Manohanaraj

Manohanaraj (Thai: มโนหารราช) is a Monic monarch preserved in the Pali chronicle Jinakalamali.^{[1]: 126–7 [2]: 4 [3]} Identified as the ruler of Ayojjhapura,^{[1]: 125–7} generally equated with Si Thep,^[4] the principal city of Qiān Zhī Fú.^[5]: 30 Manohanaraj succeeded his father, Rajadhiraj, and continued the lineage that had long governed this significant urban and religious center. His reign, however, is remembered less for consolidation than for its downfall.^{[1]: 125–7} According to the chronicle, Manohanaraj’s refusal to grant Anuruddha of Kamalanka possession of the sacred black stone Buddha images of Sikhī provoked a decisive military campaign. The conflict culminated in his defeat, capture, and forced removal to Kamalanka.^{[1]: 126–7 [2]: 4} The Jinakalamali notes that another monarch subsequently assumed power at Ayojjhapura, yet the identity of this successor remains unrecorded.^[1]: 127

Manohanaraj
King of Ayojjhapura
King of Qiān Zhī Fú
Reign	Mid 7th century
Predecessor	Rajadhiraj
Successor	Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra
Born	Si Thep
Died	Late 7th-c. Nakhon Pathom
Father	Rajadhiraj

The overthrow of Manohanaraj has attracted considerable attention in later historiography, largely due to the contested identity of Anuruddha. Burmese tradition has tended to identify Anuruddha with Anawrahta, the 11th-century monarch of Pagan. On this basis, the Burmese narrative equates Manohanaraj with Manuha, the last king of the Mon kingdom of Thaton, thereby linking the story to Pagan’s conquest of Thaton.^{[6]: 124–6} However, this presumption is undermined by the chronological framework of the Jinakalamali itself, which explicitly situates these events in the milieu of the 7th century and refers to contemporary figures such as Queen Camadevi of Haripuñjaya.^{[1]: 127–8}

Despite his defeat, the fall of Manohanaraj marks a pivotal turning point in the history of Si Thep. With the demise of his lineage, the city entered a new political phase beginning in 756 under the dynasty founded by Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra.^[7][8] This transformation entailed not merely a change of rulers but also a profound cultural and religious shift, as Buddhism became more dominant than the earlier Vaishnavism.^[9]