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Description
On a hot and sunny day in the dry season, a glorious procession paraded down the causeway outside the city of Angkor. The high walls of the palace shrank in the distance as the royal entourage moved out. The king, Jayavarman V, was going on one of his periodic journeys around the kingdom to check in on various temples. His family and courtiers accompanied him on these occasions, which meant that their exit from the capital city was a cause for great fanfare. A 13th century Chinese observer, Zhou Daguan, described a similar procession of one of Jayavarman's successors in his vivid The Customs of Cambodia:

When the King leaves his palace, the procession is headed by the soldiery; then come the flags, the banners, the music. Girls of the palace, three or five hundred in number, gaily dressed, with flowers in their hair and tapers in their hands, are massed together in a separate column. The tapers are lighted even in broad daylight. Then come other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments, of very special design, the uses of which were strange to me. Then came still more girls, the bodyguard of the palace, holding shields and lances. These, too, were separately aligned. Following them came chariots drawn by goats and horses, all adorned with gold; ministers and princes, mounted on elephants, were preceded by bearers of scarlet parasols, without number. Close behind them came the royal wives and concubines, in palanquins and chariots, or mounted on horses or elephants, to whom were assigned at least a hundred parasols mottled with gold. Finally the Sovereign appeared, standing erect on an elephant and holding in his hand the sacred sword. This elephant, his tusks sheathed in gold, was accompanied by beaarers of twenty white parasols with golden shafts.

In this illustration, we focus in on the wives and concubines. Sitting proudly astride an elephant is Prana, the step-mother of the king and wife of the late Rajendravarman II. Khmer kings had five wives, one principal wife in the central palace, and another four for each of the cardinal directions. Prana was one of these latter secondary wives. Whether she had any biological children of her own is unknown. Her stepson Jayavarman was only a child when he came to the throne after the suspicious death of his father in 968. With the king so young, Prana took on a leading role in administering the kingdom on her stepson's behalf. She was never officially named a regent, but it was considered normal for women to play important political roles in the Khmer Empire. Prana became the chief of Jayvarman's private secretaries and served as one of his most improtant and most trusted advisors at court.

Prana came from one of the oldest aristocratic families in the empire, the Saptadevakula family. Following the ancient custom of matrilineal succession, they claimed descent from the grandparents of an early king. Most aristocratic families in the city were much more recently formed, giving the Saptadevakula family an air of "old money" among the newer upstart clans. Those families had only gained serious standing with the expansion of the palace's bureaucracy in the 10th century, whereas the Saptadevakula had held power since the empire's foundation in the 9th century. High-ranking Brahmins, their hereditary obligation in the palace was to serve as the chief of the fan-carriers, meaning they were frequently given very close access to the royal family. Prana's marriage to Rajendravarman II gave them an even stronger position in the palace than they'd had before.

After the death of her husband, Prana's family only grew in power. Rajendravarman's chief wife Narendradavi was long dead, so Prana took a leading role in the young king's inner circle. She was known to be charming and scholarly, probably well-versed in Sanskrit, astronomy, and politics like other educated women at court. In an atmosphere where there were many male rivals to the throne, Khmer kings relied on the women of their harem to support and protect their title. In turn, these women's families gained increasing power in the kingdom. Two of Prana's brothers became important priests, and five of her nephews joined the court to serve Jayavarman. One of these nephews was Kavisvara, a scholar and poet who became the leader of the Saptadevakula family in his generation. By the year 1000, Kavisvara was the king's personal guru and was in charge of the sacred fire, taking over the role that had traditionally belonged to a different family. As Jayavarman's guru, he wielded enormous influence in the government of the empire, which was the most powerful kingdom in all of Southeast Asia.

Prana's patronage of the Saptadevakula family under Jayavarman V would have major ramifications beyond his reign. Just a year after this illustration is set, Jayavarman would die peacefully of old age. The nephew who succeeded him lasted only a few months on the throne before being succeeded by Jayaviravarman, who came from a lesser-known branch of the royal family. But at the same time that Jayaviravarman took the throne in Angkor, a rival claimant to the northeast also claimed the kingship. His name was Suryavarman, and through his mother he was descended from the Saptadevakula family. After marrying a royally descended woman called Viralakshmi to strengthen his claim, he waged a civil war against Jayaviravarman. Within a few years, Suryavarman won the conflict and installed himself properly as king in Angkor. He demanded an oath of loyalty from the aristocratic families of the capital, but one of them enjoyed a special relationship with him: The Saptadevakula family.

While others got cast out for supporting Jayaviravarman, the Saptadevakula were elevated to new heights under Suryavarman. Members of the family independently founded temples across the empire, with inscriptions naming them and sidelining the king. The power of bureacrats which had expanded during the minority of King Jayavarman V reached its height under Suryavarman, and the Saptadevakula family was the most powerful of them all. Suryavarman's uncle Sankara became the head of the family after Kavisvara's death, and for the next decades of Suryavarman's reign, the Saptadevakula were second to none in power among the aristocratic clans. Prana's marriage to Rajendravarman had opened the door to power for them, and she did everything she could to facilitate her family's growing influence over the government of the empire.

