According to legend Cambodia was founded through the marriage of an Indian Brahman named Kaundinya to a Naga princess whose father ruled the sunken lands of Kambuja.
Jayavarman II is widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of the Angkor period in Cambodian history, beginning with the grandiose consecration ritual conducted by Jayavarman II (reign 790-850) in 802 on sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen, to celebrate the independence of Kambuja from Javanese dominion.
The combination of the legendary founders of the kingdom of Kambuja, the Brahman Sage Kambu Swayambhuva and the naga princess Mera's names, is said to have given rise to the name Khmer.