It is narrated that upon His Majesty Chakport, a King of the Kingdom of Cambodia in the 16th reign, was deceased, there was a powerful man named Dambang Kragnoung came to the throne in the 17th reign. He was the one who had ordered his followers to assassinate the previous Royal families. At that time, there was an immaturely pregnant lady-in-waiting disguised herself as an ordinary citizen in order to escape from the assassination. She then went to live with an elderly couple, Ta Kohe (grandfather Kohe) and his wife Yeay Leak (grandmother Leak).When her pregnancy became mature, she delivered an astonishing baby boy owing to his palms and soles of feet were labeled with magic discuses.
Ta Kohe and Yeay Leak loved this Prince very much and provided him with a great care as if he were their biological son. One day, when Ta Kohe, Yeay Leak and the lady-in-waiting went to harvest rice in the field, they laid the small Prince under the shade of a tree. When light of the sun reached the small Prince, there was suddenly came a bird and stretched his wings to protect the Prince from the sunlight. Seen such an event, Ta Kohe supposed that the bird might probably come topeck his Prince, he, therefore, went to see the Prince. Suddenly, the bird flew right away. Ta Kohe consciously admired that the Prince really had a great innate merit, so he named him "8acsei Chamkrong", meaning "a bird waits to safeguard the Prince."
Afterward, a King named Preahbat Phrumkil (Punhea Krek) came to the throne in the 18th reign. After reigning, the King got a prophecy from the astrologist that there was a 7- year old meritorious person born in the Royal Family and he disguised himself as an ordinary citizen in our empire. This meritorious person had magic discuses on his palms and soles of feet.
Being aware of this information, the King called all children at the age of 7 years old to his empire to set their thumbprints on the powder laid in flat baskets in order to check whether or not they had a sign of magic discus.
Frightened of the news, Ta Kohe took the small Prince from his mother and ran away. As the King knew clearly about this escape, he ordered his troops to chase Ta kohe and the Prince, Bacsei Chamkrong. Thanks to the goodness of Bacsei Chamkrong, the King's troops could not reach the two of them. Then, Ta Kohe gave Bacsei Chamkrong a ride on his shoulders and went back home across a long way in the forest. When they arrived at home, Ta Kohe told Bacsei Chamkrong, "Please stay here for a while, I go to chase cows into the stable". When Ta Kohe threw a stuff to chase the cows, the stuff fell into a stream and disappeared there forever. Therefore, that stream was later called "O Dambang (stuff stream)".
Later, Ta Kohe brought Bacsei Chamkrong across the forest and they reached a mound where tree called Roluos (erythrina variegata) grew and produced a better shade. Both of them took a rest and slept there. After that, that place became Roluos village where is now in Sout Nikum district in Siem Reap province.
When the morning came, Ta Kohe ran with Bacsei Chamkrong into the forest and reached a creek where Ta Kohe met a boy named Chi Kreng who was riding on boat fishing. Ta Kohe asked the boy to ferry him and Bacsei Chamkrom across the creek. That place later became Chi Kreng village, Chi Kreng district in Siem Reap province.
After that, they both reached a mountain where they met an old man named Ta Moeng (grandfather Moeng). Ta Moeng asked Ta Kohe, "Where are you bringing your grandson to?" Ta Kohe replied, "I am facing a big trouble and I also don't have food to eat." Heart such a miserable thing, Ta Moeng told Ta Kohe to wait for him at a mountain and he went to bring foods for Ta Kohe and Bacsei Chamkrong to eat along their journey.
Then, Ta Kohe and Bacsei Chamkrong asked somebody to ferry them across a flooded land to Choeung Phrey province, where the King's troops were chasing them closely. Saw such an event, Ta Kohe and Bacsei Chamkrong hided themselves in a bush. When the night came, so many mosquitoes appeared and made Ta Kahe and Bacsei Chamkrong unable to sleep. Meanwhile, Bacsei Chamkrong prayed, "If I'm really a meritorious person, may all these mosquitoes move a way." Owing to the absolute merit of the Prince, all mosquitoes comepletely disappeared from the place. As a result that place was called "Tuol Korchor (Korchor Mound)", where is now in Rokar Kong area in Muk Kampul district, Kandal province.
