Following the Hindu - Buddhist ideology of divine kingship , the king was believed to be semi-divine .
The merumat symbolizes Mount Meru , the centre of the universe atop which lies the home of the gods , to which the king would return after death .
Following the Hindu - Buddhist ideology of divine kingship , the king was believed to be semi-divine , and the merumat symbolizes Mount Meru , the centre of the universe atop which lies the home of the gods , to which the king would return after death .