The Khmer world cultivated a religious vision in which Hindu and Buddhist currents were drawn into a single sacred stream centered on the king. Through the ideology of the *devarāja*, the ruler was presented as a god-king, embodying Hindu deities such as Śiva and Viṣṇu while also being associated with the bodhisattva ideal of compassionate leadership. This fusion of divine kingship and bodhisattva imagery allowed royal power to be understood simultaneously in Hindu and Buddhist terms, giving the throne a unifying spiritual authority. Such a synthesis did not erase distinctions, but rather held them together within a shared framework of legitimacy and sanctity.

Architecture and sacred geography made this synthesis visible in stone. Temple-mountains modeled on Mount Meru, such as Angkor Wat and later Bayon, expressed Hindu cosmology while gradually incorporating Buddhist images and uses. A temple first dedicated to Viṣṇu could later serve Buddhist devotion, and a state temple might display Hindu cosmic symbolism alongside large Buddhist faces associated with Avalokiteśvara. In this way, the landscape itself became a mandala in which Hindu and Buddhist symbols coexisted, suggesting that both paths converged in the sacred center represented by the royal city and its temples.

Ritual life and religious administration further wove the two traditions together. Brahmin priests and Buddhist monks both held recognized roles at court, with Hindu rites such as royal consecrations and fire rituals standing alongside Buddhist blessings and ceremonies of merit. Royal ceremonies could draw on Hindu sacrificial forms while also invoking Buddhist protective and ethical dimensions, and both communities received material support through temple endowments and patronage. The result was not a simple alternation between two religions, but a shared ceremonial world in which each tradition reinforced the other’s contribution to social and cosmic order.

This syncretic vision extended into imagery, narrative, and law. Temple reliefs juxtaposed scenes from the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata with Buddhist stories, presenting them as complementary expressions of a larger sacred story. Statuary might show rulers in the guise of Hindu gods while employing Buddhist gestures and attributes, hinting that the divine could be approached through multiple, overlapping forms. Legal and ethical frameworks drew on Hindu *dharmaśāstra* ideas alongside Buddhist moral precepts, while royal edicts could call upon both Hindu devas and Buddhist protective beings. Through these many layers, the Khmer realm shaped a religious universe in which Hindu and Buddhist elements were not rivals but interdependent strands of a single, state-centered spirituality.