Cambodia: The midwife and the ungrateful woman bas-relief, Ta Prohm temple near Tonle Bati, south of Phnom Penh

This bas-relief shows a woman carrying a box on her head whilst a man bows in supplication to another, larger woman. The story represented is that of a pregnant woman who gave birth with the help of a midwife, but then failed to show sufficient respect to the latter. As a punishment, the midwife has condemned her to carry the afterbirth in a box on her head for the rest of her life. The man is begging the midwife to forgive his wife.

The laterite temple of Ta Prohm was built by King Jayavarman VII on top of an earlier 6th century Khmer shrine. The result is a well-preserved gem of a temple, not unduly large, but with some splendid decorative features. The main sanctuary has five chambers, in each of which is a statue or a Shiva lingam.

Jayavarman VII (1125–1215) was a king (reigned c.1181-1215) of the Khmer Empire at Angkor. Cambodia. He was the son of King Dharanindravarman II (r. 1150-1160) and Queen Sri Jayarajacudamani. He married Jayarajadevi and then, after her death, married her sister Indradevi. The two women are commonly thought to have been a great inspiration to him, particularly in his unusual devotion to Buddhism, as only one prior Khmer king had been a Buddhist.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia