រឿងតាព្រហ្មនៅនគរបាជ័យ - TA PROM AT NOKORBACHEY TEMPLE - [Cambo Page - ខេមបូ ផេក]

TA PROM AT NOKORBACHEY TEMPLE

If we traval on the National Road 6A from Phnom Penh to Skun town and National Road 7 to Phnom Bros Phnom Srey Mountains in Kompong Cham a bit far toward Neakporn Roundabout and approximately 300m on an unpaved road further to the west, there stand laterite walls with falling gopuras (gateways). The compound of the walls is called Wat Nokorbachey or "Wat Nokor" in short by the local villagers. Going through the eastern gateway, we will reach another wall section of surrounding corridor with four gateways facing the main directions. Among the gateways and corridors, some still stay magnificent while others collapse. Then passing through, we will get to the third section of the wall, whose corridor is spacious, elegant, only fallen down on the top. In the center of the corridor of each side gateway facing 4 main directions, stands a large tower with a square shape of 15m in each side and a stupa-shaped top. In the tower, there stay four Buddha statues facing the four main directions. Between the 2nd and the 3rd sections of the walls, two small temples are located in the south and the other two in the north. One of the 4 small temples, in the north-east shelters 4 Buddha statues lean against a large stupa facing the 4 main directions. In the east of the temple, stands a small shrine with 3 statues; two gesturing holding the sticks upside down in a position resembling the guards and one in the middle sitting on a high stool with hands praying and facing the above-said stupa. The legend underlying the strange statue has been passed by words of mouth for a long time that:

In the olden time, there lived a feudal lord (sdech tranh) in Cambodia named Preah Anuraja (or Lord Anuraja), who was on his journey in search of a suitable site for building a park and royal court to entertain himself while boredom. The lord traveled to almost all parts of his territory with his officials. One day, the parade of the lord arrived at a canal near a big river in today Kompong Cham city, while the local residents were fishing with barrage, sweeping net, and bar in the canal. He ordered his men to camp nearb,y area due to its wonderful nature and setting.

At that time, Lady Pov, the owner of the barrage, after hearing that Preah Anuraja camped nearby, promptly ordered her servants to prepare meal and other valuable items as gifts for the lord. When it was ready, Lady Pov perfumed with the essence and wore beautiful dress leading her servants. She carried a tray of betel leaves and areca nuts with her both hands, wearing a gold and diamond bracelet brightly twinkling with the sun light. She as well as her subordinators kneeled down and saluted to the lord, "Your Lordship, it is my great delight to hear Your Lordship is arriving here and I have prepared some valuable gifts for Your Lordship." "I am so happy that you greet me so kindheartedly in such manner, so I would accept your offer," replied the Lord. Lady Pov handed the items to the lord and said, "May I say farewell to you, Your Lordship." "Yes, you may leave for now but not forget to visit me more often!" smiled and replied the lord. She said, "Yes! I will do, Your Lordship." The maiden as well as her servants duck-walked back until out of the royal audience and returned to their home.

After the maiden left, Preah Anuraja enjoyed his meal happily. Recognizing the great beauty of Pov, he thought in his mind that no girl on this earth was as beautiful as she was. Falling over heels in love with her, he could not sleep overnight. When it was at dawn, he ordered his officer, Luangvichetra Voha, to offer his proposal to her to be the lord's first lady-in-waiting (snam ek).Immediately after which, his servant went to meet her at her own residence directly since her parents passed away long time ago.

She arranged for a suitable place for him. He told her everything and said she was so fortunate to be named the lord's first lady-in-waiting. She did not deny and accepted the proposal. Every evening, the lord always came out to entertain himself with Mohori orchestra of great symphony. During that time, the new appointed first lady-in-waiting came to serve the lord regularly. Soon after which, the lord ordered the architects and construction workers to build a temple with 3 layers of laterite walls with the royal yard surrounding and compound guarded. After the temple construction project was completed, the lord and his men moved to stay there peacefully and happily. Pieah Anuraja named the temple "Nokor Bachey", after his name known by the local residents "Preahbat Bachey Ba A”

Later first-Iady-in-waiting Pov was ten months pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy with charming face and intelligence. At the age of 4, the prince's father, the lord, wanted his child to become a scholar and learn more about the traditions and cultures of other civilized countries. Then, Preah Anuraja arranged for some servants to accompany the prince for his study in China, which was then the only country with most advanced technology in Asia. The prince said farewell to his father and mother, who in turn gave him best wishes for several times.

The sailing junk took the prince from Cambodia across the ocean to China. After the prince's departure, Preah Maneang Pov, who used to have smiling face, and then turned upset like the flower withers in the summer. And Preah Anuraja also fell ill day after another until he became weaker and weaker. Two year later, the lord passed away, and the cremation ceremony was organized by his servants with the participation of other lords, making it a solemnized event. When the ceremony was over, the new lord (of Kompong Cham province) moved the city to Tbaung Khmum, the prosperous district of today Kompong ham, and the temple of Preahbat Bachey Ba A was abandoned and became an ancient site for the visitors only. Preah Snom Pov also left the temple and moved to live in her old house.

Back to the prince living in China, one day he was told that his parents passed away, and the temple constructed by his father was also abandoned; in addition his family was being harassed by the new lord. The news was just invented by Chinese officials to keep the prince from returning his country because the prince was a talent and would one day become a scholar of science and strategies due to his braveness. The bad news was spread to the prince, but he tried to hold his heart strong, and he never forgot his country. He then tried to learn so hard. At his twenties, the prince became an advisor of a war general in China. After the meeting, he always went to learn more from the most famous teacher for years.

When the prince was over 30 years old, he came to audience with the emperor and asked for his permission to monitor the local civil servants' performance whether they were kind to the people. The Emperor granted the permission to Sambaokong. Samboakong needed no any guards or servants to accompany him. The main officials praised the prince's strategy to disguise him a very simple person to observe the civil servant's work. It was a special time to make the prince become homesick of his country. When the prince arrived in a small village, he came to a house and told the owner that he was very skillful at telling the fortune. As soon as his reputation was known to the local residents, they together came to ask the prediction from the prince. With his deep insight of horoscope, his prediction occurred as his words. His name was talked among the locals.

When the night fell, the prince stayed in a house of an old man and thought, "Both my parents passed away, but I must return to my country to see my Khmer people and my father's heritage." Then out of being homesick of his country, he looked sad in his face because he knew that he had no idea about his country, even the civilization of his country because when he left his country he was so young that he could not even remember his parent's face.

After thinking it over, the prince left China, which was known to no Chinese people. When he arrived in Cambodia, he hid in a small village and started learning Khmer. Due to his Khmer origin, it took him a short time to learn how to speak Khmer. Then he told the other to call him "Prom" to make them believe that he was a real Khmer resident. 7 months later, he arrived in Kompong Cham province, but he not wished to find his relatives since he knew that they were separated from each other and feared the power of the new lord. Later, he asked for a stay at an old lady's house. The old lady lost her relatives, and lived with only a few servants. Though she was an old lady of over 50 years, but her beauty still stayed, her skin not wrinkle, her hair not white, and her teeth not lost.

Because of her honest support to the prince, the prince Prom fell in love with her and asked the neighbor to propose an engagement to the lady for him. The old lady accepted without denial'because she did not want to live missing her son leaving her without knowledge of whether he was alive. The old lady and the young bachelor lived together happily ever since.

One day, with her boredom, the old lady asked her young husband to predict about her son who left her since he was four years old. When the old lady finished her words, the young prince curiously wondered and asked,"When did your son leave you? Who was your late-husband?"

The old lady turned her face down and replied in tear, "My dear, my son has left me for more than 30 years, and my late-husband was a lord of this province who left a beautiful stone temple for me which still stands today. And you can see the lake near my house. It is the place where my late-husband and I used to row the boat every evening, and he called the lake "Tonle Om". It means the river for rowing boat." He was shocked after hearing her answer, kneeled down, and prayed to the old lady. The old lady was surprised at his action. "My dear mother, please forgive my unpardoned rrtistake, it is me who have left you since I was 4 years old, and I was informed that you and father passed away, without knowing that you are still alive. Elderly Pov then hurried to hold him and spoke nothing. "Please give me punishment in whatever form you feel like Mom," continued Prom. "If you want to atone for all these sins, you must follow my advice. When I die, you must build a stupa in the temple compound and store four Buddha statues and when you die, tell your followers to build a statue of yours praying me until the end of Buddha's era. If you can follow all my advice, you will be able to atone for your bad sins," said the lady. Prom lowered his head and accepted, "Please don't worry, I will follow all your advice."

Since then, they lived as a mother and a son. Only 2 years later, elderly Pov passed away. The pricne started the construction of the stupa to burry his mother and stored 4 Buddha statues surrounding the stupa which now is seen covered by a temple. Sooner or later, due to missing his mother, Ta Prom, fell seriously ill and passed away. But before his death, he told his students to build a stone statue of him sitting and praying the stupa as it is seen nowadays. Talking about Chinese Emperor, while the long absensce of Sambaokong, he ordered his men to find him, and one of them traveled to Cambodia because he knew that the Khmer-born scholar returned to his country. However, it was too late when he arrived because Prom the scholar already passed away. The servant showed his respect to the statue and wrote in Chinese letters on the statue “Sambaokong” lasting since that time.

Today, the residents have built a shrine covering the statue. Every Khmer or Chinese New Year, there are a lot of visitors coming and lighting the incenses to pay homage to the statue, and some use buffalo's horn or some use chopsticks to predict by saying" Occurring as expected", so they can predict their accident or anything correctly. About 2470 of Buddha era, some vendors in Kompong Cham province relocated the statue in direction facing the gateway, but after changing the direction, most the residents fell ill and several died. Then Ta Prom ghost used elderly Dam in Sand anvillage, Ampel commune, Kompong Siem district, Kompong Cham province to send his message "Don't change the direction of my statue. I must pray to the west for the stupa of my mother." After the event, the residents located the statue to its original direction.

- The End -