Don Khum Ngoen

An inscription of Mahendravarman (ca. 607-616) was carved onto the pedestal of the sacred bull statue. It is a Sanskrit inscription written in the Pallava script. The inscription was read and translated by Surasit Thairat.

The King who was named Chitrasen, a nephew of Lord Sri Sarabhaoma and a son of King Sri Viravarman, although he was a young relative of King Bhavavarman by birth, he was honoured as Sri Bhavavarman’s brother. When he succeeded the throne, he took the reign name Mahendravarman.

He was highly devout believer in Shiva the Bull-bannered Lord (Vrsa Dhvaja). He built a lavishing stone image of the Sacred Bull (Vrsabha representing Lord Shiva) following his greatest triumph over the regions.

He was the most illustrious in the extreme (heroically vanquished the enemies). He addressed the traditions of the royal court. He persistently desired to overpower his adversary by which he cautiously endowed his troops with all supports in order to achieve a predominant military power.

According to the inscription which mentioned Mahendravarman’s commission of the sacred bull image on the inscribed pedestal, many scholars thus point out that the religious edifice should also be constructed in his reign.

The site was listed and declared an ancient monument in the Government Gazette no. 114, Special Issue 80 ngor., on 12 September 1997. Archaeological excavations were carried out from November 2005 to January 2006.

Fallen to a state of dilapidated and ruined, thus causes the irregularity of a formal structure of Khmer temple at this monument. For instance, sandstone slabs for construction are significantly thinner than normal, also there are some traces indicating a number of sandstone slaps were used to building enclosure rather than the sanctuary.

The complex is composed of the decrepit sandstone tower with only its foundation remains which makes it impossible to understand the original form of the tower. At the east front of the main tower there is a sandstone slabs-lined square pool with stairs.

A rectangular building located northeast of the main temple with the sandstone wall was the building which housed Mahendravarman’s inscription on the bull statue’s pedestal. Its surrounding area shows parts of sandstone barriers, most importantly a conduit for a libation or somasutra on the western side which probably ran from the cella or the pool.

An inscription on the pedestal of a statue was discovered in this religious site, it said to belong to Mahendravarman (ca. 607-616) the early king of Cambodia. Many scholars believe that this religious architecture was built in his reign which would indicate that this building should be the oldest surviving khmer architecture in Thailand. It would also be an excellent example of the earliest khmer temple in Thailand before the style of Sambor Prei Kuk of the pre-Angkorian era.

Miscellaneous

Four sandstone slabs from the pool bear a single script on each one. According to Kongkaew Viraprachak a linguist, they are the 7th century Pallava script, contemporaneous with Mahendravarman’s inscription on the pedestal of the sacred bull statue.

The first slab with the “lor” letter locates on the north wall, almost at the bottom of the pool. The second slab with the “chor” letter is on the opposite side. The third slab with the “por” letter is on the west wall, further up the top. The last slab which possibly fell out from its original location bears the “yor” letter.

These letters signify the names of the Hindu gods, namely “lor” represents Shiva, “chor” represents Vishnu, “por” represents Parvati and “yor” represents Lakshmi.

This inscription therefore was of Hindu beliefs and was probably a dedication of a sacrificial pool.

The temple complex features uncommon traits from a khmer temple’s standards, for instance, a layout which centers on the pool in front of the main tower, relatively thin sandstone slabs and the way they were built with their side or front panel faced downward like a barrier. It is probably that in the early days the standardization of the temples’ layout was not yet known which might lead to irregular attributes of this temple.

ก่องแก้ว วีระประจักษ์, “จารึกที่บ่อน้ำบริเวณแหล่งโบราณคดีดอนขุมเงิน” ศิลปากร, ปีที่ 51, ฉบับที่ 2 2 (มีนาคม – เมษายน 2550), หน้า 27 – 35.

ทศพร ศรีสมาน, “จารึกพระเจ้าจิตรเสน บนฐานรูปเคารพหินทรายที่พบจากแหล่งโบราณคดีดอนขุมเงิน” ศิลปากร, ปีที่ 50, ฉบับที่ 2 (มีนาคม – เมษายน 2550), หน้า 45-48.