Chandrachota

Chandrachota (Thai: จันทรโชติ) was a younger prince of Suphannaphum under Chandra Devarāja (จันทรเทวราช).^[1]: 191 He ascended the throne of Lavo in 1052 and reigned until 1069,^{[2][3][4]: 78} supported by his elder brother Adityadhammikaraja (อาทิตยธรรมิกราช), ruler of Haripuñjaya, who waged a protracted five-year conflict against Lavo,^{[1]: 208–220 [5]: 16–7} and successfully installed his younger brother, Chandrachota, as a new sovereign in 1052. Chandrachota’s reign was contemporaneous with the period of extensive rebellion and political turbulence in Angkor, spanning approximately the 1050s through the 1080s.^{[6]: 138–139 [7]: 104}

Chandrachota จันทรโชติ
King of Lavo
Reign	1052–1069
Predecessor	Prince of Laparaja
Successor	Narai I
Born	Suphanburi
Died	1069 (1070) Lopburi
Consort	Patima Sudhaduangchan
Issue	Narai I
Dynasty	Ramanwamsa
Father	Chandra Devaraja

Following the death of Chandrachota in 1069, the succession did not immediately pass to his sole heir, Narai I, because the prince was only 13 years old and therefore insufficient to assume sovereign authority. In consequence, the governance of Lavo was entrusted to a regency, which administered the kingdom on behalf of the royal heir for a transitional period extending from 1069 until 1082. Upon attaining maturity, Narai was duly invested with full royal prerogatives and formally enthroned as king.^{[2][8]: 40–2}

Biography

Personal life

Chandrachota, of Mon descent,^[a] was the younger son of King Chandra Devarāja of Suphannaphum, with his elder sibling being Ādityadhammikarāja. Following the annexation of the Lavo Kingdom by Tambralinga in 927, Suphannaphum was subjected to an external incursion,^[1]: 191 potentially by Tambralinga troops at Lavo,^[4]: 70 compelling the two princes to seek refuge northward: the elder in Tak, and the younger in Lampang.^[1]: 191

Upon reaching maturity, Chandrachota subsequently contracted a matrimonial alliance with Patimā Sudhaduangchan (ปฏิมาสุดาดวงจันทร์), princess of Haripuñjaya,^[8]: 37 by whom he fathered a son, Narai I.^[8]: 40 Upon Chandrachota’s death, Narai I, having attained the requisite maturity, ascended to the throne of Lavo in 1082 at the age of 25 and transferred the royal seat to Ayodhya.^{[8]: 40–2} The newly established polity became known as Xiān in Chinese and Đại Việt sources, whereas the original center at Lavapura continued to be identified as Lavo until the formal establishment of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1351.^{[9]: 44–53}

Political legacy

Chandrachota’s elder brother, Ādityadhammikarāja, was conferred the throne of Haripuñjaya in Chula Sakarat 405 (1043 CE) late in his life.^[1]: 208 His brief five-year tenure was characterized by continuous military engagements with Lavo, which remained under Angkorian suzerainty, with the strategic objective of undermining Lavo’s martial capabilities and economic resources.^{[1]: 208–20} Ādityadhammikarāja managed to install the younger prince, Chandrachota, as king of Lavo circa 1052.^[8]: 37 This military campaign occurred amidst a period of recurrent insurrections within Angkor and the fragmentation of several vassal polities.^{[6]: 138–139 [7]: 104}

Approximately five years subsequent to his accession, Chandrachota confronted an incursion by the Pagan Kingdom. In light of Lavo’s comparatively limited military capacity, he pursued a policy of dynastic diplomacy by arranging the marriage of his queen consort’s elder sister, Kaew Praphan (เจ้าฟ้าแก้วประพาฬ), to the Pagan monarch.^{[5]: 18–9 [8]: 37–9} This alliance effectively safeguarded Lavo from the devastation that befell other polities along the western Menam Basin, including ancient centers such as Mueang Uthong and Nakhon Pathom, which were abandoned or severely depopulated as a consequence of the Pagan campaigns.^{[10]: 41 [11]: 4}

Notes

1. The Yonok Chronicle describes his elder brother Adityadhammikaraja (อาทิตยธรรมิกราช) as being of the Raman dynasty (Ramanwamsa).^[1]: 208