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257 The Lintel of Vat Eng Khna, Cambodia Chapter 20 The Lintel of Vat Eng Khna, Cambodia: Image, Text and Precedent Kirsten Southworth Abstract This paper discusses the intricacies of the relations between South and Southeast Asian religious imagery using the example of the long-known stone lintel from Vat Eng Khna as a focus point. By carefully relating the scenes of the lintel to comparable objects from South Asia, it demonstrates the necessity of challenging established concepts of the flow of ideas and visual concepts between both regions. Introduction Both Buddhism and Hinduism undoubtedly originated in India and travelled to other parts of Asia. Under the heading of “Indianization”, it is generally assumed that not only the religious texts but also the religious imagery in Southeast Asia are ultimately derived from Indian sources. This assumption, however, effectively denies the possibility of any major iconographic development in Southeast Asia itself. A close examination of the well-known figurative lintel from Vat Eng Khna (Kompong Thom province in Cambodia) [Fig. 20.1], now in the National Museum of Phnom Penh, will illuminate how far this assumption can still be considered valid by looking at the two scenes depicted on it, in relation to the textual evidence and their visual precursors in Indian art. The lintel under review was first published by George Groslier in the mid-1920s (1925: 53, 89, pl. 133) and more fully by Henri Parmentier in 1927, together with a second lintel from the same site (1927: 87–8, figs. 34, 92). Both lintels are dated to the second half of the 7th century AD according to stylistic 257 Fig. 20.1: Lintel from Vat Eng Khna, National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Acc. No. Ka1774; l. 1.84m, h. 0.54m (Photograph courtesy of W. Southworth). Connecting Empires hi res combin257 257 8/24/2012 9:48:22 PM 258 Kirsten Southworth parallels, as no inscription has yet been found in the direct vicinity of Vat Eng Khna. The two scenes on the piece discussed here were first identified as the liṅgodbhavamūrti, the genesis of the liṅga, and as the abhiṣeka ceremony at the inauguration of a king by F.D.K. Bosch in 1931. The liṅgodbhavamūrti The liṅgodbhavamūrti is to be found in the upper part of the lintel, on the carved arch. The central decorative motif on the arch is a creeper, bordered by strings of pearls. The arch itself is adorned with five floral medallions containing figures [Fig. 20.2]. The medallion in the centre of the arch shows a column with a face, indicating an ekamukhaliṅga as a representation of the god Śiva. The medallion to its right (on the left to the viewer) shows a male figure with three visible heads and two arms shown from the hip upwards, his hands held in añjalimudrā towards the centre. Due to his multiple heads and coiffure, this figure is identified as the god Brahmā. The medallion to the left of the centre (on the viewer’s right) contains a male figure with four arms and only one face, again shown from the hip upwards. His face is turned towards the centre and one pair of his hands is held up in añjalimudrā, whereas the other two hands are raised. The right hand holds a conch shell, śaṅkha, whereas the left hand is broken. The remaining attribute and the particular headgear of the figure make him identifiable as the god Viṣṇu. This scene would just depict a trimūrti (Groslier 1925: 89) was it not for the fact that hidden within the creeper is a flying bird on the right side of the liṅga and a boar on its left. These two form the basis for identifying the arrangement as a liṅgodbhavamūrti and not merely as a trimūrti. As the liṅgodbhavamūrti never became a very popular subject in the art of Southeast Asia, it is even more surprising to find this depiction at such an early date (Gail 2010: 254–5). The legend of the origin of the liṅga is preserved in several purāṇas, notably the Śivapurāṇa and the Skandapurāṇa. Central to the story is the quarrel between Viṣṇu and Brahmā regarding which of them was the greatest. While they are disputing this, a flaming pillar, the liṅga, appears. They decide to settle their quarrel on the basis of who...

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