31. MIGRATION OF FOLK AND CLASSICAL TRADITION TO SOUTH EAST ASIA ________________________________________ The migration of people from South India to South East Asia was not confined to any one aspect of human activity but encompassed religion, philosophy, trade, economy, literature, art, music dance etc. Here we take some land mark records found in South East Asia, especially Cambodia and study these aspects to provide a better picture of the movements. One of the earliest inscriptions found in the region is in chaste Sanskrit assigned to 6th cent CE. The place is now in Viet Nam (long Xuyen) at a place called Vong The or Phnom Ba The, and is noticed on a door frame. It records the installation of a stone liṅga named Vardhamāna liṅga by Kumārāmbā for the merit of Śrī Nṛpāditya deva. It also refers to Bhairava dance as "bhairva nartana" śrī vardhamāna devo vardhitabhāvo nṛaṇām kuśala bhājām jayati saḥ sakala patiḥ udita pṛtulita śīla liṅgam bhairava nartana vibhrama calita bhuja sahasra vardhamano yaḥ śrī vardhamana devo mahita caranaḥ surair novyāt śrīnṛpāditya devasya punyārthā seṣtakākṛtā kumārambhena bhavata sthira cittena sādhunā An interesting portion of the inscription praising this lady who established the liṅga quotes the very first line of the Rāmāyaṇa of Vākmīki as tapa svādhyāya nirata. This is a clear indication of the influence of Vākmīki's Rāmāyaṇa much earlier to 6th cent in Cambodia. Further the phrase svādhyāya nirata meaning that she was practicing penance and constantly studying the works that were appropriate to her. This shows that women in Ancient Cambodia were deeply rooted in the Indian epics like Rāmāyaṇa and were highly learned. The following are some of the important factors. • Two Sanskrit and Khmer inscriptions dated in the reign of Jayavarman.I (675 CE) from Cambodia • Cambodian script • Orthographic impact on Cambodian Script • Bilingual Inscriptions of Sanskrit and Khmer • Mixed nature of the languages • Contents of the donations to temples by the founder • Dance and Music • Śaṅkarāchārya and Cambodia • A Tamiḻ Inscription of Pallava Nandivarman found in Ta ku vapa on trade • Art and Architecture and • Manuscripts in Khmer script are now preserved in the Thai Royal Hindu temple at Bangkok. 31.1. Inscription of Jayavarman I An inscription found at Tan Kran dated to circa 675 CE in the reign of Jayavarman I, in Sanskrit is one of the earliest record that pointedly speaks of contact between Tamiḻnad and South East Asia. It mentions one Dharmasvāmi who came from the king of Kāñchipuram, who was a great Scholar in Veda and Vedāṅgas, was appointed by Jayavarman for a high post under him and established a township Dharmapura and appointed Dharmsvāmi as the head of that town. He was teaching the royal princes in the palace as Agrāsana, Chief of learning. (Ref. Inscription no 34, Maujumdar, R.C., The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, 1953) A temple of Amrātakeśvara, a feeding house for Brāhmins, a School of learning were all located there. A canal and many tanks dug by the students were also located in the town. Dharamasvāmi who performed many Vedic sacrifices with his wife, Hlādini through whom were born descendents who were also honoured by the king. His son was given a town śreṣṭha pura and became a royal official, holding many posts like commander of the cavalry, and head of the town Dhruvipura, full of dense forests and ferocious men. He installed the god Naimiṣeśvara. His younger brother was Pracaṇḍasimha who became the commander of the palace guards, commander of the navy, and chief of 1000 soldiers of Dhanvipura. 