The Cambodian myth of lightning, thunder, and rain - Prumsodun Ok

4,678,452 views ・ 2018-04-10

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:06
Once, a long time ago,
0
6854
2212
00:09
there was a powerful hermit named Lok Ta Moni Eysei.
1
9066
4018
00:13
He had three promising students:
2
13084
2182
00:15
Moni Mekhala, the brilliant goddess of the seas,
3
15266
3589
00:18
Vorachhun, the princely manifestation of the earth,
4
18855
4339
00:23
and Ream Eyso, a demon whose heart burned with passionate fire.
5
23194
5151
00:28
Lok Ta wished to bestow a gift upon his most deserving student.
6
28345
5021
00:33
To determine which of the three that was, he announced a contest:
7
33366
4438
00:37
whoever first brought back a glass full of morning dew
8
37804
4090
00:41
would be master of this mysterious gift.
9
41894
3660
00:45
When dusk came, Vorachhun and Ream Eyso ventured into the forest.
10
45554
5360
00:50
They left not one leaf or blade of grass untouched,
11
50914
3551
00:54
impatiently shaking the precious fluid into their glasses.
12
54465
4339
00:58
When they returned to the hermit’s hut,
13
58804
2410
01:01
they found Moni Mekhala sitting patiently with a full glass of morning dew.
14
61214
5311
01:06
She had left her shawl out overnight
15
66525
2460
01:08
and won the contest by simply wringing out the fabric over her glass.
16
68985
5031
01:14
Proud of all his students, and loving them like his own children,
17
74016
3627
01:17
Lok Ta surprised all three with gifts.
18
77643
4092
01:21
He turned the dew Ream Eyso collected into a diamond axe,
19
81735
5460
01:27
Vorachhun’s into a magic dagger,
20
87195
2969
01:30
and Moni Mekhala’s into a crystal ball unlike anything ever seen.
21
90164
5412
01:35
Soon Ream Eyso grew covetous and decided he must have Mekhala’s prize.
22
95576
6517
01:42
He and Vorachhun tried to woo the goddess so they could get the precious gem.
23
102093
5972
01:48
But after she rejected their advances and flew off,
24
108065
3748
01:51
Ream Eyso resolved to take the crystal ball by force.
25
111813
5331
01:57
Ream Eyso flew through the air in search of Moni Mekhala,
26
117144
3650
02:00
propelled on by a jealous rage.
27
120794
2355
02:03
On his way, he encountered Vorachhun and attacked him,
28
123149
3676
02:06
knowing that the righteous prince would never allow him to steal the crystal.
29
126825
5060
02:11
The demon gained the upper hand in the heat of battle,
30
131885
3220
02:15
and hurled Vorachhun against the side of a mountain.
31
135105
3799
02:18
Sure of Vorachhun’s death,
32
138904
1589
02:20
Ream Eyso continued his search until he finally found Moni Mekhala.
33
140493
5802
02:26
He demanded that she and her friends either submit to him,
34
146295
3311
02:29
the most brilliant of Lok Ta’s students and rightful master of the crystal ball,
35
149606
5143
02:34
or die like Vorachhun.
36
154749
2566
02:37
Mekhala, without fear, refused and flew off into the clouds,
37
157315
4838
02:42
hoping to draw the demon away from her friends.
38
162153
3540
02:45
Ream Eyso took the bait, ripping through nimbus after nimbus in his crazed pursuit.
39
165693
6652
02:52
Once far enough away, Mekhala confronted her pursuer.
40
172345
4680
02:57
Ream Eyso made one last demand but the goddess remained unfazed.
41
177025
4871
03:01
Enraged, he began to swing his diamond axe.
42
181896
4190
03:06
Before he could hurl the weapon, Mekhala threw her crystal into the air.
43
186086
5068
03:11
As it climbed the height of the sky,
44
191154
2470
03:13
it emitted powerful flashes of lightning that blinded the demon.
45
193624
4740
03:18
Ream Eyso let his axe loose in wild desperation.
46
198364
3871
03:22
As the weapon flew through the air it cut through clouds,
47
202235
3770
03:26
creating deep, rolling peals of thunder.
48
206005
3871
03:29
And when the lightning and thunder mixed,
49
209876
1939
03:31
precious seeds of water fell from heaven: rain.
50
211815
4516
03:36
Mekhala drew close to Ream Eyso, now blind and impotent without his axe.
51
216331
5233
03:41
She pondered what she should do to the murderer.
52
221564
3369
03:44
Remembering the kindness and love of her teacher,
53
224933
2810
03:47
Moni Mekhala chose compassion and flew into the sky.
54
227743
4160
03:51
Shortly later, Ream Eyso regained his strength, found his axe, and followed her.
55
231903
5760
03:57
Thunder, lightning, and rain continued to dance across the earth.
56
237663
4822
04:02
Some drops fell on Vorachhun and revived him,
57
242485
3197
04:05
his skin golden like a rice field ready for harvest.
58
245682
4151
04:09
Grabbing his magic dagger,
59
249833
1640
04:11
he flew into the sky in search of Ream Eyso and Moni Mekhala.
60
251473
4369
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7