79 Land Paradise in the afterlife, would result in the attainment of merit and in opening the road to Paradise. Hence, assisting in the performance of work in the temple was also a means of gaining merit for the afterlife. This is just a hypothesis, but generally speaking when erecting a temple scores of villagers in the vicinity helped out as workers, for as the saying goes, “do good and avoid evil.” During the rainy season the villagers cultivated crops in their own fields, while in the dry season they assisted in the temple construction, urged on by a desire to promote its erection. A complex administrative organization was in function, and there also existed courthouses. Below the king were ministers, secretary-generals, royal instructors (a ceremonial sect known as Gurus), and high-ranking officials in charge of the central administration. For example, a special hereditary family controlled the rituals related to the “God King.” There were many who held two posts concurrently, and in certain cases positions were family inherited. There were middle managers and people from a number of functional groups who were involved in a variety of tasks, and besides, aside from local overseers there were county heads, village chiefs, and inspectors, to carry out managerial jobs in the districts. There appears to have been a partially bureaucratic organization, but this fact needs to be probed a little more. It appears as though individuals in this group of high-ranking officials who inherited their tasks as a family, were allotted to positions in management, taxation, the military, general affairs, and local administration. They enforced legal order, ensured the safety of life in the villages in accordance with social justice, monitored the logistics and trading network of ox cart caravans, and steered the administration. There were several other functional groups as well that shared the duties. In the Angkor era, a legal order was established whereby people could lead lives free of anxiety. There was a capital courthouse along with district courthouses, as well as judges who dealt with lawsuits and litigations. Punishments were carried out by executioners, and an example of a
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