ashram: a kind of monastery or retreat to which men retire when they consider that their active life is over, in order to prepare for their future existence. In ancient Angkor, the asrama, or vidyasrama, or varnnasrama, were educational colleges with teachers were called adhyapaka, and heads of association often called kulapati (cf. varnnasrama).

Asuras are power-seeking deities related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism, and in the Buddhist context "giants", "demigods", or "antigods".

Asuras are a class of beings fathered by Kashyapa Rishi and mothered by Diti and Danu. Asuras born of Diti are called Daitya (meaning sons of Diti) and those born of Danu are called Danava (meaning sons of Danu). In Hinduism, Diti (sk दिति) is a daughter of Daksha, the mother of the Asuras and supporter of Asuric attributes. She is mother of both the Marutas and the Asuras ( Daityas and Dhanavas) with the sage Kashyapa. She is said to have wanted to have a son who would be more powerful than Indra.

According to Hindu texts, the asuras are in constant fear of the devas. Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods with good or bad qualities. In early Vedic literature, the good Asuras are called Adityas and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danavas and are led by Vritra. In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of their being "lords" of their respective domains, knowledge and abilities. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are called Devas, while malevolent Asuras compete against these Devas and are considered "enemy of the gods".

In the Khmer tradition, អសុរ are "monsters", "demons", "evil spirits" who roam the country at night, dwell at Asurabhupa, their place at the foot of Mount Meru and are led by Asura Reach, King Vepachit, their sovereign. Their mother is Socheata Asura Kanha (នាងសុជាតាអសុរកញ្ញា "bride of Asura"), who became the wife of Indra (ព្រះឥន្ទ Preah Int). Asura sculptures at entrance temples are a trait of Angkorean architecture, and the battle of the Devas and the Asuras is depicted on Angkor Wat bas-reliefs. 

Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan) is a tenth-level bodhisattva associated with great compassion (mahakaruṇā), and often with Amitabha Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism. Avalokiteśvara has numerous manifestations and is depicted in various forms and styles. In some texts, he is even considered to be the source of all Hindu deities (such as Vishnu, Shiva, Saraswati, Brahma, etc).

In modern Cambodia, the four faces of Avalokitesvara (or Avaloksvara, Loksvara) are usually represented at the top of a pagoda or a stupa, as protector of all the planets. When Brahmanism was popular, these faces were considered as the faces of Brahma. In ancient Khmer art, he is represented with two, four, six or eight arms in freestanding sculptures, and ten arms in temple bas-reliefs such those at Banteay Chhmar. The massive stone faces of Bayon are believed to represent Lokeshvara. 

Khmer worship of Lokeshvara reached a peak during the reign of Jayavarman VII. Due to his healing powers, the he was given a predominant position in the scenes carved on the chapels of the hospitals built by this king. Lokeshvara was also omnipresent at Neak Poan Temple, whose waters could cleanse the sins and diseases of the pilgrims. Jayavarman VII dedicated the temple of Preah Khan Temple to the memory of his father, deified in the likeness of Lokeshvara.

A sculpture from Prei Monti (Roluos), late 12th-early 13th century, at the National Museum of Cambodia (piece Ga.2424), represents three adorned divinities: Buddha shelled by the Naga in the middle, Lokesvara to the right of the Buddha, and Prajnaparamita to the left. Lokesvara's attributes are the lotus bud, rosary, vase with water of immortality (amrta) and book. Those of Prajnaparamita include the book and the lotus bud.

While Avalokiteśvara was depicted as male in India, and male or female in Tibetan tradition, the deity is often depicted as a female figure in East Asian Buddhism, known as Guanyin /Kuan Yin in Chinese, Kannon in Japanese, Gwaneum in Korean and Quan Am in Vietnamese. In Sri Lanka, Natha literally means ‘no form’ or ‘no shape’, thus associating Avalokiteśvara with Maitreya, the next Buddha

Avalokiteśvara is also known for his popular mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, which is the most popular mantra in Tibetan Buddhism.

The Ayutthaya Kingdom or Empire was a Mon and later Siamese kingdom existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, with its center Ayutthaya city, in Siam [nowadays Thailand]. Considered as the precursor of modern Thailand.