31.2. Cambodian Script Any book on Cambodian system of writing will tells us that Cambodian Script (called Qaqsa Khme or Khmer) as well as Thai, lao, Burmese Old Mon, Old Cham and Old Javanese scripts are all derived from some form or perhaps (from various forms) of the ancient Brāhmi script of South India. The exact geographical source in India of these script has not been determined, but epigraphists find great similarity between the earliest inscription in south east Asia and those of early Pallava kingdom of Kāñchi in the Coromandal coast of India [Franklin E Haffman, Cambodian system of writing, South East Asian Program, Cornell University, Itacha, New York (.P.4)] illustrate here some Khmer inscriptions and parallel inscriptions of the Pallavas here that justifies the claim. The Pallava inscription found in the cave temple of Thiruchirappalli c.600 CE excavated by Mahendravarma Pallava carries a large number of titles and also two long poetic inscriptions. The language employed in that instance is Sanskrit, and the script Pallava Grantha. The letters are bold and beautifully formed and so provide the best example for a comparison. The close affinity between Cambodian and Tamiḻnad inscriptions is evident in these inscriptions. (Ref. South Indian Inscription Vol.I. Edited by Hultsch,) 31.3. Orthographic Affinity I would like to draw the attention of Scholars to an important orthographic peculiarity of Tamiḻ writing and Cambodian inscription. The Tamiḻ people used to distinguish a pure consonant from a syllabic letter with inherent medial Vowel "a" by using a dot over the letter. This is one of the earliest characteristic of the Tamiḻ script mentioned in the earliest Tamiḻ grammar, Tolkāppiyam. This trend is also noticed in the early Brāhmi inscription used to write Tamiḻ in Tamiḻnad from the beginning of the current era. (Illustration from Māmallapuram mentioning the names of the architect Peruntaccan, Kollan seman, etc). It is interesting to note that the Cambodian inscriptions from the earliest period to at least 11th cent employ the dot as a horizontal stroke over the letter to denote the pure consonant not only in Khmer characters but also in Sanskrit part of the record. This may be demonstrated from many inscriptions from different places of Cambodia and belonging to different periods. It is possible that this trait is from the Tamiḻ tradition. A few illustrations from Cambodia show which Scholars call diacritic mark. I may also say that the a stroke is used on top of a letter to denote pure consonant even in Sanskrit letters in Grantha characters in Tamiḻnadu. The part of the copper plate of Aparajita pallava illustrates show the use of stroke to indicate a pure consonant (Ref. Nagswamy.R, Thiruttani and Velancheri Copper plates, Plate II.page 1) The letter "t" in line two and the letter "m" in line three for example, which are in the grantha part of the record, carry the dot to denote consonant. 31.4. Bilingual Cambodian Inscriptions Interestingly it is around the same time (7th cent) that Bilingual inscriptions begin to appear both in Tamiḻnad and Cambodia, The inscriptions are generally in Sanskrit at the beginning followed by the regional language, Khmer in Cambodia and Tamiḻ in Tamiḻnadu. Interestingly at both the places the Sanskrit portion gives the genealogy of the king followed by a brief account of the gift made by the king. The details of the gift are given in both the countries in the regional languages. For example the Pallankoil Copper plate grant of Pallava Simhavarman the grandfather of Mahendravarman is in bilingual language. The Vat Po inscription ascribed to the 7th cent is in both Sanskrit and Khmer languages. (Vat Po Inscription no 42 Vol I, in Ancient Inscriptions of Camboje published by the UNDP Project, Phnom Penh, Cambodia) Subsequent inscriptions in both the countries issued by the King are in bilingual languages indicating that the regional language has been accepted as highly developed to express technical legal terms in the respective languages. 