Khmer inscriptions

Their structure is fixed: after an introductory invocation of the divinity, comes the praise of the founder or benefactor of the sanctuary before ending with imprecatory verses aimed at anyone who would not protect the premises of the temple and wishing them the chastisement of hell.

[9] There is no trace of Pali texts proper in ancient Cambodian epigraphy, except epigraphs consisting of the formula: Ye dhamma.

The presence of Pali in Khmer epigraphy effectively replaced that of Sanskrit from the 14th century onwards and it was regarded as a sacred language.

[10] Khmer inscriptions attest to the existence of every type of ancient literature - scientific, historical, epic and especially religious.

[11] The Khmer inscriptions written in Sanskrit are often religious invocations which reveal the influence of philosophical and theological conceptions rooted in Indian texts such as the Upanishad, the Purana and the Agama for Vaisnavism and Shaivism.

Cambodian epigraphy provides a comparatively large and early documentation on Pancharatra and more specifically of its "five timely observances", as well as indications of syncretistic Vaisnavism which would be peculiar to ancient Cambodia.

Instead of reflecting a transaction system adapted to a complex society, the Angkorian period inscriptions show less concern with monetary values than before.

Among the many rites and offerings, many artists, dancers, musicians, and singers, are to mentioned to serve the gods in daily worship.

[20] The study of Indo-Cambodian epigraphy began in 1879 with the decipherment of some Sanskrit records by H. Kern from the estampages prepared by Jules Harmand.

Since the death of the latter in 1969, epigraphist Kamaleswar Bhattacharya has claimed that "not a single scholar has turned up who can read both Sanskrit and Khmer".

[22] Others such as Matsuura Fumiaki reject the claim that the field of Khmer epigraphy is moribund since the 1960s quoting the works of scholars such as Michael Vickery, and his study on the pre-Angkorian corpus, and Philp Jenner, and his study in collaboration with Vong Sotheara, as well as Gerdi Gerschheimer leading the project of the Corpus des Inscriptions khmeres.