The kingdom of Champa (Campadesa or nagara Campa) Ch?m Pa in Vietnamese, ???? Chi礙m Th?nh in H獺n Vi廙?? and Zh?n ch矇ng in Chinese records) was an Indianized kingdom that controlled much of southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.

Champa reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries. Then began a gradual decline under pressure from ?廕【 Vi廙??, the Vietnamese polity centered in the region of modern Hanoi. In 1471, Viet troops sacked the northern Cham capital of Vijaya, and in 1697 the southern principality of Panduranga became a vassal of the Vietnamese emperor.

In 1832, the Vietnamese emperor Minh M廕》g annexed the remaining Cham territories. M廙?S??n, a former religious center, and H廙?? An, one of Champa's main port cities, are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Makara (Sanskrit: 鄐桌?鄐? is a sea-creature in Hindu mythology. It is generally depicted as half terrestrial animal (in the frontal part in animal forms of elephant or crocodile or stag, or deer) and in hind part as aquatic animal, in the tail part, as a fish tail or also as seal. Sometimes, even a peacock tail is depicted. It is often portrayed protecting entryways to Hindu and Buddhist temples.