Apart from a handful of exceptions, all the known Sanskrit inscriptions are poems of varying length, noteworthy in that they are often expressed in language of considerable refinement. The Khmer poets adhered to stanza forms of various degrees of complexity, and composed their verses in perfect accordance with the rules of prosody, thus demonstrating an intimate knowledge of Indian culture. The poems are addressed to the gods, apparently with the aim of praising their servants, the kings or dignitaries, and recording their meritorious deeds- after all, such people also had the means to commission temples and make large donations to their resident deities. The texts thus provide valuable historical information, such as be built, and the manes of the kings, the dates of the temples they caused to be built, and the names of the kingdom's high officeholders. Such records, however, are little more than landmarks- the objects of the poets' adulation are almost always praised in stereotyped formulae far removed from real life. It is nevertheless occasionally possible to glean here and there a few details about the lives of these personages.