[Sanskrit: ‘God-King’]. Name of a Hindu religious mode, known as the Devaraja cult, which prevailed in the kingdom of Angkor, Cambodia, from the 9th to the 13th centuries. It was based on the belief that during his lifetime the king was the incarnation or representation of a Hindu god, with whom he became one after his death. This interpretation has lately been contested; however, it seems certain that some form of apotheosis of kings was a characteristic element of Angkorian civilization.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied