S
  • Smita

    sk स्मित smita, "gentle laugh", "slight smile",“blooming”.

    Smita (स्मित) in Sanskrit refers to 

    • the “slight smile” of an actor/actress in Natyashastra (theater and dance treatise)
    • the act of "blooming" in Ayurveda (science of life).
    • the smile of Lord Buddha in Mahayana tradition. Even when asked by the venerable Ananda about the meaning of this smiling, the Buddha didn't reply explicitely.
    • In Nagarjuna's commentary of the Prajnaparamita treaty, it is said that the Buddha '[knowingly] smiled (or laughed) with the whole body when he peacefully emerged from Samādhi (समाधि, "completion" "self-absorption" in yoga philosophy).

    [In Khmer, ស្មារតី smartei, refers to "the course of the mind".]

  • stupa, chedi

    sk स्तूप, stupa, "heap" | pa thupa | kh ចេតិយ chedi, cha-dey | th เจดีย์ cedyi, "stupa", "mausoleum".

    A Buddhist mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics, originally from the Buddha or from Buddhist monks or nuns, in modern times the remains of distinguished departed people, where one can come to meditate. 

    Thought to be derived from the ancient ritual of building tumuli, the stupa was designed to allow circumambulation [pradakhshina] around the structure, as seen until these days at Shewanagon Pagoda (Myanmar), the Abayagiri Dageba (Sri Lanka) or Borobodur Temple (Indonesia).

    In Cambodia, royal stupas in pagodas (Oudong, Wat Ounalom, Wat Phnom...) and at the Royal Palace (Kantha Boppha chedi, King Suramarit...) have a distinctive style, different from Thai cedyis. In Khmer, the word originally meant "sign" [of a sacred place], and went to refer only to a structure containing relics.

  • Suparna

    sk सुपर्ण suparṇa, "well-winged"

    Suparna in Sanskrit refers to a supernatural bird, another name for Garuda, the mount of Vishnu. The term is often used in Tantric Buddhism. 

  • Suvarnabhumi, Suvarṇabhūmi, Sovanaphumi

    sk सुवर्णभूमि , pl Suvaṇṇabhūmi, kh នសុវណ្ណភូមិ sovanaphum th สุวรรณภูมิ swrnphumi

    Suvarṇabhūmi is an Eastern "golden kingdom" often mentioned in ancient Indian literary sources such as the Ramayana and Milinda Panha, as well in Buddhist sacred texts, Mahavamsa and Jataka tales.

    While modern scholars such as Ian Glover insisted that it was an "idealised place", a mythical region akin to the Atlantis or the "Land of Milk and Honey" in Western traditions, the place was an actual destination for Indian traders sailing to the East. Several places in modern Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, and also Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Borneo, have been speculated to be the genuine location of Suvarnabhumi.

    In 2017, Dr. Vong Sotheara from the Royal University of Phnom Penh discovered in Kompong Speu province, Baset district, a stone inscription dating back from 633 CE, written in Sanskrit and Nagari characters, which he translated as: “The great King Isanavarman is full of glory and bravery. He is the King of Kings, who rules over Suvarnabhumi until the sea, which is the border, while the kings in the neighbouring states honour his order to their heads.” The stela is now at the National Museum of Cambodia.

    Earlier, researcher George Coedès had suggested that Suvarnabhumi could have been, in its Chinese pronunciation, the root of the word 'Funan', the ancient kingdom in Southern Cambodia.

T
  • Talaing

    bm တလိုင်း talaing | kh តាឡាងិ talangi | ch 得楞 To-leng | [?] sk तैलङ्ग Tailaṅga "the Tailanga country"

    Talaing is one of the Burmese names referring to the Mon people, and used during the British colonial era along with Peguan, from Pegu, the ancient capital of Lower Myanmar. 

    While the word has been found in local inscriptions dating back to the reign of King Anawrata (1044-1077 CE), its etymology remains unclear, one hypothesis being it was linked to the Telinga-Kalinga-Karnatak region of southeast India - cf. Sanskrit तैलङ्गः tailaṅgaḥ "inhabitants of Tailanga [Telinga]". 

    British colonial historians commonly used the words 'Talaing' or 'Peguan' to refer to the Mon people of Burma. For instance, Deputy Commissionner of Burma C.J.F.S. Forbes wrote in 1882: "Burmans are of the Mongolian race, of which the Talaings, Shans, Siamese, and Chinese form also a part. Both their bodily characteristics and their language when compared prove the utter want of connection between the Burman and Rajput races." However, Mon communities have rejected the term for a long time, and it is now considered as pejorative

    Studying Chinese sources from the beginning of the 17th century, Paul Pelliot has proposed that the the To-leng (Tailang) formed a tribe from the 大古喇 "Grand Kou-la [polity], also called 擺古 Pai-kou (Pegu)", were also called 'kola", and joined forces with the Siamese against the Burmese in 1610. According to him, they were dwelling "in the Irawaddy estuary, or perhaps near Martaban" [ancient name of Mottama bm မုတ္တမမြို့, mon Muttama မုဟ်တၟံ, a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, on the west bank of the Thanlwin River (Salween), an important trading center and the capital city of the Martaban Kingdom (later Hanthawaddy Kingdom) from 1287 to 1364. 

