Indradevi

Indradevi (; fl. 1181) was a queen of the Khmer Empire through her marriage to king Jayavarman VII (r. 1181–1219). Reportedly, she influenced affairs of state through her spouse, particularly in favor of Buddhism. She was also the first known female Cambodian poet, as well as a professor.

Life

She was the daughter of ‘kshatriyas, amongst the elite of the royal family’, and the elder sister of queen Jayarajadevi, the first queen of Jayavarman VII.

When Jayavarman VII succeeded to the throne, queen Jayarajadevi was praised for donating all her property to the poor. After her conversion, queen Jayarajadevi became a teacher herself and: ‘took for her own daughters members of a group of girls who had been abandoned by their mothers … [and] entered them in the religious life with clothes and gifts, according to the prescribed rites’. She was praised for her knowledge in Sanskrit.

Queen Indradevi was described as intelligent and cultivated, and her spouse apparently allowed her influence upon state affairs.

Indradevi composed a number of poems, some of which were about the reign of Jayavarman VII. She is regarded as "the earliest known female poet in Cambodia".