Apr
19
Submitted by nil on Sun, 04/19/2009 - 15:58
There exists a species of beast that eats time. The beast comes into existence when a person was born. It followed the shadow of its host, eating his or her time when the person wasn’t paying attention.
The great King Jayavarman VII, who ruled Angkor at its apex, tried to slain this beast. He gathered seven bowmen, blew his hunting horn and ventured into the deep forest. One of his bowmen saw the beast when the King was taking a rest under a spun tree. The seven bowmen released their arrows upon the beast but the beast was unharmed.
The great King visited the temple of Preah Khan and asked the abbot for the sacred sword, hoping it would slay the immortal beast. The abbot forfeited the sword fearing the wrath of the great King.
To the King’s disappointment, the sacred sword was blunt and rusted, and on the blade carved the writing: “A frozen river is no longer a river; time that does not flow is no longer time.”
The King sighed and returned the sacred sword to the abbot. He returned home with his seven bowmen.