If she was still alive in the year 1000, she would have been an old woman at the apogee of her power. In the great city where a hundred years later would stand the magnificent temple of Angkor Wat, she kickstarted the golden age of the Saptadevakula family. The family was poised to support their own kindred in the upcoming struggle for succession, but for now, Jayavarman still ruled, and there was peace in the capital. Adorned in jewellery of gold and sheltered from the sun by a glittering parasol, she looked out over the royal procession with satisfaction. More than a few of the ministers and princes carried in palanquins ahead of her were there thanks to her. Her hard work in the administration of the empire had paid off, and she could die knowing that she had succeeded in catapulting her family to success in the most powerful kingdom in the land.

I started drawing this one three years ago in April 2020. I stopped when I realised that Indralakshmi, an important sister of Jayavarman V who was originally meant to sit on the second elephant, had actually died decades earlier. However, I'm so glad I finally came back to this one and finally added Angkor to the project! In addition to the medieval Khmer relief sculptures showing people riding elephants, I found a helpful resource to be the illustrations of Maurice Fievet . You can see a collection of reconstruction art I found online on this Pinterest board . The outfits of Prana and the other woman are based on the sculptures at Banteay Srei, "the Citadel of the Women", which was built under Rajendravarman and Jayavarman. I realise now that Prana probably would have been reclining on the cushion rather than sitting with her legs down as she is now, but oh well! I couldn't find an illustration of what the capital looked like under Jayavarman V, so for the causeway and horizon I used a virtual reconstruction of Angkor Wat .

Cambodian women had such an important role to play in the Khmer Empire. I'm glad I could share one of their stories with you today! I would really love to see Angkor Wat today. It was cool spending some time there in my imagination.

Learn more on the website: womenof1000ad.weebly.com/prana…

Others in the series include...

Hrugs 'or za (Tibet)
The Royal Dancer of Gao (Mali)
Bharima (Bangladesh)
Gunnborga (Sweden)
The Parrot Keepers of Wind Mountain (New Mexico)
The Rice Keepers of Yamashiro (Japan)
The Riders of Holda (Germany)
The Initiate of Schroda (South Africa)

The Traveller of Moxos (Bolivia)

The Maize Farmer of the Illinois River Valley (Illinois)

Description
On a hot and sunny day in the dry season, a glorious procession paraded down the causeway outside the city of Angkor. The high walls of the palace shrank in the distance as the royal entourage moved out. The king, Jayavarman V, was going on one of his periodic journeys around the kingdom to check in on various temples. His family and courtiers accompanied him on these occasions, which meant that their exit from the capital city was a cause for great fanfare. A 13th century Chinese observer, Zhou Daguan, described a similar procession of one of Jayavarman's successors in his vivid The Customs of Cambodia:

When the King leaves his palace, the procession is headed by the soldiery; then come the flags, the banners, the music. Girls of the palace, three or five hundred in number, gaily dressed, with flowers in their hair and tapers in their hands, are massed together in a separate column. The tapers are lighted even in broad daylight. Then come other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments, of very special design, the uses of which were strange to me. Then came still more girls, the bodyguard of the palace, holding shields and lances. These, too, were separately aligned. Following them came chariots drawn by goats and horses, all adorned with gold; ministers and princes, mounted on elephants, were preceded by bearers of scarlet parasols, without number. Close behind them came the royal wives and concubines, in palanquins and chariots, or mounted on horses or elephants, to whom were assigned at least a hundred parasols mottled with gold. Finally the Sovereign appeared, standing erect on an elephant and holding in his hand the sacred sword. This elephant, his tusks sheathed in gold, was accompanied by beaarers of twenty white parasols with golden shafts.

In this illustration, we focus in on the wives and concubines. Sitting proudly astride an elephant is Prana, the step-mother of the king and wife of the late Rajendravarman II. Khmer kings had five wives, one principal wife in the central palace, and another four for each of the cardinal directions. Prana was one of these latter secondary wives. Whether she had any biological children of her own is unknown. Her stepson Jayavarman was only a child when he came to the throne after the suspicious death of his father in 968. With the king so young, Prana took on a leading role in administering the kingdom on her stepson's behalf. She was never officially named a regent, but it was considered normal for women to play important political roles in the Khmer Empire. Prana became the chief of Jayvarman's private secretaries and served as one of his most improtant and most trusted advisors at court.

