Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3Eliot, Charles
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3
Eliot, Charles
Asia -- Religion; Buddhism; Hinduism
It is clear that during the period of the inscriptions the
religion of Camboja was a mixture of Brahmanism and Buddhism, the only
change noticeable being the preponderance of one or other element in
different centuries. But it would be interesting to know the value of
I-Ching's statement that Buddhism flourished in Fu-nan in early times
and was then subverted by a wicked king, by whom Bhavavarman[262] may
be meant. _Primâ facie_ the statement is not improbable, for there is
no reason why the first immigrants should not have been Buddhists, but
the traditions connecting these countries with early Hinayanist
missionaries are vague. Târanâtha[263] states that the disciples of
Vasubandhu introduced Buddhism into the country of Koki (Indo-China)
but his authority does not count for much in such a matter. The
statement of I-Ching however has considerable weight, especially as
the earliest inscription found in Champa (that of Vocan) appears to be
inspired by Buddhism.
2
It may be well to state briefly the chief facts of Cambojan
history[264] before considering the phases through which religion
passed. Until the thirteenth century our chief authorities are the
Sanskrit and Khmer inscriptions, supplemented by notices in the
Chinese annals. The Khmer inscriptions are often only a translation or
paraphrase of Sanskrit texts found in the same locality and, as a
rule, are more popular, having little literary pretension. They
frequently contain lists of donations or of articles to be supplied by
the population for the upkeep of pious foundations. After the
fourteenth century we have Cambojan annals of dubious value and we
also find inscriptions in Pali or in modern Cambojan. The earliest
Sanskrit inscriptions date from the beginning of the seventh century
and mention works undertaken in 604 and 624.
The first important king is Bhavavarman (c. 500 A.D.), a conqueror
and probably a usurper, who extended his kingdom considerably towards
the west. His career of conquest was continued by Mahâvarman (also
called Citrasena), by Iśânavarman and by Jayavarman[265]. This last
prince was on the throne in 667, but his reign is followed by a lacuna
of more than a century. Notices in the Chinese annals, confirmed by
the double genealogies given for this period in later inscriptions,
indicate that Camboja was divided for some time into two states, one
littoral and the other inland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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