Khmer Empire, pp. 26-27 & 39.
(15)
(16)
(17)

Or "his valour somehow brightens

Read murtty- (Majumdar).
-da sad a-, a peine lisible (Barth),
-440-

again and again."

sad should be sad (Majumdar).

(36)

The HAN-CHEY Inscription of Bhavavarman (M. Honda)

form and beyond

the

senses

are

there be) in the case of exterior

conquered

by him, what

talk (can

(enemies)?
(19)

nitya-dana-payas-sikta-karan
atmanukarad

eva mataf gajagan,

iva yah samaraya

He has collected,

samagrahit.

(A5)

in order to (use at the) battle, the elephants

with

(20)

their trunks
imitation

constantly

wet by rut-fluid

as if because

(they

are)

the

of himself.

sarat-kalabhiyatasya

paranavrta-tejasah,
(21)

dvisam asahyo asyaiva

The brilliance
mies)

at automn

was unbearable
as unbearable

pratapo

na raver api. (A 6)

of him, who went out (for the battle

by his enemies, not even (the brilliance)

as his brilliance

The dust raised

women,

his ene-

by his army, (fallen)

though

they (=enemy's

toilet, has got an appearance

of the sun (is

is).

yasya sainya-rajo dhutam ujjhitalankrtisv

api,
ripu-stri-ganda-desesu
curnna-bhavam
upagatam.
enemy's

against

time and whose vital power was not covered by others,

on the
women)

(A 7)
region

of cheeks

have abandoned

of

their

of cosmetics. I

ripor iva manas suskam nagarl-parikha-jalam,

(22)

(23)

yasys yodhaih karapitam asannai raving saha. (A 8)

As the water in the f osse of (enemy's) town was dried up so enemy's
mind has gone at his hand by his approached

soldiers, at the same time

(18) kamah krodhas tatha lobho harso mano madas tatha,

sad-vargam utsrjed etam asmims tyakte mukhi nrpah.
Liebe, Zorn, Habgier, ubermassige Freude, Stolz and Dunkel; dieser
Gruppe von Sechsen entsage ein Furst; hat er these aufgeben, so ist er
gluklich. (O. Bohtlingk, Indische SprUche, st. 1638, p. 315). Cf. Mbh. I. 1948.
See also Pre Rup st. 37, Sdok Kak Thom st. 19, 25, Ta Prohm st. 2.
(19) Read matangajan.
(20) An elephant with rut-fluid is the most horrible, cf. Pre Rup st. 28. This
compound can be translated as "with their hands wet by the water (or
milk) poured out at their constant donation."
(21) yasyaiva should be yasyeva (Majumdar).
(22) Read karapitam (Majumdar).
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The HAN-CHEY

Inscription

of Bhavavarman

(M. Honda)

(37)

(24)

(also)

by (the rays of light of) the approached

sun.

(25)

paritayam

api puri jvalata

punarukta

ivaropah

yasya tejasa,

prakare

jatavedasah.

When a town was (already)

(superfluous)

like a (vain)

surrounded

tautology

(A 9)
by his glowing

ardour,

it is

to set fire on rampart.

(26)

jitva parvvata-bhupalan
vandibhis sagunanigair
Having
spreads
armies

conquered

tanoti sakula bhuvah,

(27)
yyasobhir iva yo disah. (A 10)
(28)
the kings of the mountain, he, by means of bards,

over all regions of the world with his glory accompanied by the
(29)
of his merit, as it were.

yeneyad

aida-vamsyanam

yad esam avadhir

bhumer

maryyada-langhanam
atikrantah

krtam,

parakramaih.

(A 11)

(30)
much the stepping
over the boundary
of the lineal desendants,
(31)
of Aida-family
has been made by him. Because
the confine
of their
This

territory

has

been

gone

beyond

(23) Read ravina (Majumdar)

(24) kara has double meaning;
here.
(25) Wrong in metre
that instead of aPi.

by his advance.

1) hand and 2) ray of light,

and we would

rather

expect

asanna

is

eva or something

lea
like

(26) Read sakala.

(27) Read -nikair.
(28) Cf. B 5 & Ta Prohm st. 21.
(29) Might it be translated as "he spreads, with his glory as it were, over
all regions of the world by means of bards whose faces are provided with
merit"?
(30) maryyada-langhanam
can also mean "the transgression
of the limits of
morality", which does not seem to be suitable here.
(31) aida=aila,
Pururavas, a descendant of Ila or Ida.

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