Ancient Indian Colonization in South-East Asia c8.27

c8.27

It would appear that unlike the Hindu colonists of Fu-nan those of Kambuja probably came by an overland route through Siam and Laos. The earliest historical kings of Kambuja were Śruta-varman and his son Śreṣṭha-varman who founded a royal family. The rulers of this family are said to have delivered their country from bondage. This obviously means that Kambuja was originally subordinate to another power, and one or more descendants of Śreṣṭha-varman succeeded in throwing off the yoke. It is generally believed that Fu-nan was the suzerain power. But it is now known that a king named Devānīka, probably a ruler of Champā, was in possession of the region found Bassac before the end of the fifth century A.D., and he might have been the suzerain of Kambuja. But we do not know either the date of the foundation of Kambuja or its conquest by Fu-nan or Champā and liberation from her yoke. It had probably freed itself before the middle of the sixth century A.D. when king Bhava-varman acquired it and founded a new royal family.