A Queen's Eulogy

In the city named the Temple of Patience,

in the city of Former Eloquence, and eventually

in the city of Angkor, this Brahmin girl of royal rank

became the beloved of King Jayavarman.

Her lowered head on the raised feet of the king,

she approached the Ganges, whose fallen feet lay on Shiva’s head.

Among the lovelies who loved learning, she scattered the king’s favors,

lovely nectars in the form of learning.

Wise by nature, a polymath, perfectly pure,

devoted to King Jayavarman,

having composed this pure paean

at the expense of all other arts, she gleamed.

Queen Indradevi (c. 1181-1218), Translated from Sanskrit by Trent Walker

From 1190–1200, Indradevi penned a composition eulogizing her late younger sister, Jayarajadevi. Her composition was inscribed on a large stone stele at Phimeanakas temple in Angkor Thom. The composition was in Sanskrit, comprised of 102 stanzas, the last three are included above. Trent Walker also recorded his chanting of the above stanzas in their original Sanskrit. Give it a listen