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The Heretic King: Jayavarman VII's Buddhist Revolution
Description
Before Angkor became a Buddhist kingdom, it was ruled by Shaiva kings who worshipped the devaraja — a linga enshrined at the heart of the state cult. Then came Jayavarman VII, the 'Spider King' who survived a Cham invasion and retook the throne. But his real revolution was spiritual: he abandoned the devaraja cult entirely, building Angkor Thom as a Buddhist mandala and crowning himself a bodhisattva. This episode unpacks how one king's faith reshaped Khmer identity — and may have sowed the seeds of collapse. We examine the Bayon's enigmatic faces, the inscriptions at Preah Khan that describe his daily routine, and the backlash after his death. Along the way, we meet the queen who co-ruled with him, the Cham prince who became his son-in-law, and the priests who tried to erase his legacy. It's the story of a heretic king who built a city of gods — and a state that couldn't survive without him.