Sudeva

Sudeva (also known as Ruesi Vasuthep Thai: ฤๅษีวาสุเทพ, or Sudeva Ruesi Thai: พระสุเทวฤาษี) is a revered hermit and a central figure in the origin myths of northern Thailand, most notably the founding of the ancient Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai (modern-day Lamphun). He is a key protagonist in the legends surrounding the celebrated Queen Camadevi, the first ruler of Hariphunchai. The famed mountain, Doi Suthep, in Chiang Mai is widely believed to be named after him.^[1]

Statue of Sudeva at Wat Phra That Doi Kham.

Legends

According to the Camadevivamsa (Chronicles of Queen Camadevi) and other northern Thai chronicles, Ruesi Vasuthep was a powerful ascetic who practiced meditation in a cave on a mountain that would later bear his name, Doi Suthep. He possessed great spiritual power and foresight. The most prominent legend recounts that Ruesi Vasuthep, along with a fellow hermit, Sukantasu (สุกันตฤาษี), established the city of Hariphunchai in the Ping River valley around the 7th century CE. The chronicles state that they chose a suitable location and outlined the city's boundaries, often depicted as being in the shape of a conch shell, a sacred symbol in Hinduism.^[2][3]

Recognizing the need for a capable ruler to govern their newly founded city and establish a stable kingdom, Ruesi Vasuthep used his clairvoyance to identify a suitable candidate. His vision led him to the kingdom of Lavo (present-day Lopburi), where he found Princess Camadevi, a daughter of the King of Lavo, who was renowned for her wisdom, virtue, and devotion to Buddhism. In some versions of the tale, Ruesi Vasuthep had a more direct connection to the princess, having miraculously found her as an infant abandoned in a large lotus flower on the banks of the Ping River. He raised her until she came of age, but, being a hermit, he could not keep her with him permanently. He placed her on a raft and sent her downstream, along with a letter to the king of Lavo requesting that he take her in and raise her. The king honored the hermit's request and later arranged for her to marry his son.^[4]

Statue of Sudeva at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

Ruesi Vasuthep, either alone or with Sukantasu, traveled to Lavo to invite Princess Chamadevi to assume the throne of Hariphunchai. She accepted the invitation and traveled north with a large retinue of scholars, monks, and artisans. Her arrival marked the beginning of the Hariphunchai Kingdom and the establishment of a flourishing center of Mon culture and Theravada Buddhism in the region. Ruesi Vasuthep remained a spiritual advisor and protector of the new kingdom throughout Queen Chamadevi's reign.^[1][5]

While he is a central figure in the establishment of a Buddhist kingdom, some scholars suggest that the legends indicate his own religious leanings may have been rooted in Vaishnavism, a tradition of Hinduism. This theory is supported by the symbolic conch-shaped layout of Hariphunchai, as the conch is a principal emblem of the Hindu deity Vishnu. This suggests a syncretic spiritual landscape in the region during that era, where Hindu cosmology and Buddhist principles coexisted.^[1]

Scholars believe that Vasuthep was an Indian ascetic, but the native people of Chiang Mai–Lamphun believe he was a Lawa. In the legend of Pu Sae–Ya Sae, which appears in ancient sources such as the Chiang Mai Chronicle, The Original Chronicle of Chiang Mai, and the Dhamma Chronicle of Wat Nantararam, Sudeva is mentioned as a son of the legendary giants Pu Sae and Ya Sae.^[1][6]

According to the Tamnan Mulasasana (ตำนานมูลศาสนา, Chronicle of the Origins of the Religion), Vasudeva was ordained as a Buddhist monk along with four other noblemen: Sukkhatanta, Anusissa, Phutthachadila, and Suphromma. Later, believing that the Buddha’s monastic disciplinary rules were too intricate to follow in their entirety, they requested to leave the monkhood and became hermits in the Himavanta forest. There, they practiced asceticism until they attained spiritual realization.^[7]

One day, the five hermits developed a desire to eat food with sour and salty flavors—typical of human cuisine—so they agreed to leave the Himavanta forest and settle in various locations. Sukkhatanta Ruesi went to live in the city of Lavo; Anusissa Ruesi settled in Litawanli Nakhon; Phutthachadila Ruesi stayed on Doi Chuhabanphot; and Suphromma Ruesi resided on Doi Khao Ngam in Mueang Nakhon. Vasudeva Ruesi descended to live on Doi Ucchubhanphata, known today as Doi Suthep.^[7][8]