Rajendravarman II

Who was Rajendravarman II?

Rajendravarman II was the king of the Khmer Empire, from 944 to 968.

Rajendravarman II was a nephew of former king Yasovarman I. His principal monuments, located in the Angkor region of Cambodia's Siem Reap province, are Pre Rup and East Mebon.

The king claimed links to the royal line of the Chenla state that had its capital at Bhavapura and predates the start of the Khmer empire in 802 AD. Inscriptions say that the Khmer empire under his tutelage extended to southern Vietnam, Laos and much of Thailand and as far north as southern China.

An inscription at Pre Rup relates that Rajendravarman II was a great warrior, his sword frequently blood-stained, his body as hard as a diamond. Though the king punished the guilty, the inscription says, he had an ocean of compassion for the innocent. Other inscriptions depict him as organizer of state religious ritual. In one text, he gives an order for the collection of holy oil, in the form of butter, for use in temples.

The king ruled from a great palace designed by his minister Kavindrarimathana.