The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. XLIV, Part 1-2, 1956 - Khamkoo

REVIEWS 51
to maintain the balance of his struggle for P'im's favour against his
dashing but insconstant, aurl povc~rt.y-stricken
had been confiscated since childhood.
The "retelling" does not cover the whole sto1·y.
rival whose heirloom
A review
has to be critical and safe, for the following few points the book
may be pronounced excellent and should prove to be another Lamb\~
'Pale. Note 7 says that Phra Bisnukarrua was the Siamese name
for Vishnu when it shonlrl have said that the name 'vas a confusion
of Vishnu with another Hindn god named Visvalmrma, the celestial
artificer, brought in to imply his fasbiouing of the beautiful fol'm
of out· heroine at tho thne of her birt.h.
Note 24 seE•nu:l ln imply
that prostration as a form of salutation was givL'll to thu UJOllareh
beouuse be was looked upon as a god. BnL it is sUll practiced
loward::; monks and elders even today. It is in fad jusL an inLlication
of the higbul:lt respect with no sense of sycophancy ot· abjoet \Yorship.
King Chnlalonglwl'n decreed its cessation as fur as he was eoneunted
for tho sakt' of uniformity in pul>lic.
to inlet·[ere with the vnwtice i11
of Lh•ittght and action ·were perruiLtod.
He was liberal enough never
incliviuual howes whE·l'e freedom
Note '17, the Mahajltti is
not tho stot•y of Buddha's lifo but that of what was helieved to be
hit~
last preceding life.
D.
Fmnce-AB'ic, numero Special, 114-5, nov.-dec., 1955.
This volume of some 243 pages has been dedicated to Cambodia
and is consequently prefaced l1y photogeaphs of His Majesty
King Suramal'it and his son Sihanonk who is now llis l'l'ltne Minister.
It contains numet•ous articles of interest for readers in a conntry
like onrs, possessing as it docs so many features in commun ·with
Cam hod in.
'l'he eoneise sketelt u11 II istoJ'lJ by l 1 iHI'u Uriso11 ( Pll· 32G-
338) is readable; ekts is dealt with by no less an authority thau
Henri Marchal, who writes on 1' he S umbolism of Elind1t and KhnW7'