Person

Kaundinya I

Also known as Hun Tian

Kaundinya is the legendary founder of the ruling line of Funan in the lower Mekong region. According to Chinese histories, he was a Brahmin from abroad, called Hun Tian, who arrived by ship, defeated and married the local queen Liu Ye, and became king; a later Cham inscription tells of a Brahmin named Kaundinya marrying a naga princess, Soma. The story was later used to legitimise Khmer kingship.

Kaundinya I
Image: Kiensvay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Funan

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kaundinya I. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kaundinya-i
MLA
“Kaundinya I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kaundinya-i. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kaundinya I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kaundinya-i.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kaundinya I’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/kaundinya-i (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