  • Talapoin

    pg talapão, from mon tala pōi "our lord".

    Talapoin  is a 16th-century French word for a Buddhist monk. The Portuguese word of origin, "talapão", refers to a "Buddhist monk of Burma and Thailand", allegedly coming from Mon-Burmese "tala poi", a term of respect. 

    In English, talapoins are two species of monkeys of central Africa classified in genus Miopithecus, the smallest of all monkeys weighing between 1 and 2,3 kg, with round, short-snouted head and a hairless face.

  • Tusit, Tusita

    sk तुष्ट tuṣṭa, “(becoming) pleased”, "contented" | pl tusit, "satisfaction", "felicity"; tusitā, "those who are satisfied" | kh តុសិត chu'sit, "realm of the fourth level" | th ดุสิต dusit "fourth heaven" | ch 兜率天 dou leu tien "Tusita Heaven"

    Tusit in Pali is the name of the fourth level of heavenly realm. Tusita refers to a a class of deva [Buddhist heavenly beings] who are 'satisfied' in the sensuous plane.

    In Cambodian Theravada Buddhism, the name of the fourth level of the Kamavacarya Heaven, with King Sandosit as the presiding deity. Bodhisattvas, the Buddha Father, the Buddha Mother, and all other highly meritorious beings are often reborn and reside in this realm. 

    All the Supreme Bodhisattvas, and even the Metteya Buddha (future successor of Gautama Buddha) reside in the Tusit realm, which is itself a non-permanent level of pure felicity

U
  • ubosoth

    th อุโบสถ, "chapel" 

    In Thailand, an edifice surrounded by eight sacred boundary stones inside a Buddhist monastery and within which a Buddhist ordination and ritual can be performed.

  • Utsavamurti

    sk उत्सव utsava 'festive occasion', 'removal of sorrows' + murti, 'form', 'idol', 'manifestation of deity'

    Utsavamurti is an idol of a deity, a replica of the main one installed in the temple, taken out in procession. The utsavar portable statue, generally made of metal instead for portability, is carried around along many others in joyful processions, substituting for a while the central idol, the mulavar, still enshrined in its cella.

    As the utsavamurti is cleansed and worshipped by everyone, its procession is accompanied with dances, songs and music bands expressing collective merriment and joy

    In ancient Cambodia as in ancient and modern India, utsava celebrations were held each time a deity image was installed in its temple, and at given periods of the year. Along the main deity were also carried along icons representing members of its retinue, and portraits of deified members of the royal court. For instance, Shiva would be preceded by Ganesha and followed by his principal servant Chandesha. 

    The 11th century Preah Khan inscription K. 908 required that "at least 122 gods and their entourage were to be brought back to the temple in the month of Phalguna, corresponding to the months of February/March in our calendar (st. CLVIII-CLX)" (cf. Goodall-Chollet-Chhunteng, op. cit.). Until recent times, processions carrying images, often made of metal, were held for the transfer of neak ta of a particular temple.

V
  • Vaijayanta, Vejayant

    sk वैजयन्त  vaijayanta, vi before ji to conquer, jhañ aff.| pali vejayant

    In the puranas, Vaijayanta may refer to 1) the capital city of an asura named Timidhvaja, otherwise called Śambara; 2) The name of the flag of Indra (Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapter 42, Stanza 8); 3) A mountain standing in the middle of the sea of Milk mentioned in Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 35, Stanza 9, as a place where Brahmā comes daily for devotion and meditation.

    It has come to mean the 1. The palace of Indra. 2. The banner or emblem of Indra. 3. A flag, a banner, an ensign. 4. A small tree, (Sesbana Ægyptiaca.) 3. Another tree, (Premna spinosa, &c.) 5. A kind of garland. 6. A necklace. 7. The necklace of Vishnu. 

    In Vastushastra (Indian theory of architecture), Vaijayanta (वैजयन्त) refers to a variety of prāsāda (‘superstructure’, or, upper storey of any building), part of the Ekatala (one-storey) group of prāsādas.

    Etienne Aymonier (1880) suggested that the name "Bayon" came from pali Vejayant, an etymology accepted by modern linguists such as Pou Saveros.

