| Once the Bhodhisattva arrived at a big tree called Thlok on Kok Thlok island.
As he approached, he suddenly sighted a monitor lizard called Trokout going
into a hole under the tree. He exclaimed to himself, “This land is going to be
the great kingdom of Kok Thlok and this Trokout is going to be reborn as the
son of a king.”
The Bhodhisattva’s prophesy was true. The Trokout died and was reborn as
Preah Thaong, son of the Mon king.
One day, Preah Thaong and his servants came to visit the nearby islands. He
so enjoyed the islands that he did not realize that the tide was getting high,
so high that he could not return to the mainland. He had to spend the night
at the sandbar. As he was in deep slumber, a naga princess named Neang
Tavottei, the daughter of the naga King, Phuv Chung Neak, and her servants
transformed into human forms and came from the underworld to play on the
beach.
Just as these maids were playing on the beach, Preah Thaong woke up and
saw Neang Tavottei. Their eyes locked and they fell in love with each other.
They agreed to be married and lived on the island of Kok Thlok, which was
turned into their new kingdom where they ruled together.
However, the naga princess Neang Tavottei explained to Phreah Thaong about her origin. “Dear Preah Thaong, I am not an ordinary human being as you understand. I am a naga princess,” she said. “According to the rites of my custom, we have to have a wedding ceremony in the underworld as
well.”
“I am only an ordinary human being. How can I go to the underworld for this
wedding, my dear?” asked Preah Thaong.
“You can hold on to my garments when we travel so you can enter the
underworld. You will also receive a wedding garment with a print of a naga
symbol for our wedding ceremony.”
And so Preah Thaong went to pay respects to Neang Tavottei’s father the
naga king, who was more than happy to grant the royal wedding ceremony.
The naga king was so delighted to have Preah Thaong for his son-in-law.
Before they left the underworld to return to their kingdom of Kok Thlok, the
naga king proclaimed:
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“Now my daughter and son-in-law, I will bless you with a great land to rule on earth. From this time on, there will be no more water to separate the island and the mainland. My daughter, from now on you will be known as Tavoththidar, and my son-in-law, you will now be known as Atticcavongsa. You may rule this great land called Krung Kampuchea Thipadej.”
And that is how Cambodia became a country. |
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