Manohanaraj
| Manohanaraj | |
|---|---|
| King of Ayojjhapura | |
| King of Qiān Zhī Fú | |
| Reign | Mid 7th century |
| Predecessor | Rajadhiraj |
| Successor | Unknown (Mid–late 7th-c.) Vacant (late 7th-c.–757) Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra (757–800) |
| Born | Si Thep |
| Died | Late 7th-c. Nakhon Pathom |
| Father | Rajadhiraj |
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
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 mythical 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]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Jinakalamali" (PDF) (in Thai). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ a b Sukanya Sudchaya. "ตำนานพระประโทณ: ตำนานแบบพึทธศาสนาในสุวรรณภูมิ" [Legend of Phra Praton: Buddhist legend in Suvarnabhumi] (PDF) (in Thai). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ "เรื่องจริงอิงประวัติศาสตร์ชวนสับสนของพระสิขีพุทธปฏิมาศิลาดำ" [The confusing historical story of the Black Stone Buddha Sikhi]. Matichon (in Thai). 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2025-10-01. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
- ^ Pensupa Sukkata (16 June 2022). "ฤๅเมืองโบราณศรีเทพ คือ 'อโยธยา-มหานคร' ในตำนานพระแก้วมรกต และตำนานพระสิกขีปฏิมาศิลาดำ?" [Is the ancient city of Sri Thep the ‘Ayutthaya-the metropolis’ in the legend of the Emerald Buddha and the legend of the black stone Buddha Sikhi Patima?]. Matichon (in Thai). Archived from the original on 2024-12-18. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Hoshino, T (2002). "Wen Dan and its neighbors: the central Mekong Valley in the seventh and eighth centuries.". In M. Ngaosrivathana; K. Breazeale (eds.). Breaking New Ground in Lao History: Essays on the Seventh to Twentieth Centuries. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. pp. 25–72.
- ^ Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2005). The Mists of Rāmañña: The Legend that was Lower Burma (illustrated ed.). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824828868.
- ^ Simon de La Loubère (1693). "Du royaume de Siam". ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2025-09-08. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
- ^ Guy Tachard (1686). Voyage de Siam: Des Peres jesuites, envoyez par le Roy aux Indes & à la Chine: avec leurs observations astronomiques, et leurs remarques de physique, de géographie, d'hydrographie, & d'histoire (PDF) (in French). Paris: Arnould Seneuze & Daniel Horthemels.
- ^ Depimai, Anurak (2020). The Cultural Development of Si-Thep as the Hinterland Ancient Town Prior to 14th Century (Ph.D. thesis). Silpakorn University.