31.5. Fusion of languages It should also be noted that both Sanskrit and the respective regional languages show fusion and that Sanskrit words (also Prākrit) are freely employed in most Khmer and Tamiḻ inscriptions, almost as Maṅipravāla for intermingling of the people showing a happy cohesion. Such a mixture could not have happened in a short span of time but should have had a long and gradual integration. That also shows that there existed a sizable population of Indian origin in Cambodia. For example a portion of the Vat Po inscription of Cambodia reads as follows showing the mixture of both languages. "Ku syam Kon 2; Ku Kamala Kon : Ku jvik ku tyān ..... Sriman Acārya ramanava oy te Vrah Kamraten ai Travan" similarly many Indian names are found with Khmer names like Naga vindu; Rāmapāla; Bhadra vicesha; Bhava Kirti etc. (Ref. K.22, Vat Po in Sambhor province, in Ta Keo, but now in the Musee Guimmet, Pāris, in Sanskrit and Khmer languages) -Prof Coedes Vol III P.103) 31.6. Indians among the common inhabitants of Cambodia It is known that the names of all the kings, Queens and Acaryas of Cambodia were Sanskrit names upto 14th cent but it must be noted that there were many common people who also had Indian names indicating that the Indian population was large and also that local people assumed Indian names. A large number of names of dancing girls are recorded among whom many had the Khmer names and there were also a large number of Indian girls as dancers among the population. For example the following are a few names of Khmer girl dancers mentioned in the record: (On a stone slab found in Ta Keo province Tu vat Kumon, Angkor Borai District. The record is in Khmer language dated 611 CE, Cambodia. Ref. K 600, P. 249) • Pitan — Jun Pon • Tmin Kanjan — Va Vrau • Va Rapak — VA Tyān • Va Knay and so on There are many such names along with the following Sanskrit names:- • Carumati — Priya-senā • Aruna-mati — Madana- Priya • Samara-senā — Vasanta-mallikā • Tanvangi — Guna-dhari • Sārangi — Rati-mati • Sthanottari — Rati-vindu • Sakhi-priya and Madhura-senā Similarly Indian names of servants appear along with Khmer men. For example: • Va lan son — Va Tpun • Va su uy — Va toh • Va Śiva-dāsa — Va Jyestha-varma • Va Dasami — Va Punyacharya • Va Hara-dāsa — Va Mitra-datta These names prove that there were both Indian immigrants and Khmer forming the population of Cambodia as early as the 6th cent and they included ordinary common people. Another inscription of the same king found at Snay Pol written in Khmer assigned to the same year, mentions a number of servants assigned to the Goddess Bhagavati that includes both Indian and Khmer names confirming that there had taken place integration of Indian and Khmer population by that time. The following are some such names. (Ref. Prey Veng Province, Snay Pol, Peareng district, 6th cent, Khmer language, P.100: Coedes G. Inscription du Cambodge, vol.II, p.51) • Va Dmik — Va Hvat • Va Ramana dāsa — Va Bhānu-dāsa • Va Sreshta-dāsa and There were also names like Pañcami and Dvādaśi. Among those allotted by Āditya-sena to the Goddess Bhagavati, were Mādhavi, Ūrvasi and Rohini. who were obviously dancing girls. It is interesting to note that the name Mādhavi occurs among the dancing girls in early Tamiḻnadu. Madhavi was the name of the dancing girl who was one of the heroines of the Tamiḻ dance drama Nāṭaka Kāppiyam Silappatikāram. As this inscription is in connection with an ambassador from Kāñchipuram, shows that Brāhmins, Soldiers, Musicians, Dancing girls and others have gone to Cambodia from Kāñchipuram and they have been integrated with the local Khmer society. Also note that Brāhmins were not only teachers of Vedas and Vedāṅgas but great warriors, commanders of army and navy, administrators, and judicial administrators. 