Enduring Evidence of Enlightened Rulers

Despite attempts to destroy their legacy, the royal triad left a clear record of their beliefs for the ages. Throughout the empire the royals repeated their messages, consistently using religious iconography showing respect for women, with Prajnaparamita, a female Mahayana Buddhist divinity, standing on equal footing with Lord Avalokiteshvara. This hierarchy is unseen in prior eras yet, here, as Buddhism supplanted Shivaism, the roles of women were raised to divine heights. Here, the dominant forces became subservient to ideals of equality that infuriated them.
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In the end, Shivaism briefly dominated the country one last time, desperate to show that it had no place for the importance of women either in religious or civil representations. Enraged Shivites proceeded to obliterate all the representations of Prajnaparamita that they had the energy to destroy. Despite their misguided efforts the message survived.
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All visitors to the great walled city of Angkor Thom still receive additional confirmation of this ideology. For more than 800 years, every visitor has had to enter and exit through one of five gateways into the Angkorian city-fortress that the royal triad built. At each gate, they created clear and subtle messages of their spiritual and personal beliefs.

Angkor Thom
North gate of Angkor Thom, note the paired 3-headed elephants and missing pediments
with the facades, thus exposing the roofing's frame into the king's giant faces.

As one approaches the gates, one sees three giant faces of the king forming three distinct peaks, resembling the triconical crowns that Jayavarman VII wore to military functions, his branded signature, logo, and symbol of the king's personal triad – Queen Indradevi, Jayavarman VII and Queen Jayarajadevi. This formidable royal triad had shared visions; by combining their feminine and masculine forces and intelligence they achieved milestones of social evolution by giving equal rights and opportunities to pave the road to a civilized nation.
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As mentioned above, enemies of this philosophy tried to obliterate these enlightened views, demolishing the façades of each gateway that, in my theory, previously showed the royal trinity. Following the obliteration of Buddhist symbols they renamed the faces to represent the Hindu god Shiva (or Brahma). But enough evidence still remains to see the original intent, especially when taken in context with the rest of the iconography of this reign.
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At ground level on both sides of each gate appear the special three-headed elephants of Indra, the Hindu God of Gods. Here, the king fitted the symbolic elephants with three conic crowns of lotus petals. This subtle but powerful change implied to all that these were no longer Indra's elephants, but Jayavarman VII's royal elephants. The king was proudly accompanied by his two queens smiling always, one on each side of him.
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All three royal benefactors sat astride the elephants welcoming every visitor (see below).Note that all three royal figures assume the same sitting position of power with the right knee up and the right elbow on the knee and the right hand holding the vajra or other (powerful weapon of choice of Indra, the hindu God) across the chest. King Jayavarman VII states a public and deliberate show of force, that Queen Indradevi and Queen Jayarajadevi hold absolute and equal powers to the organization and laws of their kingdom.

Angkor Thom
Elephants wearing conic crowns remain below the defaced royal triad.
Note the same sitting position of power of both queens and the king.

Above the king and the two queens, seven devata (sacred females in Khmer iconography) with both hands joined at heart level in the anjali prayer gesture greet and bless all visitors. Above, on both sides of the king's giant face, a special devata appears draping two long flower garlands from her waist down, one by each side of his ear (see and mouseover photo below).
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The concept of the three as in trinity, trimuti or triad — two queens and one king — is frequently seen. Each city visitor therefore learned the personal, spiritual, and civil beliefs of its rulers, with clear messages regarding the rights and importance of women in this kingdom.

Each gate revealed the beliefs of the royal Khmer triad.
Angkor Thom
Queen Indradevi, King Jayavarman VII and Queen Jayarajadevi at Preah Khan.

The time has come to understand this king and his two queens by the clear records they left for future generations. Their monuments, inscriptions and bas-relief illustrations show us magnanimous rulers who cared for their citizens — kings and queens as men and women working together to achieve what once thought humanly impossible building a prosperous state rich in physical, social and intellectual innovations guided by universal principles 830 years earlier.
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These three great leaders shared a magnificent vision for their people. They worked together weaving wisdom, common sense, and humanitarian principles to create their own blend of Buddhism, a tripod of strength that embraced their national heritage, religious and civil ethics, and personal beliefs.
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Like all true leaders, this royal triad led by example. Eight hundred years, later their legacy in stone still broadcasts their beliefs in humanity. While Angkor Wat impresses visitors with grandiose architecture the Bayon inspires visitors with heartfelt awe, beneath the king's giant caring faces that peacefully smile upon them from above and surrounded by the queens' gentle smiles at ground level. In the Bayon today, King Jayavarman VII, Queen Jayarajadevi and Queen Indradevi still bless us with smiles recognizing the humanity in all of us.

Angkor Thom
Queen Indradevi, King Jayavarman VII and Queen Jayarajadevi at the Bayon.