The East Mebon Stele Inscription from Angkor (K. 528): A Sanskrit Eulogy of the Tenth-century Khmer Sovereign Rajendravarman

The epigraphy of the ancient Khmer kingdom centred in what is today Cambodia comprises about 1500 inscriptions written in Sanskrit or Old Khmer or both between the sixth and the fourteenth centuries CE. Remarkable as much for their graceful calligraphy and layout as for their elegance and erudite sophistication, these extraordinary documents have hitherto primarily been mined for historical data rather than savoured for their poetry. The present volume contains a substantially improved edition and annotated English translation of the second longest Sanskrit inscription of the Khmer-speaking region, a stela that records the creation of a five-towered temple dedicated to Siva by the tenth-century Khmer ruler Rajendravarman. For the benefit of enthusiasts of kavya, the text is given also in Devanagari.