31.7. Gifts of Men and Materials to Temples by Kings It is interesting to note the affinity of the Gifts made to the temples built by the Chola rulers of Tamiḻnadu and the Cambodian Kings. When the Great temple of Tanjore was built Rājarāja Chola, the builder made several gifts, each brought under separate categories. The gifts included men and material. They are so strikingly similar categories as the ones gifted by Śrī Indravarman of Cambodia to the temple of "Prea Ko" he built and where he consecrated three images of Śiva and three of Pārvati. In 879. Indra-varmman gifted many golden umbrellas palanquins, gold and silver Kumbhas, fans, gold karanchikas (mentioned in Tanjore inscription as Karandikai ceppu) gold and silver Pūja vessels, mirrors, jewels made of precious gems etc. He also gifted many Nartakis, many women singers (Gāyanis) , women instrument players, (Vādinis), Vīṇā players, Flutists and cymbal players. He also gifted beautiful male dancers, (Puruṣas, Rūpinaḥ, and slāghyas) narttanādi visāradās (Nṛtta Mārāyas of Tanjore Inscriptions) with beautiful costumes and jewels. Besides these dancers Indra-varman gifted many thousand servants to do other services in the temple. He gifted many villages and Maṇḍalas. And finally he gifted several thousand cows, buffaloes and goats. Those who are acquainted with the gifts made by Rājarāja Chola would be amazed to note the same categories of gifts in the Tanjore records as mentioned by Indra-varman. It is also known that all the Temples in Tamiḻnad followed the Āgamic mode of Worship. The Āgamas prescribe three main types of Initiation for the Śaivas namely Samaya Dīkṣa, Ācārya Dīkṣa and Nirvāṇa Dīkṣa. The Cambodian Inscriptions mention all these categories of initiations Dīkṣas. In the field of religious observances there are such an overwhelming commonality it is needless to list them separately here. Similarly the Philosophical ethos of Both the countries are absolutely identical. 31.8. Ta ku apa Inscription of Pallava Nandi The ancient port town of Ta ku va pa on the west coast of Thailand above the Malay Peninsula was known in ancient times as Talait-takkolam in Tamiḻ. A few miles inside from the coast on the banks of a river are found some images of Hindu gods Śiva, Viṣṇu and so on along with an inscription in Tamiḻ that mentions "Nāngūr", "Maṇi-grāmattār", "Avani Nāraṇam" and "Senā-mukattars". Nāngur is near Kaveripumpattinam in Chola country, and a small settlement near it called even now Maṇi-grāmattār a guild of Traders in gems. Avanināraṇan is the title of the Pallava king, Nanadivarman of Kāñchi who held sway over Kaveripumpattinam; then. Senā-mukham is a body of soldiers who accompanied the traders in the ship to protect them from sea pirates. These are found in a place that is called "Pra Narāy" (Pra Nārāyaṇa) temple of Viṣṇu. It is seen from the record that it was essentially a trade mission accompanied by soldiers and also religious persons who accompanied them who built the Viṣṇu temple. (Nilakanta Sastri, K.A., South Indian Influence in the Far East, Reprint, Tamiḻ Arts Academy, Chennai, 2003, Pp 86-93) 31.9. Śaṅkarā and Cambodia One of the most important points in connection with Cambodia and India is the date of Śaṅkarāchārya, the great exponent of "Advaita Vedanta". An inscription in "Prasat kandol Thom" dated saka 801 CE dated in the reign of king Śrī Indra varman mentions one royal priest Śiva-soma, who learnt under Bhagavad Śaṅkara. This has been taken as a reference to the Advaita exponent. Ādi Śaṅkarāchārya and as the date of the inscription is known, the date of Śaṅkara is also taken as 8th - 9th cent by all Scholars. The suggestion was made by Prof Coedes in 1937 and accepted by Scholars like R.C. Majumdar and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri. Early 9th cent is given as the date of Śaṅkarāchārya from that time. I have shown in an article as early as 1963, published in the Journal of Oriental Institute, Baroda that Śiva-soma did not learn from Śaṅkarāchārya of India but from a Śaivite teacher of Cambodia named Śaṅkarā. The reasons I have given are quite plain. Śiva-soma, the teacher of the Cambodian king, Indra-varman gives a list Śastras he learnt as Purānas, Bharata, Vyākaraṇa, Tarka, Kāvya and all the Śaiva Śāstras. He does not mention Vedanta or Advaita which shows he did not learn Vedanta or Advaita. As Śaṅkarāchārya is never said to have gone overseas, there has been a suggestion that Śiva-soma went to India and learnt under Śaṅkarā. Had Śiva-soma gone to India and learnt under the great exponent of Advaita, he would have certainly mentioned that important event in his inscription as he is particular to mention the names of Śāstras he learnt. As he mentions all Śaiva Śāstras, Kāvyas, Tarka, Purāṇas, Bharata as subjects of his learning but not Vedānta. The Śaṅkarā from whom he learnt - was not the Advaita exponent but was certainly a great Śaiva Ācārya of Cambodia as most of his predecessors were. So the term Bhagavad, commonly found employed in Cambodia as a term of veneration, it need not be taken as referring to Bhagavadpāda Śaṅkara. This is not the only reason. This Rājaguru is mentioned in more than one inscription. In one inscription he is called “guhāvāsi” a term used by the Pāśupata Śaivāchāryas following Lakulisa's system. The “Pāsśupata Sūtra” of Lakulisa mentions that an adherent of the system should live in a deserted temple or guha, Ccaves as a part of their Vows. The “liṅga purāṇa” mentions “guhā-vāsi” as an āchārya of Pāśupata school. It is known from Cambodian Inscriptions that many of the Raja-gurus of Cambodia were Pāśuapatāchāryas. It is also known from another inscription this Śiva-soma was a descendent of Śiva Kaivalya a great āchārya who was the Rajaguru of Jayavarman II and who learnt the cult of Devarāja from, Hiraṇya dhaman. They belonged to the school of Śaivism. Evidently the Āchārya Bahgavad Śankarā from whom Śiva-soma learnt was a Śaiva Āchārya of Cambodia who had nothing to do with Śaṅkara of India. To date of Śaṅkara on the basis of this Cambodian inscription is totally not correct. (Nagaswamy,R, (2005), “Guhāvāsi and Devarāja in Cambodia” in Samarasya Ed- Sadanand Das, and Furlinger, D.K. Print World, New Delhi) 31.10. Art and Architecture Scholars have noted some similarities between Pallava and Cambodian architecture as for example the Temple “Aṣrom Mahariṣi” ascribed to 8th century. The stūpi on top of the temple and the kudu decoration on the cornices do show some resemblance. According to Mauger “it is a connecting link between Indian and early Cambodian Art”. In fact the contact between Cambodian and Indian architecture is traced to the Gupta age, 5th cent as in the case of “temple no 19” of “Sambhor Prai kuk.” We find mainly two types of temples surviving in both the countries - the brick temple and all stone temples. Carving niches, pilasters, and sculptures etc were chiselled in situ in both the countries which were later plastered and painted. The chiselling work was done on the brick wall itself. The same technique was used when all stone temples were erected. For the walls soft stones were employed while for places where heavy weight and stress were expected, hard granite or black stone was used. Even the stone sculptures and architectural embellishments were plastered and painted over so much that once a structure was finished, no distinction could be noticed between a brick structure and Stone structure. However in Cambodia stone sculptures made separately were inserted into the brick structures by cutting the walls and fitting the sculptures in flush with the wall. Such a system could be noticed in the temple at “Prea Ko” in Cambodia. This technique was not prevalent in South India. As mentioned, load bearing places were provided with hard stone like granite in South India and black basalt in Cambodia as may be seen in the Kailasanatha temple of Kāñchi built by the Pallava Rājasimha in around 700 CE while the entrance jambs and lintels of the entrances to the sanctum were made of black basalt in many brick temples of Cambodia. There are a number of other close architectural similarities that could be cited for example the base mouldings and the reducing architectural motives over the sanctum tower etc, but for want of space these are not attempted here except to say there are some early temples in Cambodia like “Kampong Prea” - 