This is a sandstone stela carved with the story of Prince Vessantara. Carved in high relief, it was found at the west entrance of Angkor Wat, in Siem Reap province, from where it was later transferred to the collection of the National Museum of Cambodia.
Khmer art experts have determined this sculpture is in the Bayon style, of the late 12th century to early 13th century of the Angkorian period, during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, from the year 1181 to 1218 CE. This stela tells the story of Prince Vessantara, who later became Buddha. The story concerns the period when Buddha was Bodhisattva, during the last moment before he attains enlightenment.
It is a story of sacrifice for the sake all living beings. There are three sets of the stelae remaining. They contain narratives about Prince Vessantara making an offering to the elephant Mongkul, which is an inheritance from ancient Kings to the people.
The second set depicts the scene where Prince Vesantara gave away his sons Chili and Krishna to a beggar named Chu Chouk. The third set concern to Prince Vessantara giving away wife Metri to Indra, who posed old Brahmin man.
These are stories about the power and virtue of making offerings and sacrifices in order to attain enlightenment in the next life. This work is full of elegance carvings of Bodhisattvas characters, along with other magnificent decorative elements, to covey the story for future generations. A portion of this stone was broken off and lost. It is difficult to ascertain the entire scene of the story as it is depicted.