According to traditions, the kingdom was founded by King Uthong, but the latter's origin is unclear, as he is depicted as "a Northern Thai prince, a fugitive Chinese prince from the sea, a Khmer noble from Angkor, a ruler from one of the gulf cities, or a Chola dignitary."

b/ʌ/t is the new (2025) visual code introduced on Angkor Database  in order to identify "yes, buts," - anything in Angkor-related research that remains open-to-debate, calling for further discussion questions. Several academic websites have come to list those entries in sections called Hypotheses. b/ʌ/t topics are filled on the page b/ʌ/t - ADB hypotheses, currently in development.

Balaha, emanation of bodhisatva Avalokitesvara (Lokesvara) as a flying horse rescuing the trader Samhala and his five companions from a shipwreck (or from being held captive by a group of Rakshasa. Part of Buddhist Valahassa Jataka. 

In Tibet and Nepal, Balaha is represented as the Wind Horse on Buddhist prayer flags. In Cambodia, the Balaha stone statue at Prasat Neak Pean was restored and identified in the 1920s. A copy of the sculpture was erected at the entrance of former Siem Reap International Airport. 

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral forces arisingout of the roof structures that lack adequate bracing.
 

Bhikshatana-murti  is the representation of the Hindu god Shiva as the "Supreme Beggar", a nude, four-armed male figure (Kapali mendicant) with a begging bowl, surrounded by demonic followers and love-sick women.

Contrary to Shiva's other avatar Bhairava, fierce and threatening, Shiva as Bhikshatana is gentle, so handsome he easily seduces the female companions of forest ascets while wandering as a mendicant to atone for his sin of severing Brahma's fifth head on his way to the holy city of Varanasi. After this experience, triumphan Bhikshatana establishes the worship of the Linga or, according to other traditions, becomes Nataraja, the "Cosmic Dancer".

A bas-relief representing Bhikshatana seducing the wives of sages has been identified by Madeleine Giteau in the southwestern pavilion of Angkor Wat's third precinct. Jean Boulbet has identified representations of Shiva as Bhikshatana at Kbal Spean. Several bronze statues of Bhikshtana dating back from Cambodia's 12th century are hosted in museums worldwide, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA).

The bowl used by Buddhist monks to collect food alms is called បិណ្ឌបាត benbat in Khmer, and the practice of begging for food បិណ្ឌបាតចារិកវត្ត benbatcharikwat. The festival of Pchum Ben ថ្ងៃភ្ជុំបិណ្ឌ in order to collect food for monks and the departed is a solemn celebration in Cambodia.

Archaeological term for an ornament or plate of thinly beaten precious metal, typically a thin gold disc.

Brahmi is a writing system (abugida, using diacritical marks) appeared as exhaustive script in the 3rd century, possibly with Aramaic origins, and was used in the Ashoka inscriptions. 

Brahmi is also the name of an ancient number system which developed in India as early as the second millenium BCE, and of an early Indian alphabet.

According to French sinologist Jean Baptiste Terrien de Lacouperie (1844-1894), noting the term "Brahmi" and "Kharosthi" in ancient Chinese encyclopedia, proposed that Brahmi refer to the left-to-right script of the Ashokan pillar inscriptions, and Kharosthi to the right-to-left script of some rock inscriptions in northwest India.

Brahmi was widespread in Southeast Asia, and Southern Brahmi script, from which appeared the Grantha alphabet (6th century) and the Vatteluttu alphabet (8th century), was at the origin of the Javanese script in Indonesia, the Khmer alphabet in Cambodia, and the Old Mon script in Burma.

A candi is a Hindu or Buddhist temple in Indonesia, particularly in Central and Eastern Java, mostly built during the "Hindu-Buddhist period"(between 4th and 15th centuries).

The official definition is an ancient stone building used for worship, or for storing the ashes of cremated Hindu or Buddhist kings and priests, with a larger archaeological definition as Hindu and/or Buddhist sacred structures for religious rituals and ceremonies. In Balinese architecture, the candi is a stone or brick structure of one cell-shrine with portico and pyramidal roof, located within a pura. 

The candi architecture reflects a form of syncretism typical of Java. As V.M.Y Degroot, noted in 2009 "the Indian concept of space appears to have been more directly implemented into Buddhist architecture than in Hindu shrines. The layout of the large Buddhist temples of Central Java indeed depicts a rather concentric view of the cosmos, compatible in most respects with Indian descriptions of the universe. The Hindu religious compounds, on the contrary, emphasize a different approach in which the idea of progression is reinforced, as well as the association of sanctity with the rear of the temple compound, as so frequently found in East Java."