8th cent and “Prasat Bayang” that resemble closely the Gopuras of the rectangular temples of Tamiḻnad, particularly at Māmallapuram. (Ref: Nagaswamy.R. Mahabalipuram, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2008) It is also known that the sculptures of early Cambodia up to 9th cent have close resemblance to the Māmallapuram Pallava Sculptures of 8th cent. The magnificent sculpture of Harihara from “Aṣrom Mahariṣi”, ascribed to 8th cent now in the Phnom Penh Museum is an illustrious an example of this trend. Also the other sculptures in Phnom Penh Museum, like the Krishna Govardhanadhāri, Rāma and others are good illustrations of artistic contact. These temples of Cambodia do show perceptible influence of South Indian traditions suitably adapted to local variations. 31.11. Bangkok Manuscripts The Royal Hindu temple at Bangkok called also as Brāhmin temple has in its collection over thirty bundles of manuscripts written in Khmer script. The bundles are in the custody of the Rājaguru, Pra Vāmadeva Muni who uses them in the worship and festivals of the Hindu deities in the temple, especially during the annual Mārkaḻi festival. The contents of these manuscripts also used in the Coronation of the Thai Kings consist of Vedic mantras, Sanskrit stotras, and Tamiḻ Tēvāram, Tiruvācakam hymns and Tiruppāvai and Tiruvembāvai hymns and the Tiruvaymoḻi hymns. The manuscripts include Vāstu Pūja, Navagraha Pūja, Nadi Pūja, and the Sanskrit mantras that include the Hanumat-kavaca, Liṅgāṣṭaka, Pañcākṣara mantra, Śiva kavaca, Nārāyaṇa Pūja etc. Among the Tēvāram hymns are the first hymns of all the three Tēvāram saints, Appar, Sambandar, and Sundarar. In addition, the Mylapore Tēvāram of Sambandar, extolling Pumpāvai is also included. The Tiruppāvai and Tiruvempāvai hymns of Āṇdāl and Māṇikkavācakar are especially used during the Mārkaḻi festivals. The first Tiruvāymoḻi hymns of Nammāḻvār are also included in the collection and interestingly they are called “Satāri-devan moḻi” on the Śrī Vaikuṇṭha-deva. The Bangkok manuscript deals with the rituals and festivals conducted in the Hindu temple at Bangkok of Thailand. We have noted earlier that this manuscripts are in both Khmer and Tamiḻ grantha scripts and contain Vedic, Sanskrit and Tamiḻ hymns and might belong to 14th - 15th cent. The manuscript calls it a Paddhati — a ritual digest.
At the end of the Navagraha Pūja - worship of the nine planets, there seems to be a hint, enabling us to identify the author. There is a sentence that reads “iti bhuvananātha kumbha-parvata-paddhati-pūja” though this could mean “worship of Kumbhaparvata for the adoration of the lord of the universe” it seems to suggest that the text was compiled by a person named Bhuvana-nātha and was named after him as bhuvana-nātha-paddhati. The text starts abruptly with the statement “nīrājana pūja” and gives the chants for sarasvati devatā, followed by a chant to the star ārdrā nakṣatra and ṛtu devatā. This is significant we have noted that the great annual festival is held in the month of Mṛgaśīrā - (Tamiḻ Mārkaḻi) in which the star Ārdrā, is the most sacred one, dear to Lord Naṭarāja, the Cosmic dancer. It is during this month, the Tamiḻ hymns Tiruppāvai and Tiruvempāvai of saints Māṇikkavācaka and Āṇḍal are sung daily in the early hours of the day and the great festival of Naṭarāja is celebrated in all the Śiva temples of Tamiḻnad. And also the Mārkaḻi festival is held on a grand scale at Bangkok. Following the chant directed to ārdrā nakṣatra, there are chants praising aja devatā — (Brahmā), pañca sikhā devatā and gaṅgā. Following these chants, the Uttara Nakaṣatra in the month of Phalguna (Tamiḻ Paṅkuṉi) is invoked. Here again the Uttaram of Paṅguni month is held sacred when most temples in Tamiḻnad hold annual Bramotsava (great) festivals. This group of chants form the first group of chants. The second worship mentioned in Bangkok mss is Vāstu Pūja which begins from the chant to Iśana, who is called Vāstu