File:5th century Champassak Inscription of Devanika, Sanskrit Hindu Khmer kingdom, Vat Phou Kurukshetra, Laos.jpg

This Sanskrit inscription is a Prashasti genre epigraph that praises Devanika, comparing him to Puranic heroes. It calls him "Kanaka Pandya" paralleling a similar phrase found in the Tamil Hindu epic Silappatikaram. This inscription implies that Tamil Hindu and Sanskrit influence had arrived in southern Laos well before 450 CE, and it also helps place a "completed before" date for Silappatikaram.

Background: The Wat Phou site, also referred to as Vat Phou or Vat Phu or Kurukshetra, is a UNESCO world heritage site located on the right bank of Mekong river in Champasak Province of southern Laos. It stretches from the river bank to a lush mountain unusually shaped like a Shiva linga and called Lingaparvata in ancient times. It was considered sacred by the Khmer people and their kings. From the hills flow a permanent sacred spring, near which the Khmer built a sacred city stretching from the hills to the Mekong river.

The Wat Phou site measures a 2.4 km x 1.8 km complex. It contains

• the oldest known Sanskrit inscription in southeast Asia (c. 450 CE) – called the Champassak Inscription of Devanika,
• some of the early Tamil inscriptions in southeast Asia (6th to 7th century),
• some of the earliest known Shiva, Vishnu and Durga (pre-Angkor) Hindu artwork along the Mekong river, and
• numerous ruins of ancient to medieval Hindu temples.

The oldest layer of artwork and temple remains are from the 5th century, other smaller temples from 6th to 10th centuries. Most of the large mandapa and temple ruins that survive at Wat Phou date between the 10th and 14th century. Over 15 Sanskrit and Tamil inscriptions have been discovered near the Vat Phou site.

The site was covered with forest by late medieval era. It was rediscovered and details about it published during the colonial era by the French with the help of local villagers. The buildings were reclaimed by the Buddhists, and some buildings now feature a Buddha statue along with some other Buddhist iconography. The extant site attracts Buddhist devotees as well as hosts annual Buddhist festivals.

Along with temples, the Wat Phou heritage site has many mounds. Some of these have been excavated by Japanese, Italian and French teams. These have confirmed the existence of nearly 3 mile (5 kilometer) stretch of Hindu and Buddhist temples midst an ancient city. Many inscriptions have been found, some of which call this site as the Kurukshetra tirtha – mirroring the Indian mythistory of the Mahabharata.

The discovery of Vat Phou site has led to the excavation of other river basin sites along the Mekong and its tributaries. These have yielded over 30 additional Khmer temple sites attesting to a rich Laotian heritage from at least the 4th century CE.

Sources:

1. Michel Lorrillard (2015), Pre-Angkorian Communities in the Middle Mekong Valley (Laos and Adjacent Areas)
2. Marielle Santoni (2015), The French archaeological mission and Vat Phou
3. Willard Van De Bogart (2008), A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Kuruksetra, The South East Asian Review Volume XXXIII Number 1