Indravarman III
Who was Indravarman III?
Ruler of the Khmer Empire from 1295 to 1308
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Indravarman III (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Indravarman III (1237–1308), also known as Srindravarman, ruled the Khmer Empire from 1295 to 1308. He became king after Jayavarman VIII abdicated. Indravarman was married to Jayavarman's eldest daughter, Srindrabhupesvarachuda. Before becoming king, he commanded the imperial army, which gave him both military support and political power. Srindrabhupesvarachuda helped him gain the throne by stealing the Sacred Sword from her father and giving it to him, as the sword was important for becoming king in Khmer tradition. When the crown prince tried to resist, Indravarman had him captured, cut off his toes, and imprisoned him. With no more resistance, he was crowned king by the royal priest Vidyesavid. He then officially married Srindrabhupesvarachuda to legitimize his rule and later also married Suryalakshmi, Vidyesavid's niece, to strengthen his political alliances. A key decision during his reign was making Theravada Buddhism the state religion, moving away from the Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist traditions that had long been part of the Khmer court. His reign saw conflict with Siam. The Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan visited Angkor from August 1296 to July 1297, providing a detailed account of court life and the city's monuments, noting that the towers of the Bayon were once covered in gold. His writings are crucial for understanding Angkor at the end of the thirteenth century. Indravarman III died in 1308, leaving behind a changed religious scene and a court influenced by his strategic consolidation of power.
Before Fame
Not much is known about Indravarman III's early life before he got involved in the politics and military of the Khmer court. Born in 1237, he grew up when the Khmer Empire, though still strong, was starting to feel pressure from nearby regions, including the Siamese kingdoms to the west. His marriage to Jayavarman VIII's eldest daughter, Srindrabhupesvarachuda, tied him closely to the royal family and put him in the middle of court politics. Becoming the commander of the imperial army showed he had gained some trust and military skills before taking the throne, but details of his early military career aren't preserved in existing records.
Key Achievements
- Established Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the Khmer Empire, reshaping its religious and cultural identity
- Successfully seized power and consolidated the throne despite opposition from the crown prince, ensuring political stability under his rule
- Maintained the Khmer court during a period of territorial and military pressure from Siam
- Presided over the reign during which Zhou Daguan produced his landmark account of Angkor, preserving a record of the empire at its late classical stage
- Secured dynastic legitimacy through strategic marriage to Jayavarman VIII's eldest daughter and alliance with the royal hotar Vidyesavid
Did You Know?
- 01.Zhou Daguan's diplomatic account, written during Indravarman III's reign, records that the towers of the Bayon temple at Angkor were once sheathed in gold.
- 02.According to Khmer legend, Indravarman III was associated with a distinctive weapon described as a bat made of ironwood.
- 03.Srindrabhupesvarachuda's theft of the Sacred Sword from her own father was the act that symbolically transferred royal legitimacy to Indravarman III.
- 04.The crown prince who attempted to resist Indravarman's power grab had his toes cut off as punishment before being imprisoned, a deliberate act of ritual humiliation in the Khmer context.
- 05.Indravarman III's coronation was performed by the royal hotar Vidyesavid, whose niece Suryalakshmi Indravarman later also married.