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​Sachchidanand Sahai

Portrait of ​Sachchidanand   Sahai

Sachchidanand Sahai (6 March 1941, Bihar, India) is an Indian epigraphist, scholar and writer who wrote several essays on Angkorean civilization, and served as scientific advisor to the Government of Cambodia for the restoration of Angkor Wat and the Temple of Preah Vihear. His study on the latter temple (2009) helped to secure its inscription on UNESCO World Heritage List.

After studying Indian history, culture and archaeology at Banares Hindu University, Varanasi, he presented his doctoral thesis under the guidance of George Coedès at Sorbonne University in 1969 (Les Institutions politiques et l’organisation administrative du Cambodge ancien). He then taught in Laos (1970−1972), the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (1988 to 1990), the Epigraphy Department of the Indian Institute of Archaeology, the Department of Ancient Indian and Asian Studies, Magadh University (vice-chancelor 1992 – 2010).

A scientific advisor to the Government of Cambodia, Dr. Sahai published several books on Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Bayon, Preah Vihear. He is also the author of a five-volume work on the Lao Ramayana (Gvay Dorhabi), the Hindu temples of Southeast Asia, The Mekong River: Space and Social Theory, Pablo Neruda and India, India seen by the Siamese. Since 1976, he is the founder-editor of the South East Asian Review, founded with his late wife, Dr. Sudha Verma. 

Publications

  1. The Cosmic and Supernatural in Southeast Asian Civilization, Bangkok, Thammasat University, 1969.
  2. Les institutions politiques et l’organisation administrative du Cambodge ancien (VIe-XIIIe siècles), Paris, PEFEO 75, 1970.
  3. Ramayana in Laos: a study in the Gvay dvorahbi, Totnes (UK), BR Publishing Corporation, 1976.
  4. The Kr̥ṣṇa Saga in Laos: A Study in the Br̲aḥ Ku’td Br̲aḥ Bān, Totnes (UK), BR Publishing Corporation, 1978.
  5. [with Barend Jan Terwiel] The Tai of Assam and ancient Tai ritual, Centre for South East Asian studies, 1980.
  6. The Rama Jakata in Laos: A Study in the Phra Lak Phra Lam, Totnes (UK),BR Publishing Corporation, 1996, ISBN 978 – 8170188391.
  7. India in 1872 as Seen by the Siamese, Totnes (UK), BR Publishing Corporation, 2003. ISBN 978 – 8176462334.
  8. The Mekong River: Space and Social Theory, Totnes (UK), BR Publishing Corporation, 2005. ISBN 978 – 8176464741.
  9. The Bayon of Angkor Thom, Chiang Mai, White Lotus Press, 2007. ISBN 978 – 9744800985.
  10. [with Pradeep Kumar Kapur] Ta Prohm : A Glorious Era in Angkor civilization, Chiang Mai, White Lotus Press, 2007.
  11. Preah Vihear — An Introduction to the World Heritage Monument, 2009.
  12. The Hindu Temples in South East Asia: Their Role in Social Economic and Political Formations, Delhi, Shimla Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Aryan Books, 2012. ISBN 978 – 8173054280.
  13. [with Heng Piphal], ​“The Temple Economy of Angkor”, in The Angkorian World, 2023.