The over 70 temples and tombs extant at Mỹ Sơn have been dated to the period between the 4th century and the 14th century AD. However, the inscriptions and other evidence indicate that earlier now defunct constructions probably were present from the 4th century. The complex may have been the religious and cultural centre of historical Champa, while the government was based in nearby Trà Kiệu or Đồng Dương.
Bhadravarman and Bhadresvara
The earliest historical events documented by the evidence recovered at Mỹ Sơn relate to the era of King Bhadravarman I (Phạm Hồ Đạt in Vietnamese, Fan Hou Ta as transcribed from the Chinese), who ruled from 380 until 413, and who spent the latter part of his reign waging war against the population of Chinese-occupied northern Vietnam. At Mỹ Sơn, Bhadravarman built a hall to worship the god Shiva under the form of the Linga and under the name "Bhadresvara," a composite created from the king's own name and the suffix "-isvara" commonly used to refer to Shiva.
King Bhadravarman caused a stele to be erected at Mỹ Sơn the inscription on which recorded his foundation. The stele indicates that the king dedicated the entire valley of Mỹ Sơn to Bhadresvara. The text ends with a plea from Bhadravarman to his successors: "Out of compassion for me don't destroy my gifts." Drawing upon the doctrines of samsara (that one will be reborn after death) and karma (that the goodness or badness of one's acts in this life will determine the conditions under which one is reborn), he added, "If you destroy [my foundation], all your good deeds in your different births shall be mine, and all the bad deeds done by me shall be yours. If, on the contrary, you properly maintain the endowment, the merit shall belong to you alone." Bhadravarman's successors heard his plea, it seems, for Mỹ Sơn became the religious hub of Champa for many
