S44-3

Vajradhātvīśvarī and Vairocana: Twin Image of Spiritual Liberation in the Tenth Century Khmer Empire

London School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom

This talk explores the spiritual meaning of the Khmer Prajñāpāramitā as she is represented on tenth century caityas or steles. It argues for the importance of the Wisdom Tradition in 10th century CE Cambodia and relates the Prajñāpāramitā tradition to the Yoga Tantra tradition which was also gaining ground around the same time. Furthermore, this paper aims to show that a particular form of Prajñāpāramitā, Vajradhātvīśvarī, and the deity Vairocana are specifically linked to each other in two important caityas – one well known and displayed at the Musée Guimet in France, and the otehr, rarely seen, but displayed at the Museum in Battambang, Cambodia. I will set out to show that in Khmer Buddhism of 10th century Vairocana and Prajñāpāramitā as Vajradhātvīśvarī were depicted as mirror images of spiritual liberation.