Latest / The Khmer Empire: The Lost Civilization Behind Angkor Wat — Fexingo History / Jayavarman VIII's Anti-Buddhist Purge and the Fall of Mahayana at Angkor
Transcript
- Lucas: So last time we talked about the Leper King statue and all the mystery around it. But that terrace sits right in the heart of Angkor Thom, which was built by one of the most extraordinary kings in Khmer history — Jayavarman VII, the Buddhist king who covered the capital with Mahayana monasteries and hospitals. Luna: Right, the guy who built Ta Prohm and Preah Khan. He was a fervent Buddhist, wasn't he? Lucas: Absolutely. And his devotion was written all over the city — giant faces of Avalokiteshvara on the Bayon, reliefs of Buddhist scenes, inscriptions praising the Buddha. But what's often forgotten is that within a few decades of his death, a king came to power who tried to erase every trace of Buddhism from Angkor. Luna: Wait, seriously? Like a religious purge? Lucas: Exactly. That king was Jayavarman VIII, and he reigned from roughly 1243 to 1295. He was a devout Hindu, a Shaivite, and he launched a systematic campaign to dismantle the state Buddhism that Jayavarman VII had established. And I don't mean subtle policy changes — I mean smashing Buddha statues, converting Buddhist temples back into Hindu shrines, and even altering the Bayon itself. Luna: How do we know this? Through inscriptions? Lucas: Partly. There's an inscription from the Preah Khan temple that mentions the destruction of Buddhist images. But we also have physical evidence. When archaeologists excavated the Bayon, they found that many of the Buddha figures that once sat in niches had been deliberately broken off or recarved. At Ta Prohm, some Buddha images were actually walled up inside the temple, as if they were being hidden — or maybe just discarded. And at some sites, you can see where a Buddha was carved into a lintel and then later chiseled out and replaced by a Hindu deity, usually Shiva or Vishnu. Luna: So it was a deliberate, state-sponsored campaign of iconoclasm. Lucas: Exactly. And it wasn't just art — it was also personnel. Buddhist monks were expelled from the monasteries, and the whole administrative system that Jayavarman VII had built, which was intertwined with the Buddhist sangha, was dismantled. The devaraja cult — the worship of the king as a god, which had been Hindu all along — was restored. And Jayavarman VIII reasserted the primacy of the Shaivite priesthood. Luna: What was his motive? Was it just religious zealotry, or was there a political angle? Lucas: Probably both. Jayavarman VII's reign had been incredibly ambitious — building hospitals, roads, temples — but it also bankrupted the state. There's evidence that by the early 13th century, the economy was strained, and the nobility was resentful of the Buddhist clergy's power and wealth. So when Jayavarman VIII came to power — he was likely a grandson or great-grandson of Jayavarman VII, but from a rival branch — he had a ready-made constituency of Hindu nobles and priests who wanted to roll back the Buddhist influence. And he also had to deal with external threats, like the Mongols, who were pressing on the borders. A return to traditional Hindu kingship may have seemed like a way to consolidate power and appease the gods. Luna: Did the purge succeed in wiping out Buddhism? Lucas: In the short term, it severely damaged Mahayana Buddhism in Cambodia. But it didn't eliminate Buddhism altogether. What happened instead was that Theravada Buddhism, which was spreading from Sri Lanka through the Thai kingdoms, began to take root among the common people. And Jayavarman VIII's successor, his son-in-law Indravarman II, actually converted to Theravada Buddhism. So the Hindu revival was short-lived — maybe fifty years. And then Theravada became the dominant faith, which it remains today. Luna: Fascinating. So the purge backfired in a way — it destroyed the old Buddhist establishment but opened the door for a different kind of Buddhism. Lucas: Exactly. And it's one of the reasons Jayavarman VIII is often overlooked. He's not the builder — he's the destroyer. But his actions had profound consequences. They weakened the state's ideological unity at a time when the Khmer Empire was already under pressure. The Thai kingdoms were growing more powerful, and the loss of the Buddhist network — which had been a tool of integration across the empire — probably made it harder to hold the periphery together. Luna: It's a bit like the English Reformation — a top-down religious change that reshaped politics. Lucas: That's a great comparison. And like the English Reformation, it left physical scars. You can still see them today at Angkor. If you visit the Bayon, look closely at the faces — some of them have been recarved. Originally they were Avalokiteshvara, but later, under Jayavarman VIII or his successors, many were given a more neutral, maybe even Hindu, appearance. Luna: So the famous smiling faces might not all be the same deity we think they are? Lucas: That's the controversy. Some scholars argue that the faces were always a blend — or that they represent the king as a universal monarch, not strictly a Buddhist figure. But the recarving is undeniable. There's also the case of the 'Buddha of Preah Khan' — a massive Buddha statue that was later broken into pieces and used as fill in a later structure. It was a clear act of desecration. Luna: So the evidence is scattered but consistent. What happened to Jayavarman VIII himself? Lucas: He reigned for over fifty years, which is remarkable. He died around 1295, and was succeeded by his son-in-law Indravarman II, who is a shadowy figure. Interestingly, the Chinese envoy Zhou Daguan visited Angkor in 1296-97, right after Jayavarman VIII's death, and he describes a Theravada Buddhist kingdom. So the transition must have been fairly swift. Zhou Daguan doesn't mention the purge, but he does describe a society where Buddhist monks were highly respected, and where the king listened to them. That's a far cry from what Jayavarman VIII had tried to impose. Luna: And that's where we get our best eyewitness account of Angkor — from after the Hindu revival had collapsed. Lucas: Exactly. So the purge is a key part of the story that's often skipped — the violent backlash that nearly erased a century of Buddhist art and architecture. It's a reminder that religious tolerance wasn't always the norm, even in a civilization we think of as spiritually rich. Luna: Speaking of erasing things — you know, we talk about all this history for free, and it's only possible because of listeners who support the show. If you've been coming along with us through these conversations about Southeast Asia, and you find them valuable, you can help keep this project going. It's a small thing — just buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's all. And it genuinely makes a difference. Lucas: Yeah, it really does. Every little bit goes straight into research time and recording costs. No ads, no sponsors — just us and the history. So if you're able, we'd appreciate it. Luna: And now back to Jayavarman VIII. Lucas, you mentioned the Mongols — did they play any role in the religious shift? Lucas: That's a great question. The Mongols under Kublai Khan were expanding into Southeast Asia in the late 13th century. They invaded Champa in the 1280s and even sent an envoy to Angkor demanding submission. Jayavarman VIII reportedly refused, but he also didn't want to provoke an attack. Some historians think the Hindu revival was partly a way to rally the traditional warrior elite around a conservative ideology, to present a united front against the Mongol threat. Whether it worked is debatable — the Mongols never invaded Cambodia directly, but their campaigns destabilized the region and contributed to the rise of the Thai kingdoms. Luna: So the purge might have been a strategic move, not just religious. Lucas: Exactly. And like many strategic moves, it had unintended consequences. The destruction of Buddhist institutions may have alienated the Chinese, who were themselves Buddhist under the Yuan dynasty. And it severed ties with the Buddhist networks in Sri Lanka and the Malay world. In the long run, it left Cambodia more isolated just as the region was changing rapidly. Luna: Were any Buddhist texts or artworks saved? Lucas: Some were hidden. There's a famous case at the temple of Banteay Kdei, where a cache of bronze Buddha images was found buried under the floor — clearly someone tried to protect them. And many inscriptions were simply left in place, though some had the Buddhist portions chiseled out. The Khmer script is durable, so we can still read them today. But the physical damage is irreversible. Luna: It reminds me of the destruction of Buddhist sites in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Lucas: It's a very similar impulse — to purify the landscape of competing religious symbols. And it's interesting because Jayavarman VIII didn't just destroy Buddhist images; he also built new Hindu temples. He added a causeway to Angkor Wat, which was originally Hindu but had been used by Buddhists, and he reinforced the devaraja cult. So it wasn't only destruction — it was a rebuilding of a Hindu identity. Luna: Was there any resistance? Lucas: We don't have records of open rebellion, but there are hints. The fact that some statues were hidden suggests that people were trying to save them. And there's an inscription from the reign of his successor that mentions restoring some Buddhist practices, which implies that the purge was seen as excessive. But we don't have a detailed chronicle from that period — the Cambodian royal chronicles were written much later, and they're fragmented for this era. Luna: So we're left with archaeology and a few inscriptions. Lucas: And that's what makes it so fascinating — and so challenging. We have to piece together the story from mutilated statues and broken lintels. But when you put it together, you get a vivid picture of a king who was determined to turn back the clock, to restore a golden age that probably never existed. And in doing so, he may have hastened the empire's decline. Luna: It's a cautionary tale about ideological purges. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's a story that deserves to be better known. Jayavarman VII is celebrated as the builder, the Buddhist king. But his legacy was deliberately attacked by his own family. The Angkor we see today is not just the product of creation — it's also the product of erasure. Luna: Thanks for bringing that to light, Lucas. It really changes how I see those smiling faces. Lucas: Glad to. Next time, we'll look at another shadowy figure — the king who finally abandoned Angkor for Phnom Penh. But for now, this is the Khmer Empire on Fexingo History.