Jayadevi

Jayadevi (fl. 713), was the queen regnant of the Chenla Kingdom, the predecessor polity of the Khmer Empire, from 681 to 713.

She was the daughter of king Jayavarman I. She also had a sister, princess Sobhajaya, who married the Indian Sivait Brahim Sakrasvamin.

Her father left no male heirs, which eventually led to the division of Cambodia. She succeeded her father as monarch upon his death in 681. Her succession was contested. During her reign, the kingdom experienced turmoil and anarchy, and in 706, it was finally divided in two: Land Chenla and Water Chenla. There is little information about Land Chenla, and Water Chenla soon collapsed into several minor states. In 713, she left an inscription at Angkor in which she laments the bad times of the kingdom, and mention the donation she made to the sanctuary of Siva Tripurankata, which had been founded by her sister. It is unknown how long she ruled after 713, as the history of Cambodia becomes blurred during this period. In 716, a king named Pushkara is mentioned in an inscription, and it has been suggested that he obtained his position by marriage to a female monarch, but this is not confirmed and he may also have simply been an usurper.

References

• Coedes, G. (1962). "The Making of South-east Asia." London: Cox & Wyman Ltd.
• George Cœdès: The Indianized States of South-East Asia

Preceded by Jayavarman I

Monarch of Chenla 681–713

Succeeded by None