1. Kambu, synonym of elephant.
2. In ancient India, a conch, a conch-shell.
3. A bracelet.
4. Kaṃbudhara [kannada ಕಂಬುಧರ]: Viṣṇu [Vishnu], who holds a conch in his hand.

Keshanta (Keśānta) is a Brahmanic ceremony for the shaving of hair. According to Manu, the keśānta-saṃskāra is performed for a brāhmaṇa in his sixteenth year, for a kṣatriya in the twenty second and for a vaiśya in the twenty fourth of his age.

A Lao mouth organ mostly made of bamboo, with pipes connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. National instrument of Laos, with khene music inscribed in 2017 on UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Used among the ethnic Lao Isan, some Tai ethnic groups such as Tai dam in north Vietnam, Muong people, and Lao population of the province of Stung Treng, Cambodia. In Cambodia, central element in lakhon ken ល្ខោនគែន, dance drama genre featuring the khene as main instrument.

Klon [or glawn, gaun] is a Thai and Lao term referring to 1) poetic verse in general, 2) a specific prosodic form in Thai and Lao poetic traditions.

kram: in middle period Cambodia, referred to proceeding, succession, order, justice, customary law, ordinance. "Cau krama" (IMA 30: 23-4), ‘head of law', judge, magistrate’.

Law codes were called kram, subsisting in modern times as in រាជក្រម reachkram: "royal code, royal edict". ក្រមការ kramkara, "order", "code of conduct", also meant "official, functionary" in middle period.

Kshatriya: one of the four varnas of Hindu society representing warrior aristocracy, along with Brahmins, Vaishyas, and Shudras. An administrator or a warrior.

Paul Pelliot has argued that the kings of Chenla, who were kstariya, could not directly descend from Kaundinya [Preah Thong], who was a brahmin. In Vaishnavism it is stated that the kstariya, ruling class, must govern the world in accordance with the rules and regulations enacted by great brāhmaṇas and saintly persons.

In Cambodia, there was a frequent mix of warrior and priest/scholar classes, a blend that led to a new group called Brahmakshatriyas. For instance, the K. 359 inscription from the 6th century reports the union of Brahmin Somasraman to a sister of King Bhavavarman I, himself a ksatriya. Several kings of Chenla bore the title Ksatriya in their ruler name, and the term came to mean "king" or "queen" in Khmer language.

An indigenous ethnic group with native lands ranging from Khorat Plateau (Northeast Thailand) to the banks of the Mekong River in southern Laos and south to north central Cambodia. One of the "hill tribes", with more than 30,000 identified in modern Cambodia. Known as the "iron masters" of Ancient Cambodia, specializing in iron mining and processing, especially in the Kompong Thom/Preah Vihear area.

Kuy (often Kuay among contemporary linguists) is a Katuic language of the Mon-Khmer language family. Three major dialects of the Kuy language have been identified: ntra, ntua and mla.

1. Royal actress or dancer.
2. ល្ខោនខោល l'khon khol, 'Masked theater', with a repertoire from the Reamker. In Cambodian masked theater, derived from ancient royal dance, each character bears a specific color: green for Ream (Rama), yellow for Preah Leak (Lakshmana), red for Seyda (Sita), white for Hanuman and its 18 monkey warriors, brick red for Krong Reap (Ravana), blue for Tupi (King of Buffaloes).
3. ល្ខោនគែន l'kon ken, a theater and dance form developed during the first reign of King Sihanouk (1945-195), in which the ken, a traditional Mon-Khmer and Laotian reed music instrument, played a central part.

The liṅga is a semi-iconic (between the iconic and the aniconic) image of Śiva. A cylindrical shaft with phallic connotations, it is often associated to the yoni, symbolic representation of the female genitalia, the matrix of anything [1].

The linga symbol is ever-present in Southeast Asian architecture and religious representations. It has absorbed ancient local cults of uncut stones. Associated with fertility rituals in Cambodia, it became the physical embodiment of the kamraten jagat raja or devaraja, the vector of the divine essence attached to kingship.

[1] In Tibetan Vajrayana (tantric Buddhism), 'liṅga' refers to the “upper genitals” [penis or clitoris].

An Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India (some of Bihar and Jharkaland states) and Nepal (Koshi and Madhesh provinces). One of the 22 official languages of India.

Although classical Maithili texts were written in Mithilaksar (Tirhuta) script, the script nowadays mostly used by Maithili speakers is Devanagari.

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit term primarily referring to what is circular thus whole, complete.

1/ In the Arthaśāstra and other legal texts, the mandala is circle of twelve neighbouring kings, some friendly and others unfriendly, in relation to a king desirous of conquest. The term could also be used for the territory under the possession of a feudatory.

2/In Shaivism, maṇḍala, cakra, and yantra are often translated as a “mystical diagram” figuring the space for rituals and the apparition of deities. Mandala can also be a disc, the lunar disc.

3/ In ancient Indian epics, it is the deployment of an army in a circular shape. The term also refers to a part of the Rig-Veda, a combination of dance sequences in the Natyashastra [Treaty on Dance], and in some texts (Kulakaulinimata, for instance) to "round" meaning "breasts".

4/ The Buddhist mandala is a circular picture, sometimes a symbol of the universe, a place of enlightnment or the symbolization of a meritous deed, to be contemplated in meditation or prayer.

5/ The term has been used by some modern historians of Southeast Asia to describe pre-State polities or areas of influences, "circles of allegiance".

1. In India and ancient Southeast Asia, a town where Brahmanas lived; grama refering to smaller settlements. In Vedic texts, it is stated that each nagara or grama had its protecting female deity, nagara devata or grama devata.
2. The name Angkor is derived from nokor នគរ, a Khmer word meaning "kingdom" derivating from Sanskrit nagara.

Na(t): god-like spirits venerated in Myanmar and Burmese communities abroad.

In association with official Buddhism, nasen (နတ်စိမ်း) are humans revered after their death, in particular the 37 Great Nats represented at the Shwezigon Pagoda, completed in 1102 after the instructions of Pagan King Anawrahta (r. 1044–1077).

Nats are also local guardian spirits of springs, trees, villages, mountains like the famous Mt Popa's guardian spirits) who are worshipped at small shrines and during nat pwè, yearly festivals including puppet and theater performances, village dances and shamanic rites performed by the nat kadaw နတ်ကတော်, lit. "consort of the Nat", a role traditionally passed from mother to daughter and, since the end of the 20th century, often impersonated by transgender women.

Much like the Neak-Ta in Cambodia, Nats are ubiquitous in Burmese daily life, especially in the villages. The all-night festivals of zat pwè, combining music, song, dance, drama, and comedy, are now popular in cities.

Naṭarāja is one of the avatars of Shiva as "Supreme dancer-actor", represented in several striking bronze or stone sculpures across India, in particular temples dedicated to Lokeśvara.

Neak ta: a Cambodian ancestral or tutelary force, a local guardian spirit watching over a place or land. Neak ta can be either male or female, and are often associated as a ancestral couple.

Note: Chuon Nath Dictionary takes តា "ta" literally as "grandfather", adding that he is "an old man of the land, who has been looking over the land for a long time."

1. Khmer honorific meaning 'nobleman' or 'lord'. Initially envoys of the Angkor kings, then title in used during the Oudong monarchy from the 18th century, substituting Ponhea (ពញា - equivalent to Phraya (พญา) in Thai). The title "Oknha" was transformed into Thai as Okya (ออกญา) by the Ayutthaya Kingdom. The word Oknha occurs in ancient Vietnamese records.
2. Since 1993, title bestowed by the King (later by the Cambodian government) on civilians (non-royalty) distinguished for their goods deeds. Recently, 'oknha' has become a Khmer version of 'tycoon', as since 2017 wealthy people donating a minimum of 500,000 USD to the State can obtain the title.

This figure, also called a kala (monster face) in Thailand, was a monster depicted beneath the Buddha during the Dvaravati period.

Accprding to Diskul (1970), "Panasbati seems to have a beak of a garuda (the king of birds), ears and horns of a bull, and wings of a hamsa (wild goose). These three animals are mounts of the three great Hindu gods, respectively Vishnu, Siva and Brahma. This placement of the Buddha upon Panasbati might be an attempt to indicate a belief that Buddhism was stronger than Hinduism. Such an iconography does not exist in India."

A Thai traditional garment consisting in a a long strip of cloth wrapped around the waist and often tucked at the back after being passed between the legs.