Kauthara

Kauthara was a Cham region around the bay of Nha Trang, where the sacred towers of Po Nagar rise on a hill near the river mouth. Their goddess, the Mother of the Land, was one of Champa's great divinities. Royal inscriptions record the sanctuary's history from the eighth century, including the restoration of an image of the goddess in 784. Brick towers, carved stone and inscriptions express the devotion of generations of worshippers.

Kauthara remained in Cham hands after the loss of more northerly territories. In 1653 the Nguyễn rulers extended Vietnamese authority over the Nha Trang region. Cham and Vietnamese communities continued to live in the area, and the goddess of Po Nagar came to be revered by Vietnamese worshippers as Thiên Y A Na. The sanctuary thus retained its sacred importance through a profound change in political rule and population.