The greatest and most controversial of these "divine" Singhasari kings is Kertanagara (r. 1268-92), the first Javanese ruler to be accorded the title of dewa-prabu (literally, god-king).

Largely by force or threat, Kertanagara brings most of eastern Java under his control, then carries his military campaigns overseas, notably to Srivijaya's successor, Melayu (at this time also known as Jambi), with a huge naval expedition in 1275, to Bali in 1282, and to areas in western Java, Madura, and the Malay Peninsula.

These imperial ambitions prove difficult and expensive, however: the realm is perennially troubled by dissent at court and rebellion both at home and in the subjugated territories.

Much farther afield, Kertanagara provokes the new Mongol rulers of Yüan Dynasty (1279-1368) China to attempt to check his expansion, which they consider a threat to the region, but before their fleet of allegedly a thousand ships and a hundred thousand men can land on Java, Kertanagara has been assassinated by a vengeful descendant of the Kediri kings, and in the convoluted events that follow, Kertanagara's son-in-law, Raden Wijaya, succeeds in defeating both his father-in-law's principal rival and the Mongol forces.

In 1294 Wijaya ascends the throne as Kertarajasa, ruler of the new kingdom of Majapahit.