Narai I

Narai I (Thai: นารายณ์ที่ 1) is regarded as the last sovereign of the Ramanwamsa line of Lavo and simultaneously the inaugural monarch of Xiān at Ayodhya. He was a scion of the Monic dynasty, being the son of King Chandrachota of Lavo and Princess Patima Sudhaduangchan of Haripuñjaya. Following the death of the regent who administered the royal court, Narai I was formally invested with kingship in 1082.^[1] His reign commenced at Lavapura, the capital of Lavo, where he ruled during the initial years of his sovereignty, before subsequently transferring the royal seat to Ayodhya.^{[2]: 40–2}

Narai I นารายณ์ที่ 1
10th King of Ayodhya
King of Lavo
Reign	1082–mid 1080s
Predecessor	Chandrachota
Successor	Unknown
King of Xiān's Ayodhya
Reign	mid 1080s–1087
Predecessor	Kingdom reestablished
Successor	Phra Chao Luang
Born	1058 Lopburi
Died	1087 (aged 28) Ayutthaya
Dynasty	Ramanwamsa
Father	Chandrachota
Mother	Patima Sudhaduangchan

Narai’s demise in 1087 at the age of 28, without leaving a direct heir, precipitated a protracted succession crisis among the nine principal noble clans of the royal court.^{[2]: 41–42} This internecine conflict endured for a period of two years, ultimately resulting in the enthronement of Phra Chao Luang as the sovereign of Xiān at Ayodhya in 1089. In contrast, the succession at the former capital of Lavapura remains undocumented in extant sources.^{[2]: 41–42 [3]} Nonetheless, historical records indicate that the legendary Tai monarch, Phrom of Yonok, undertook a military expedition southward to depose the reigning Lavo sovereign, thereby installing his son, Kraisornrat, as the new ruler in 1106.^[4]

During this same period, comparable unrest was recorded in the western valley at Suphannaphum’s Mueang Uthong, where the death of King Anga Indra in 1081 enabled the Pagan monarch, Kar Tayy, to seize control.^{[2]: 60 [5]: 43} Subsequently, Pagan forces were recorded to have invaded Ayodhya in 1087 during Narai’s reign, the same year in which Narai is believed to have died.^{[2]: 40–2}

Biography

Enthronement

Following the death of his father, Chandrachota, in 1069, the succession did not immediately pass to Narai, as Chandrachota's sole heir, because he was only 13 years old and therefore insufficient to assume sovereign authority. Consequently, the governance of Lavo was entrusted to a regency, which administered the kingdom on behalf of the royal heir for a transitional period lasting from 1069 to 1082. Upon attaining maturity, Narai was duly invested with full royal prerogatives and formally enthroned as king.^{[1][2]: 40–2}

Establishment of Ayodhya

According to the Northern Chronicle [th], in 944,^[a] a nobleman from Mueang Bang Pan (บางพาน; in present-day Phran Kratai), named Bhuddhasagara (พุทธสาคร), migrated southward and was subsequently enthroned as ruler of Mueang Wat Derm (เมืองวัดเดิม; later Ayodhya), situated on the eastern bank of the Pasak River opposite the site of the modern Ayutthaya Island. In 974, his son succeeded to the throne but was later overthrown by Phraya Kreak (พระยาแกรก),^{[2]: 30–3} the ruler of Mueang Phreak,^[6]: 35 who assumed the regnal title Sindhob Amarin (สินธพอำมรินทร์).^{[2]: 31–3} Having defeated the Mueang Wat Derm line, Sindhob Amarin consolidated authority over both Mueang Wat Derm and Mueang Phreak, while continuing to maintain his seat of power at Phraek Si Racha. He die in 996.^[b] Subsequently, historical records indicate that Śrīsiṃha, a monarch of the Padumasūriyavaṃśa dynasty, relocated his royal seat from Phetchaburi to Phraek Si Racha between circa 1015 and 1030,^[6]: 40 preceding the Chola invasion of the Malay Peninsula—where Phetchaburi was located—in 1030.^{[7]: 77–78, 170}

