Using of Buddhist Imagery under Reigns of Jayavarman V11 and Kyanzittha - Essay Example

That is the reason why Angkor’s rulers labored to edify physical constructions and monuments greater than their predecessors.  The Angkor kings showed their political power by subjecting the population to the construction of these monuments “which thus became the cosmic centers from which they wielded their divinely mandated power” 2

            The construction of Buddhist monuments was seen to be motivated by the desire of the donors themselves who happened to be the kings, royal kens, and elite families. They are enamored to create merit for themselves and also to their deceased relatives.

“Presumably something like the royal cults of Angkor also prevailed at Pagan, with

The construction of religious monuments serving simultaneously to demonstrate the legitimacy

of the Pagan state and to provide ritual centers for the expression of its rule. The situation is

not clear, however; there is no evidence by which to reconstruct the early administrative style

of Pagan, and the stories of the role of Buddhism at Pagan in the twelfth century (involving

the King Anuwratha) are later legends” 3.

            The pagan history reveals a very interesting comparison with the Angkor in Cambodia. This comparison can be examined in three vantage points. First is that like Angkor4. First is that Angkor pagan was an inland agrarian polity that “enforces its authority over coastal areas; both Angkor and Pagan are impressive centers of monumental architecture, and the history of each came to an end contemporaneously with the advent of Tai peoples into lowland Southeast Asia”5.

            In their early centuries, both the Pagan and the Angkor states actively sponsored religious foundations. Both of them benefitted from the religious foundation in generating economic growth and helping to enlarge their political control. “From the thirteenth century or so, however, both governments and their successor states increasingly worked to limit the power of the foundations, whose combined wealth represented a challenge to the ruling power of the central state”6

            The second prominent king of Pagan, Kyanzittha ruled from 1084 to 1112. He admired the Mon culture and has left inscriptions in the Mon language. He also admired and adapted the Mon Art and architecture. “The Mons appear to have dominated the religious and intellectual life of Pagan at this time, and their language was widely used among ruling class people”7.  It was during the reign of Kyanzittha that the assimilation with the Mon culture reached a level of maturity thus his reign was known to be a “synthesis”8.   

            On the other end, Jayaraman VII did not rely on royal homage to the gods to protect the city.

That’s why his devotion was to the construction of walls. “He also built and repaired many firehouses across the Empire, which are places for travelers to rest. He also built many other buildings which were used as hospitals. There is a children's hospital in Cambodia named after him. One of the most renowned temples he built is Bayon at Angkor”9.