Ampil Rolom Temple

Located on the grounds of a contemporary monastery and pagoda, with a new monumental gate are the remains of an ancient brick temple featuring “flying palace” reliefs as are commonly seen across temples of the 8th-9th century. Also recorded as Prasat Bei, it was originally a group of three brick temples of which only the central tower remains partially standing. Two inscriptions were recorded from here from the central tower doorframe and a doorframe of the north tower according to reports.

Inscriptions

• K. 162 – Sanskrit and Khmer – IC VI, p. 101
• K. 163 – Khmer – IC VI, p. 100

Pedestals of the north tower

(K. 163)

The inscription on the north tower is from the pre-Angkorian era. It has on one of its jambs 9 Khmer lines of neat writing giving the list of slaves (va and ku) offered by Poň Prajñācandra to the Buddhist triad: Buddha, Maitreya, Avalokiteçvara.

The other jamb had received two Khmer inscriptions of 4 and 13 lines which have been damaged, but remain partly legible. The first makes known the pooling of the means of subsistence of a divinity whose name is mutilated and that of Çivapaṭṭana. The second lists the slaves offered to the Buddhist triad by the Poň Vidya –.

This text is one of the oldest epigraphic testimonies of the existence in Cambodia of Mahāyāna Buddhism and of the cult of the bodhisattva Avalokiteçvara. Unfortunately it is not dated.

Pedestals of the central tower

(K. 162)

The inscription of the central tower is later than the previous one and dates at the earliest from Jayavarman IV. It seems that, contrary to custom, that of the north side wall which has 22 Sanskrit lines (11 çloka) must be read before that of the south side wall which includes 28 Sanskrit lines (including 9 çloka and 5 lines of prose) and 2 lines in khmer. On the two jambs, the writing is the same, the text is also faulty and uses the letter b for the letter v several times for no apparent reason. It is therefore two inscriptions engraved at the same time.

However, the text of the north side wall, the last çloka of which have not appearance of final stanzas, gives a date whose hundreds figure seems to be seven, and mentions kings of Bhavapura, otherwise unknown, who seem to have lived at the end of the seventh century, and of whom the first, Devaditya, was a brother of Hiranyadama, the famous Brahman whom Jayavarman II called to institute on Mount Mahendra the cult of Devaraja.

The text of the southern jamb, on the contrary, which ends with two lines in Khmer relating to the exemptions from which the foundation benefited, mentions the kings Yaçovarman, Harşavarman I and Jayavarman IV. It therefore has every chance of constituting the second part of the registration. However, this text of the south jamb perhaps beginning with a series of invocations, and that of the north jamb presenting above the first çloka a line which could also be an invocation, a certain doubt persists on the order in which must be read the two inscriptions: they are perhaps independent of each other.

Of the first eight çloka of the north abutment, the first five allow only a few characters to be recognized. From the sixth to the eighth, the decipherable words make it possible to say that they were part of the eulogy of a king. The last three çloka give a date which seems to be 71x caka, and the names of three kings Devaditya, Indrāditya, Dharmaditya, the last of which at least is related to this city of Bhavapura (Cribhavapure smin). Should this demonstrative be understood as indicating that the capital of Bhavavarman, the site of which has long been sought, was in the immediate vicinity of the ruins of Prását Ampil Rolu’m? As for the royal names, they recall those of the Bäläditya and Nṛpaditya kings which I thought I could link to the dynasty of Aninditapura. However, it just so happens that the name of this city appears on the southern side wall, on line 12. We can only deplore the poor condition of a text which was perhaps likely to complete our knowledge of the history of the seventh century. The beginning of the inscription on the south abutment is almost illegible until line 9, but what remains of it clearly indicates that it was a series of formulas of invocation to the gods of the Trimurti.

Stanza XVI mentions the erection of a Cri Bhadreçvara in 83x çaka (908-917 A.D.), and the next three relate to one named Vasudeva whom King Yaçovarman loved as a brother and appointed his first adviser. Promoted to the dignity of Nrpendravira, he remained attached to King Harşavarman I. The prose text that comes then recounts a gift of land to the Cri Tripurantakeçvara by kings Yaçovarman and Jayavarman IV. It is probably the temple of Pràsȧt Ampil Rolu’m, where çivaisme had, at the beginning of the Angkorian period, replaced Buddhism.

The last two stanzas formulate the usual imprecations and the Khmer text exempts the foundation from supplies of grain and oil.

Inscriptions du Cambodge VI, George Coedes

Historical Notes

1902 Lajonquiere

Prasat Ampil Rolöm. The Prasat Ampil Rolöm is a group of three aligned N-S, brick sanctuaries, square, opening to the E.. without forebody.

The side sanctuaries of the group are completely collapsed, there are barely a few sections of the walls left that the monks have finished knocking down, to use the materials for the development of the modern pagoda. Only the central sanctuary is still almost in its entirety, but the outer part of the vault is very ruined.

The door only has its sandstone frame. the decorative apparatus has collapsed. The other three faces are adorned with false doors without ornamentation; but the side panels of the door and the false doors are decorated with relief designs representing shrines without figurines of personages.

Of the three decorative lintels, two are deposited in the modern pagoda, the other remains on the debris of bricks accumulated in front of the door of the central sanctuary; they are all three of type II: As for all elements of the same type, the sandstone used is greyish, of coarse grain, and the supporting columns are round, banded (fig. 141).

Two cylindrical linga’s bulging at the end, but without filaments. are also deposited in the pagoda.

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, E. Lunet de Lajonquière, 1902

1927 – Parmentier

This monument presents the remains of three sanctuaries facing east; only the central one has been preserved, but only in part. It contains a small square cella whose walls show a net intended to receive the ceiling and whose vault takes shape with a very slight inflection. Outside, the building had false doors; it shows a slightly protruding base and cornice, the base decorated with sconces remaining in paneling, a thin pilaster at the corner, elegant reductions of the building on a lotus base. It seems that the superstructure had gables, but the ruin of the upper parts is such that their meaning is doubtful. Scattered around the current pagoda are three lintels, two of type II with leaf motif which continue the arc by turning inside; a third of the intermediate type (fig. 53), some fragments of circular columns (fig. 54) of which one A has its square capital and therefore corresponds to the third lintel which alone does not have one, and some crest spikes . A Ganeça, a monolith with its pedestal, has suffered too much for us to be able to recognize whether it has the classic pose, but is nevertheless of interest for its elephant feet, unique in Cambodia and constant in Java. Next to it is a square pedestal with a ring which seems to be preceded by a garuda,

The main sanctuary has preserved its jambs made of inscribed slabs [162] from the 9th and 10th centuries; we found the lost Buddhist inscription [163], which is from 7-8th century and which corresponds, not to a stele, but to one of the jambs of one of the ruined towers; its opposite, found next door, had his registration covered up.

L’Art Khmer Primitif, 1927, Henri Parmentier

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via [email protected] - more..