Brahman. The chant reads "īśānaya vāstu brahmane svāhā". The 32 Pada devatās beginning with Jayanta, Mahendra are invoked. The worship of vāstupada devatās is an important stage in temple festivals and consecratory rites. The third stage in the invocation, noticed in Thailand and not in South India is unique. The invocation is addressed Hanumān, The chant reads sūrya putra varam sūkṣman, hanumantana surūpukam āditya vāyu samyogat utpannam hanumantakam pavitram sarva sangrāme ajayyam bhavati sarvadā Hanumān has a special position in the Śaiva context as well. It is well known that Hanumān is the incarnation of Nandikeśvara the principal devotee of Śiva. Rāvaṇa was stopped at the Mount Kailaśa when he tried to enter Śiva's abode by Nandikeśvara. So he ridiculed Nandikeśvara saying he looked like a monkey. Nandikeśvara told him he would appear as a monkey to destroy the Rāvaṇa's clan and he did appear as Hanumān and caused havoc among the Aśuras in the battle of Laṅka. Śiva taught all the sciences including dance through Nandikeśvara. Similarly Śrī Rāma, taught the Supreme truth of para brahman (para-brahma-tattva) through Hanumān. agre vācayati prapañeana sute tattvam munibhyaḥ param All these poems — the Vedic poems, Sanskrit stotras and Tamiḻ Tēvāram and Divyaprabandam hymns — belong to the classical tradition but what has escaped the attention of the Scholars is one poem included in the collection on Śiva in Folk Tamiḻ tradition that does not fall under classical structure. The following are some of the lines. ādiyum anādiyum āvāy śivāya namaḥ śiva sūryan eṉṉum śivane śivāya namaḥ maṟai nāṉkiṉ mudalāṉ mudale śivāya namaḥ māloṭu inaivāy niṉṟa śivāya namaḥ kuṟaivilāda tiruvātirai śivāya namaḥ kuruñci makkaḷukku tayai niṟai śivāya namaḥ iṟaivā vāṭavūrār tam mutale śivāya namaḥ inta būmiyai kātta mudale śivāya namaḥ turaivanava tiruvādirai śivāya namaḥ śiva sūryane śivāya namaḥ pōṟṟiyē namaḥ śivāya perumāne pōṛṛukiṉrēṉ pōṟṟiyē namaḥ śivāya pukletum piritoṉṟillēn pōṟṟiyē namaśśivāya This song is undoubtedly in folk tradition and does not fall under classical poetical structure. It is necessary at this stage to state that the script in which the manuscripts are written according to Scholars is in Cambodian Khmer script of 14th cent. Tradition avers that they were brought to Thailand by a group of Cambodian Brāhmins in the 14th cent. According to Thai sources the Thai kings invited the Cambodian Brāhmaṇas to Thai court in the 14th cent to reorganize the Royal administration and economy in which Cambodian Brāhmaṇas were expert those days and the group of Brāhmaṇas who came as Rājagurus brought these worship and manuscripts to Thailand that are followed to this day. Obviously these were prevalent in Cambodia before their arrival in Thailand. The Rājaguru tradition of Thailand holds that these Brāhmaṇas originally belonged to “Thiruk-kaiyilaya paramapara” and came from Rāmeśvaram in Tamiḻnadu to Cambodia. According to another version they came from Chidambaram Natarāja temple. What ever their origin may be that they came from Tamiḻnadu is further confirmed by the use of Tevāram and Prabandam hymns. As mentioned these hymns also include a folk poem in Tamiḻ. If the date of the script is accepted as 14th cent, then it is evident that they were prevalent in Tamiḻnadu towards the end of the Chola period in the 13th cent before their migration to Cambodia. 31.2. Conclusions Thus we find from the Art Architecture, Inscriptions, Music and Dance, and social lives cited from almost the beginning of 7th cent there had been regular migration from Tamiḻnadu to Cambodia and Thailand, migration of Brahmins, Soldiers, Traders, Musicians, Dancers and Ritualists that came to be integrated into the local tradition, producing a unique synthetic art and culture that reflects the ethos of South east Asia. Needless to say that Cambodia played a crucial role in South East Asian scenario up to the 14th cent that deserves to be better appreciated.
