united Chenla. He is the son and successor of the obscure Candravarman. Religion During the reign of the Funan empire, the kings underwent a process of Indianization to consolidate and magnify their rule. Hindu religion was alluring as it offered the benefits of royal ideology with no political strings attached; thus hopeful Southeast Asian kings sought to incorporate it into their regime as a method to expand their power. The prominent Hindu Gods that rulers identified themselves with were Vishnu and Shiva, respectively known as the creator and destroyer of the universe. A sculpture called Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva, is also frequently depicted in religious establishments. This could portray that the early Cambodians believed that there is an equal balance between creation and destruction in the universe and that when one substance is terminated, another is produced to replace it. Other Hindu Gods Brahma and Indra along with deities such as Krishna Govardhana, Lakshmi, etc. were also worshipped. A epigraph from Siem Reap Province testified that during the late 8th century, it was evidently that Buddhists in Cambodia worshipped bodhisattvas. Also originating from India, Buddhism, although not as preeminent as Hinduism, peacefully coexisted with Hinduism in Chenla; two schools of Buddhism were identified from a sculpture found that depicted twelve images of Buddha. This shows that the kings did not seem to enforce their religious views on their people and that influences of all kinds were creating a diverse community in Chenla. According to the Indian historian Himanchu Prabha Ray, Buddhism was an effective motivating factor in the expansion of maritime trading networks from India to eastern lands while Brahmanic Hinduism revolved more around an agrarian economy. This may be a contributing factor to why both Buddhism and Hinduism have managed to peacefully exist together as agriculture and trade combined create a great source of income and benefit the kingdom. Therefore, kings allowed both religions to flourish and reaped the advantages. Religious structures By the close of the century [which?], the Chenla region was dotted with temples and shrines to the Hindu Gods. Many commoners were involved in the upkeep of these religious complexes and citizens of Chenla were expected to donate land, goods, and slaves to them. The great temple foundations consisted of their own holdings of land and people, functioning as powerful corporations; even minor temples had establishments and collected taxes. While kings had