When the morning came, Ta Kohe and Bacsei Chamkrong furthered the journey and reached a river bank. They planned to cross that river to the south bank, but there was no boat available for them.
Suddenly, Bacsei Chamkrong prayed, "If I'm really a meritorious person who is going to reign and was the one who had served the Buddha, may the Roka tree (bombax ceiba) at the north bank bend over to connect with the Lovea tree (ficus hispida) at the south bank of the river and the Lovea tree lean over to the Roka tree." Abruptly, the two trees bended over to each other as what he wished.
Ta Kohe gave Bacsei Chamkrong a ride on his shoulders and crossed the river through the bended trees. After crossing, the two trees stood upright as they normally were. As a result of this, the north bank was later called "Roka Kong (Roka tree bends)", which is now in Muk Kampul district, Kandal provice and the south bank was called "Lovea Te (Lovea tree leans)" which is now in Srey Sonthor district, Kampongcham Province.
When Ta Kohe and Bacsei Chamkrong reached a mound near the lake edge, they cut a big branch of Chrey tree (ficus rumphii) and pushed it upright into the ground in order to produce shade for taking a rest. Bacsei Chamkrong fell into a deep sleep there. While he was sleeping peacefully, there were big crowds of adjutants, painted storks and pelicans that were seeking for foods in that lake abruptly flew right away with a great noise. When Ta Kohe heard that, he supposed that it was a sound of the troops, so he suddenly woke the Prince up and asked "What makes such a strange noise, grandson?" The Prince was so frightened. He got up immediately and climbed to the top of that branch of tree looking around him. He saw nothing noticeable, but the crowds of birds flying noisily. He felt calm as he saw the fact. That branch of Chrey tree has survived up to now; it lies south of Vihear Suo pagoda.
Afterward, Ta Kohe ferried Bacsei Chamkrong across the river to the west bank and hided themselves in a cavern of Proseth Mountain in the former Samrong Tong province which is now called Pohnea Leu district, Kandal province. They were persecuted restlessly by thetroops. Preahbat Prumkil (Pohnea Krek) was deceased after he had reigned for 20 years. As all mandarins and officers knew that there was a Prince with absolute merit staying in Proseth Mountain, they came to invite him to reign. Upon reigning, Bacsei Chamkrong met his mother, and appointed Ta Kohe and Yeay Leak as his Royal god
grandparents.
Later, the King, Bacsei Chamkrong, built a temple called "Prasat Lolei (long temple)" on a site where he saw some long battle flags of the troops chasing him at the first time. On the site where Ta Kohe told him to take a rest, he built a temple called "Prasat Bakung", which was later called "Prasat Bakong (Bakong temple)" in Siem Reap province. He built another one temple called "Prasat Bako (cow temple)" on a site where formerly was Ta Kohe's cow stable in Siem Reap province. Moreover, he constructed a Buddhist temple and a footprint of Buddha on Sontuk Mountain, and he also appointed Ta Moeng as a District Chief governing there.
Moreover, the King built a temple to store a statue of Buddha inside it on the site where the branch of Chrey tree was stuck up and where Ta Kohe woke the Prince up as he thought it was probably a sound of troops approaching them. The site was called "Wat Vihear Suo (Vihear Suo Pagoda), which has later become a sacred site for worship until now.
Ta Kohe and Yeay Leak died consecutively as they came elderly. When they died, the King celebrated cremation funerals for them and brought the remaining bones of Ta Kohe to bury in the site where he prayed for the disappearance of mosquitoes. That site was called "Tuol Kohe (Kohe Mound)", which is now in Roka Kong area in Muk Kampoul district, Kandal province. For the remaining bones of Yeay Leak, the King brought to bury in Bako Temple in Siem Reap province, which was the place where she
used to live.
- The END -
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