Prana came from one of the oldest aristocratic families in the empire, the Saptadevakula family. Following the ancient custom of matrilineal succession, they claimed descent from the grandparents of an early king. Most aristocratic families in the city were much more recently formed, giving the Saptadevakula family an air of "old money" among the newer upstart clans. Those families had only gained serious standing with the expansion of the palace's bureaucracy in the 10th century, whereas the Saptadevakula had held power since the empire's foundation in the 9th century. High-ranking Brahmins, their hereditary obligation in the palace was to serve as the chief of the fan-carriers, meaning they were frequently given very close access to the royal family. Prana's marriage to Rajendravarman II gave them an even stronger position in the palace than they'd had before.

After the death of her husband, Prana's family only grew in power. Rajendravarman's chief wife Narendradavi was long dead, so Prana took a leading role in the young king's inner circle. She was known to be charming and scholarly, probably well-versed in Sanskrit, astronomy, and politics like other educated women at court. In an atmosphere where there were many male rivals to the throne, Khmer kings relied on the women of their harem to support and protect their title. In turn, these women's families gained increasing power in the kingdom. Two of Prana's brothers became important priests, and five of her nephews joined the court to serve Jayavarman. One of these nephews was Kavisvara, a scholar and poet who became the leader of the Saptadevakula family in his generation. By the year 1000, Kavisvara was the king's personal guru and was in charge of the sacred fire, taking over the role that had traditionally belonged to a different family. As Jayavarman's guru, he wielded enormous influence in the government of the empire, which was the most powerful kingdom in all of Southeast Asia.

Prana's patronage of the Saptadevakula family under Jayavarman V would have major ramifications beyond his reign. Just a year after this illustration is set, Jayavarman would die peacefully of old age. The nephew who succeeded him lasted only a few months on the throne before being succeeded by Jayaviravarman, who came from a lesser-known branch of the royal family. But at the same time that Jayaviravarman took the throne in Angkor, a rival claimant to the northeast also claimed the kingship. His name was Suryavarman, and through his mother he was descended from the Saptadevakula family. After marrying a royally descended woman called Viralakshmi to strengthen his claim, he waged a civil war against Jayaviravarman. Within a few years, Suryavarman won the conflict and installed himself properly as king in Angkor. He demanded an oath of loyalty from the aristocratic families of the capital, but one of them enjoyed a special relationship with him: The Saptadevakula family.

While others got cast out for supporting Jayaviravarman, the Saptadevakula were elevated to new heights under Suryavarman. Members of the family independently founded temples across the empire, with inscriptions naming them and sidelining the king. The power of bureacrats which had expanded during the minority of King Jayavarman V reached its height under Suryavarman, and the Saptadevakula family was the most powerful of them all. Suryavarman's uncle Sankara became the head of the family after Kavisvara's death, and for the next decades of Suryavarman's reign, the Saptadevakula were second to none in power among the aristocratic clans. Prana's marriage to Rajendravarman had opened the door to power for them, and she did everything she could to facilitate her family's growing influence over the government of the empire.

If she was still alive in the year 1000, she would have been an old woman at the apogee of her power. In the great city where a hundred years later would stand the magnificent temple of Angkor Wat, she kickstarted the golden age of the Saptadevakula family. The family was poised to support their own kindred in the upcoming struggle for succession, but for now, Jayavarman still ruled, and there was peace in the capital. Adorned in jewellery of gold and sheltered from the sun by a glittering parasol, she looked out over the royal procession with satisfaction. More than a few of the ministers and princes carried in palanquins ahead of her were there thanks to her. Her hard work in the administration of the empire had paid off, and she could die knowing that she had succeeded in catapulting her family to success in the most powerful kingdom in the land.

I started drawing this one three years ago in April 2020. I stopped when I realised that Indralakshmi, an important sister of Jayavarman V who was originally meant to sit on the second elephant, had actually died decades earlier. However, I'm so glad I finally came back to this one and finally added Angkor to the project! In addition to the medieval Khmer relief sculptures showing people riding elephants, I found a helpful resource to be the illustrations of Maurice Fievet . You can see a collection of reconstruction art I found online on this Pinterest board . The outfits of Prana and the other woman are based on the sculptures at Banteay Srei, "the Citadel of the Women", which was built under Rajendravarman and Jayavarman. I realise now that Prana probably would have been reclining on the cushion rather than sitting with her legs down as she is now, but oh well! I couldn't find an illustration of what the capital looked like under Jayavarman V, so for the causeway and horizon I used a virtual reconstruction of Angkor Wat .

Cambodian women had such an important role to play in the Khmer Empire. I'm glad I could share one of their stories with you today! I would really love to see Angkor Wat today. It was cool spending some time there in my imagination.

Learn more on the website: womenof1000ad.weebly.com/prana…

Others in the series include...

Hrugs 'or za (Tibet)
The Royal Dancer of Gao (Mali)
Bharima (Bangladesh)
Gunnborga (Sweden)
The Parrot Keepers of Wind Mountain (New Mexico)
The Rice Keepers of Yamashiro (Japan)
The Riders of Holda (Germany)
The Initiate of Schroda (South Africa)

The Traveller of Moxos (Bolivia)

The Maize Farmer of the Illinois River Valley (Illinois)