1. Name of a geographical area, the modern Telangana or Karnatak. The part of the Indian peninsula south of Orissa (Odisha) to Madras (Chennai), between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, in the former Madras Presidency and in the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and southern coastal Andhra Pradesh.
2. The area where took place the Carnatic Wars between the Mughal Empire, Britain and France which ultimately led to British victory and the domination of the British Empire over India.
3. Carnatic music (known as Karnāṭaka saṃgīta or Karnāṭaka saṅgītam in the Dravidian languages): the main style of classical music in southern India, as distinct from the Hindustani and Odissi musical genres of the north. Most Carnatic compositions are in Telugu and Sanskrit, derived from ancient Hindu texts and traditions, particularly the Samaveda, and written with an emphasis on gāyaki (singing) style. The Vijayanagara Empire (Karnataka) saw the golden age of Carnatic music in the 18th and 19th centuries, under the patronage of the kings and queens of Mysore, Travancore, and the Maratha rulers of Tanjore. Along with famous royal court musicians Veene Sheshanna (1852–1926) and Veene Subbanna (1861–1939), composers Tyagaraja (1767– 1847), Muthuswami Dikshitar (1776–1835) and Syama Sastri (1762–1827) remain celebrated for the richness of their kritis (works).

• In Indian astronomy, Caitra or Chaitra (चैत्र) is the Sanskrit name of a lunar month in which the full moon stands in the constellation Chitrā (corresponding to March-April).
• In the Vedic calendar, it is the first month of the vasanta (season of spring), presided over by Vishnu.
• In Pancaratra tradition, Chaitra is the first month (caitra-masa: April-May), during which are celebrated the birthday of Rāma and of Narasiṃha, as well as the flower festivals called vasantotsava, damanotsava and kalhārotsava [alternatively in the following month of vaiśākha: ay/June].
• In Southeast Asia, it is a 29-day month, the first month of the year. Khmer linguists define chetr as the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
• In Madurai (India), Chaitra month is when the marriage of Shiva and Mīnākshī is celebrated every year. during the month of Chaitra.
• Zhou Daguan noted that in 13th centurt Angkor Khmer New Year fell in the tenth month of the Chinese calendar, called "jiade" (for Katejk-Karttika, kh កត្តិក Khatdek), Oct-November.

1. In Brahmanic, Vishnuite and Sivaite traditions, canopy, parasol part of the gods' royal emblems (mahārājopacāra) of gods, especially of Shiva. Ancient symbol of kingship and sanctity, notably for the chakravarti, 'universal ruler'.
2. In Buddhism, the sunshade beneath which Gautama sat. In Jainism and certain forms of Buddhism, the chatra is one of the ashtamangala, the eight holy symbols of enlightened sages and buddhas.
3. In Southeast Asia, the tiered parasol have 3, 7, 8, or 9 tiers. In Thailand, the chatra (also called brah klat) form has been strictly codified: five tiers for the prince, seven for the crown prince or the viceroy, and nine for a sovereign and crowned king. The Nine-Tiered Great White Umbrella of State (นพปฎลมหาเศวตฉัตร) is revered as the most sacred regalia of Thai sovereigns, and Coronation Day (วันฉัตรมงคล:, lit. 'the day of the blessing of the umbrella', was a public holiday until 2018.
4. In Cambodia, the royal umbrellas are made of various tiers, while processional chatras are usually 5-tiered, and large single-tiered umbrellas - as seen on Angkor bas-reliefs - are used as sunshade. There is a tradition (so far unverified) that when the Siamese kings 'allowed' the coronation of King Norodom of Cambodia in 1860, they explicitely forbade the use of 9-tiered chatras by the Cambodian soveregns. Monks going around for alms usually hold simple umbrellas, and in modern Khmer chatr refers to the common umbrella.
5. Stylized multi-tiered umbrellas such as banana leaf or paper decorations, food ornementations, architectural pyres, express a cosmological symbol shared by 'waterfront' ethno-cultures existing 'Japan to Bali to mainland Southeast Asia', according to Thai architect Sumet Jumsai.

Devadāsī referred in Ancient India to a lady involved in the worshipping of gods and goddesses. Specifically, a dancing girl attached to a temple; a female temple-servant. Equivalent to vilāsinī, gaṇikā, mahārī. 