  • Vinaya

    sk & pl विनय vinaya, “humble behaviour”, "virtue", "modest woman". | kh វិន័យ vi-năy, "discipline".

    Vinaya refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for the Sangha communities, and by extension to a category of Buddhist text discussing the application of these precepts. 

    In Theravada Buddhism, the Vinaya Piṭaka (lit. Basket of Discipline) is one of the three divisions of the Pali canon, Tripitaka, along with the Sutta Piṭaka and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, dealing with the monastic codes of conduct for monks (bhikṣu) and nuns (bhikṣuṇī) of the Sangha (community of faithful). It covers rules of individual discipline (prātimokṣa), guidelines for communal harmony, and recommendations for handling transgressions.

    Upāli (kh ឧបាលី), a barber by trade and one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha, was the first in charge of reciting and reviewing the vinaya

  • Vishvakarma

    sk विश्वकर्मा Viśvakarmā, 'all maker'

    Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman is a craftsman deity, "The Architect", "The Divine Engineer of the Universe", earlier known as Tvastar. He is credited to have crafted all of the chariots of the devas, and weapons including the Vajra of god Indra, and was related to the sun god Surya.

    King Norodom of Cambodia believed that the Khmer Royal Sacred Sword ( ព្រះខ័នរាជ្យ, Preah Khan Reach), the double-edge straight sword with a chiseled steel blade sheathed in a jeweled gold scabbard tjhat disappeared from the Royal Palace in 1970, had been made by Vishvakarma.

    Vishwakarma or Visvhvakarma was an important deity in 12-13th c Lopburi Kingdom. In modern South India, the Vishwakarma or Vishwabrahmin community comprises five subgroups—carpenters, blacksmiths, bronze smiths, goldsmiths and stonemasons— claiming to be descendants of Vishvakarma, the builder and architect of heavenly realm.

  • vnam

    okh: vnaṃ ~ vnaṃm ~ vnam ~ bnaṃ ~ branomya, mkh: ភ្នំ bhnaṃ /pʰnʊm/ ``n. mountain, hill''

    1 n. Height, high place, hill, eminence, mount, mountain. 2 n. Temple-mountain, sanctuary.

    • Ref: 125 occurrences, earliest being K.774A:1 (860 CE?). K.9:25 (A.D. 639, V:35); K.44B:2 (A.D. 674, II:10); K.134:15 (A.D. 781, II:92); K.560/739:6 (A.D. 578-777, II:37, VI:54); K.788:8 (A.D. 578-777, VI:61). Ex: ʼaṃnoy kloñ vnaṃ ʼañ tpal teṃ tuṅnot ai vnaṃ tāṅ kloñ 1 sre sanre 20 (K.9:24-6), `Gifts from the chief of my sanctuary: 1 grove of sugar palms on Vnaṃ Tāṅ Kloñ [and] 20 sanre of riceland'.... vnaṃ vrai vnur caṃnoṃ tmur cdin ... (K.44B:2), `... hills, woods, knolls, herds of kine, rivers, ... '.paṃnos ta pos ta gi noḥ vnaṃ vraḥ kamratāṅ ʼañ ... (K.44B:9), `Clerics who have entered orders in the said sanctuary of My Holy High Lord ... '
    • Henri Marchal called the Bayon Vnam Kantal in his essay on Angkor Thom Gates.
    • Saveros Pou:
W
  • Wat, Vat

    sk वास्तु vāstu 'residence', 'reality', 'site', 'essence' | pl vatthu, 'physical base', 'land', 'plot for school-temple' | kh វត្ត vat 'monastery' | th วัด wat 'monastery'.

    Wat (or Vat) : temple, pagoda, Khmer Theravada monastery consisting of the religious buildings and the monks' cells. 

    Vatthu, the Pali origin of the term, both in Khmer and Thai, has a complex Sanskrit etymology, possibly sk वाट vāṭa, 'debate', 'exposition of the truth', 'enclosure', while sk वास्तु vāstu refers to "dwelling", "place fit for the dwelling of gods and humans." In Tantric texts, vastu refers to the “subtle reality”, or "reality conceived by the mind alone."

    Angkor Wat, originally dedicated to Vishnu, has since become known as 'the city which is a (Buddhist) monastery'. 

  • wiang

    th เวียง weiyng 'fortified city' | lo ວຽງ viang 'rampart'

    Wiang: fortified temple. In Lao language, a city, like in Wiang Chan (ວຽງຈັນ), Vientiane, the capital city of modern Laos.

Y
  • Yaksa, Yaksha

    sk यक्ष yakṣa 'semi-god'  | th ยักษ์ yok 'ogre, ogress' | kh យក្ស yoksa, yeak 'giant'

    Yakṣa or Yaksha:

    1) semi-godly inhabitants of Brahmanic Heaven, a type of Upadevas, the third class after Devas and Gaṇadevas. Among Upadevas, there are Vidyādharas, Apsaras, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Piśācas, Guhyakas, Siddhas and Bhūtas.

    2) a class of demons, followers of Rudra (Śiva), their overlord, led by Kubera, a group of 'supernatural beings that cause illness' in Saivism; sometimes similar to Asuras.

    3) in Buddhism, originally malevolent spirits or ghosts who came to protect the righteous, the attendants of Vaiśravaṇa, the guardian of the northern quarter.

    4) In Cambodia and Thailand, as male or female supranatural beings with bulging eyes, they are often represented as guardians of pagodas. In Cambodian village festivities, the yeak are scarecrow-like figures or disguised people designed to ward off evil spirits. As they are meant to be 'big and ugly', they were often represented with European traits in the past.

  • Yama

    sk यम yama 'The Binder', 'self-restraint', 'patience' | kh យមរាជ yomreach 'Lord Yom', 'Lord of Death' 

    Yama (यम) 

    1. refers to a deity that was once worshipped in ancient Kashmir (Kaśmīra) according to the Nīlamatapurāṇa. Yama is the son of the god Sun, he is the lord of the dead. His seven names are: Yama, Dharmarāja, Mṛtyu, Antaka, Vaivasvata, Kāla and Sarvaprāṇahara. Dhūmrorṇā who is the wife of Yama according to the Mahābhārata and the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa is mentioned in the Nīlamata, but her relation to Yama is not pointed out. Also known as Vaivasvata (वैवस्वत);
    2. refers to one of the eight guardians of the quarters, guardian of the South, according to the Sivapurana. Accordingly as Śiva said to Sitā:—“[...] the different parts of the mountain Meru seem to be echoing the pleasing sweet sounds of bees etc. which cause the incitement of love of the guardians of the quarters viz. Indra, Kubera, Yama, Varuṇa, Agni, Nirṛti, Marut (Wind) and the Supreme Lord (Īśa). Heaven, the abode of the Devas is stationed on the summits of the Meru wherein the cities of the guardians of the quarters are also situated. They are brilliant. Beautiful celestial damsels, Rambhā, Śacī, Menakā and others heighten their glory”;
    3. in Buddhism, the God of Death, the overlord of Pitṛis (पितृ), litt. 'fathers', departed ancestors, to whom the Dharmashastra recommends to offer balls (of rice); punishes men after death according to their actions, sinful or otherwise;
    4. refers to “self-restraint”, "forebearance". It is the first of the eight means of attaining mental concentration by yoga practice. The other means are “niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna” and “samādhi”.  

    In Cambodia, Yama (kh យមរាជ) is the king of the Dead, son of Surya reigning over the subterranean world. According to ethnologist Ang Choulean, Vraḥ Yamarāj or ‘King Yama’ is "the God closest to the Khmers", the one to these days invoked in "annual Pchum Ben (Fortnight of the Dead) and mortuary rituals. Yama astride his buffalo looms large in Angkorian lintels across the centuries as the god of death and justice and as the subject in imprecations aimed at transgressors and temple vandals." Prof. Ang Choulean remarked that in Cambodia, Yama's representations and altars, originally facing south like in Indian traditions, started to be oriented in the northeast direction from the 13th-14th centuries, emphasizing the promise of reincarnation over physical death. 

  • Yantra

    sk यन्त्र yantra "sign", "diagram", "design", "device". | pa yant | kh យ័ន្ដ yan't "protective bareer"; សាក់យ័ន្ដ sakyant, "tattooed symbol".

    1. In Shaivism, Yantra is a type of ritualistic worship performed along with Tantra and Mantra. While yantra is a mystical diagram charged with occult powers, tantra is mostly the worship of the female energy of Shiva, his Shakti, through mystical sexual intercourse, and mantra is a magical formula.
    2. Mystical diagrams, usually small-sized and portable, with geometric patterns that can be two- or three-dimensional, while mandalas are mostly two-dimensional. It can be the form of a deity as a symbol.
    3. In Buddhism, yantras are graphic symbols used in the recitation of the mantras and the dhāraṇīs.
    4. In Cambodian traditions, yantras are magical diagrams used for protection. Healing kru (traditional doctors) drawn these "bareers" on cloth, metal foil or paper, or as tattoo. They often combine the five representations of the Buddha, the five corresponding pali letters, and symbols of Brahmanic origin (The Triple Gem). The former ones are often drawn in yellow, the latter in red.
    5. The etymology of Prasat Bayon ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន has often been explained as Pa-Yan(t), "The Great Yantra" or "Ancestor's Yantra", the building being a kind of "diagram in stone."
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