The Role of Cambodian Classical Literature in Preserving Indian Religious Influences: A Study of Cultural Continuity and Adaptation

Abstract This study examines Cambodian classical literature's contribution to preserving and adapting Indian religious influences, focusing on Hinduism and Buddhism as conveyed through the Reamker and the Jātaka tales. The impact of Indian religions on Southeast Asia is well traced through the region's architecture and epigraph remains, but comparatively little is known about its influence in the literary sphere. This research aims to fill that gap by exploring how Cambodian authors and cultural custodians adapted Indian religious stories employing Khmer motifs, ethics, and narrative styles and employing a qualitative interpretative approach within the artistic and literary analysis framework; the study considers primary sources, including the Khmer versions of the Rāmayāṇa and relevant Buddhist parables, alongside a wide range of secondary literature. The research applies thematic and symbolic analysis and identifies central mechanisms of literary adaptation: convergence of characters and themes, introduction of local symbols, and differentiation of sophisticated religion-philosophical discourses. These mechanisms enabled foreign religious ideas not merely to exist within Khmer society but to strongly reinforce community values, governance principles, constituents of national identity, and spiritual life. The study results show that Cambodian classical literature was both a vessel of cultural identity and an instrument for the sustenance of culture. The research further contextualizes Cambodia's relations in the greater Southeast Asia scope, analyzing Cambodian literature in parallel with Thai and Javanese literary traditions to demonstrate both encompassing Khmer influences and distinct Khmer attributes. This research not only explains the dynamics of cross-culture literature and the transmission of culture, but it also suggests ways of employing classical texts in the education system of Cambodia, preserving literature heritage, and promoting cross-discipline study. This policy contributes to the debate that modern classical Khmer literature is a historical and living monument fundamental for constructing cultural identity, knowledge, and the transfer of wisdom across generations in modern-day Cambodia. Keywords: Cambodian classical literature; Reamker; Indian religious influences; cultural adaptation; Hinduism; Buddhism; Southeast Asia; Khmer identity