Literary Elements of Sastra Lbaeng
Santi Pakdeekam
pakdekham_santi@hotmail.com
Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand
Abstract

This article studies and analyzes the literary elements of the Sāstrā Lbaeng. The ?Sāstrā Lbaeng? or ?Lbaeng Story? is a genre of medieval Khmer literature, which was composed to provide pleasure and entertainment for its readers. The literary elements of the Sāstrā Lbaeng include nine elements: 1) The eulogies of the Sāstrā Lbaeng classified into three types based on the language used, namely, Pāli, Khmer and Pāli-Khmer eulogies; 2) The date of composition, written after the eulogy; 3) The poet?s critical remarks about his work giving information about the author?s name, identity and career; 4) The purpose of the Sāstrā Lbaeng as being mostly to maintain Buddhism; 5) The source in Buddhist literature which inspired the composition; 6) The opening and setting, which are influenced by the ?Story of the present? of the Jātaka literature; 7) The content which reflects the influence of Buddhist concepts; 8) Prachum Jātaka or Samodhāna explains the identity of the characters during the life time of the Buddha; 9) Some of the Sāstrā Lbaeng includes the aspiration of the poet or the audience to attain Nirvana. More than one topic may be included in the postscript.

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section: Articles

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