In the mid-1080s, only a few years after his enthronement, Narai I transferred his seat of power to Mueang Wat Derm, renaming it Ayodhya.^[3] The Northern Chronicle further records that in 1087 Narai I engaged in a military confrontation with his cousin, the prince of Pagan, whose mother—Narai’s maternal aunt—had been given in marriage to the king of Pagan. Narai emerged victorious in this encounter;^{[2]: 40–1 [3]} however, he died later in the same year.^{[2]: 42 [3]} Owing to the brevity of his reign, which lasted only five years, contemporary sources make scant reference to his political or administrative undertakings.

Thai historian Sujit Wongthes has suggested that the relocation of the seat during Narai's reign may have been precipitated by the altered course of the Lopburi River near present-day Pak Nam Prasob (ปากน้ำประสบ) in Bang Pa-in.^[3] Rungroj Phirom-anukul (รุ่งโรจน์ ภิรมย์อนุกูล) has advanced the hypothesis that the shift in the political center from Lavo to Ayodhya may be attributed to internal fissures among the Lavo aristocracy. Since the 5th century, Lavo’s ruling elites had maintained a devotional association with Krishna of the Candravaṃśa tradition. By the mid-11th century, however, the introduction of the Lanka Theravada tradition appears to have engendered ideological divisions among them. It is therefore conceivable that a faction of elites aligned with the Theravada established Ayodhya as their new political center, while adherents of the earlier Hindu and Mahāyāna traditions continued to exercise authority at Lavo.^[1] This interpretation accords with the Northern Chronicle, which records that, following the death of Chandrachota in 1069, Narai I was deemed too young to assume sovereign authority. The regency consequently administered the kingdom on his behalf for a notably protracted period of 13 years, until the regent died in 1082. Such an unusually long regency for a noble seems excessive, suggesting that political discord or rivalries among the noble clans may have prolonged the transitional arrangement. At the age of 25, Narai was enthroned, at which point he transferred his seat from Lavo to Ayodhya—a development that can be viewed as a reflection of broader ideological and aristocratic tensions within the court.

Notes

1. Calculated from the text given in the chronicle: "สิ้น 97 ปีสวรรคต ศักราชได้ 336 ปี พระยาโคดมได้ครองราชสมบัติอยู่ ณ วัดเดิม 30 ปี"^[2]: 30 which is transcribed as "…at the age of 97, he passed away in the year 336 of the Chula Sakarat. Phraya Kodom reigned in the Mueang Wat Derm for 30 years…."
2. Calculated from the text provided in the Northern Chronicle: Phrase 1: ...พระพุทธศักราช ๑๘๕๐...พระเจ้าสินธพอำมรินทร์เสวยราชสมบัติได้ ๓ ปี...^[2]: 32 which is transcribed as ...Buddhist Era? 1850...Sindhob Amarin has been reigning for 3 years..., Phrase 2: ...จึงลบพระพุทธศักราช ๑๘๕๗ เปนจุลศักราช ๓๐๖...^[2]: 33 transcribed as ... Buddhist Era? 1857 is changed to Chula Sakarat 306... On the basis of the two aforementioned textual references, it may be inferred that the reign of Sindhob Amarin commenced in Chula Sakarat 299 (corresponding to 937 CE). This chronological point appears to overlap with the reign of Bhuddhasagara and his son at Mueang Wat Derm. Consequently, the year 937 CE may reasonably be identified as the probable date of Sindhob Amarin’s enthronement at Mueang Phreak, and the Phrase 3: ...พระเจ้าสินธพอำมรินทร์เสวยราชสมบัติ ๕๙ ปี พระองค์สวรรคต... transcribed as ...Sindhob Amarin ruled for 59 years and died...^[2]: 33 that means he died in 996 CE.