Queen Maya's Lamentation

I've currently been helping out with one of Cambodian Living Arts' CD projects. The song translated below has been proposed to appear on a CD feauturing various kinds of tradtional Khmer music, including smote. For the liner notes, I have worked on researching background info on this particular song and writing an English translation for it.

The name of the song is, in an English transciption of the Khmer, "Tumnuonh Neang Sere Moha Maya." An appropriate English translation would be "Lamentation of Queen Maya."

The context of this song is similar to other smote pieces, in that it used primarily in funeral ceremonies, particularly when a sick person is on verge of death. Smote songs, which recount Buddhist teachings or stories in poetic form, are used to direct the mind of the dying person towards the Buddhist trinity, or Three Jewels: the Buddha, his teaching, and his disciples, so that they will be reborn in a favorable realm. This particular ceremony is called samwek, and this particular song is one of many that can be used for that occasion, to be sung by either monks or laypeople.

The content of the song is centered around the Buddha's mother, Queen Maya, lamentation for her son, who has left the palace where he was a prince and heir to the throne, gone deep into forest, and taken up extreme austerities, including eating very little food, in order to reach enlightenment. The Buddha later realized the futility of his efforts and accepted food in order to nourish his body and mind, after which he finally attained enlightenment. Before this, however, he became extremely thin and weak, to the point that he was practically only skin and bones, and the shape his backbone became visible from the front. Queen Maya, having died only seven days after his birth, is told by her fellow gods in the realms of heaven that her son, now in his thirties, has become very weak and emaciated. It is at this point that she begins her lament.

This particular song is closely related to another that I have been studying, called "Bandam Neang Moha Maya Devi Jampuah Neang Goutamei," or "The Admontions of the Buddha's Mother Maya for Lady Gotami." A translation of this song follows below the translation of "Lamentation of Queen Maya."

Lamentation of Queen Maya (Tumnuonh Neang Sere Moha Maya)

O my son, my dear son!
You have become so thin and weak.
And your mother feels great sorrow for you,
Sorrow that exceeds all comparison.

O my child, seven days after your birth,
Your mother suddenly passed from this world,
And ascended to the highest realms of heaven,
Where she now resides with the gods.

I, your mother have heard from the gods
That you, my child, were born into a beautiful body,
Magnificent in form and free from disgrace.
So now why have you become so emaciated?

Your mother has come to see your body, O child!
She feels great sorrow, and her heart
Grows soft with pity to see you like this.
For what reason do you do this, my son?

The Admontions of the Buddha's Mother Maya for Lady Gotami (Bandam Neang Moha Maya Devi Jampuah Neang Goutamei)

"Dear Lady Gotami, o younger sister!
Please remember this advice
That I admonish so strongly on to you.
Please, younger sister, be kind and forgiving to me.

"Elder sister gave birth to a beloved son,
Only to live as a his mother for seven days.
Seven days, younger sister!
Death came and blocked my path.

"Sister, this child is remarkable indeed.
Wise sages came to pay respect to him.
His is called Siddartha according to the law.
For the benefit of all living beings,

"Our beloved son will attain enlightenment,
Knowing all paths to salvation by his own effort.
Many will come to ask for his help,
Granting abundant happiness to humans and gods alike.

"Younger sister! Please be determined
And have compassion for this child.
Let him suckle at your breast
And care for him with your own hands.

"Sister, don’t lost your fortitude
And call on servants to care for him.
Raise him with your own strong arms
And know that this is true love."

Having finished giving her admonitions,
She passed away and her life was finished,
To be reborn in the Tusita heaven,
Resplendent in numberless colors and powers.

The reason that Queen Maya was born
In the blissful Heaven of the Thirty-three,
Is that many gods there could inform her
About the exceeding virtue of her beloved son.

There came a time when the Buddha
Wandered back and forth across a stretch of forest
Staying for four reasons
In the Uruvela forest in the city of Gaya.

His body grew emaciated till his bones poked through,
His eyes grew bleary, wide-open beyond description,
As he collapsed down to the earth,
Enduring terrible suffering but still alive.

At that time the beautiful Queen Maya
Descended from paradise to come take a look
At the body of the Blessed One.
I humbly now finish this poem.