In modern India, the term was used to refer to 'courtezans', women dedicating themselves to sacred prostitution. Particularly in Southern India, devadasi were respected members of the community until the British colonial administration made the status unlawful. 

In colonial India, devadasi were often confused with the nautchny or nautch girls, performers of a court dance of Hindustani origin which appeared in the last decades of the Mughal Empire. 'Nautch' was a British corruption of the Bengali word নাচ Nāca, "dance". 

Durga is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal avatar of mother goddess Mahadevi, associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. She has different names, including Durgā, Bhadrakālī, Vijayā, Vaiṣṇavī, Kumudā, Caṇḍikā, Kṛṣṇā, Mādhavī, Kanyakā, Māyā, Nārāyaṇī, Īśānī, Śāradā and Ambikā. 

In Shaktism (goddess-centric sect), she is Devi (the Goddess), primordial creator of the universe, and in the Bhagavata purana she is Vishnu's younger sister. In Indian representations - in particular at Aihole Temple - Mahishasura Mardini Durga has eight arms, carrying the weapons and attributes given to her by male deities: the trident (given by Shiva), the Chakra (Vishnu), the conch (Varuna), the Pasha an iron rod (Yama), the dart (Agni), the bow (Vayu), the quiver and arrows (Surya), the thuderbolt (Indra), the mace (Kubera), the rosary and a water pot (Brahma), the sword and shield (Kala), the battle axe (Vishwakarma), the lion (Himavan), a disc and a lotus, a bell, etc...She is standing in the Tribhanga pose (three bends), legs apart, left leg pressing down the buffalo demon.

Across Indonesian islands, Durga was the most common representation among ancient sculptures of female deities. Durga statues have been discovered at stone temples and archaeological sites in Vietnam, likely related to Champa or Cham dynasty era. 

In Cambodian art, Durga, in particular in the Mahishasurmardini form, was revered since the oldest recorded times. An 1.65 meter-high statue was retrieved at what has been supposed to be the site of the main temple of King Ishanavarman of Chenla (r. c. 615–628 C.E.) in Ishanapura (Sambor Prei Kuk). 

In modern Cambodia, the Indian community has started to give social resonance to the celebration of Durga Puja, the festival observed usually in September or October, from the sixth (Shashti) to the tenth day of the bright lunar fortnight in the Hindu lunar calendar month of Ashvin, concluding with Durga Visarjan (immersion of the idol).

Dvārapāla are the guardians of the gates represented at the doors of most Cambodian temples and pagodas, ancient and modern.

In the Maharabharata, they are Yakshas, ambivalent spirits.

Inner sanctuary or altar room containing the main deity of the temple. In Indian ancient science of architecture (vāstuvidyā), the sanctum sanctorum where the presiding deity is installed.

According to Dr. Sarita Ranjan, "beneath the mandala’s central square is the space for the formless shapeless all pervasive all connecting universal spirit, the Purusha. This space is sometimes referred to as Garbhagriha - a small, perfect square, windowless, enclosed space without ornamentation that represents universal essence."

One Khmer inscription, K.809 N:3 (878/87 CE), mentions śivagarbha as a sanctuary dedicated to Shiva as a toponym.

Garuda is described as an eagle-like sunbird deity, the king of birds and, in Hindu mythology, the vehicle (vahana) of Vishnu. "Lord of the garudas" is also one of the epithets of Shiva.

In Vedic tradition, personification of courage, a potent creature who can stop the spinning of the worlds its wing flapping, the younger brother of Aruna, the driver of sun god Surya. Garuda is the one attempting to stop Rāvaṇa from abducting Sītā, as described in the Rāmāyaṇa and the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

In Cambodian tradition, the powerful bird, a companion of Vishnu (ព្រះនារាយណ៍, Preah Neareay), fights the evil forces, its image protecting temples and houses. He is the one who moved Mount Mandara and stole the amrita for the benefit of the gods in the Churning of the Sea of Milk, an essential part of Khmer mythology. Initially an enemy of the nagas, the image of the Khmer garuda evolves into a mythical creature embracing the nagas, a fusion denoting its "evolution from Vishnu's vahana to a protective figure of Khmer Buddhism" (J. Boisselier 1951).

Gopura in Indian architecture refers to a tower above a gateway or archway, "towers at the entrances of a temple". The term is also used as saṃdoha, a "meeting place" of the Yoginis.