Phaya Khottabong

Phaya Khottabong (พญาโคตรตะบอง), known among Lao people as Thao Si Khottabong, Phaya Si Khottabong, or Si Khottabong, and among the Khmer as Phaya Tabong Khayung, is an ancient legend widespread in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. The story appears in the region of the Mekong River basin (Laos and provinces on the right bank of the Mekong River from Nong Khai Province to Ubon Ratchathani Province in the Isan region of Thailand), the Nan River basin (Phichit Province, Lopburi Province in central Thailand), and the area of Battambang (Cambodia).

The tale of Phaya Khottabong appears in the Northern Chronicles (พงศาวดารเหนือ), which King Rama II ordered Phra Wichian Preecha (Noi) to compile from various works dating back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It also appears in local folklore of the people of Phichit Province. In the Northern Chronicles, Phaya Khottabong is assumed to be a Buddhist king of the indigenous peoples of the Chao Phraya River basin before the founding of Ayutthaya. However, Phaya Khottabong Devaraja of Mueang Phichit, ruler of Nakhon Chaiwan, is thought to have been Khmer (Brahmin) because when the city was founded, there were consecration rituals and a Swing ceremony offered to Shiva and Vishnu.^[1] The people of Phichit call him "Pho Pu" ("Grandfather"), believing him to be the founder of Phichit city. Today, a statue of Phaya Khottabong is located beneath the city pillar shrine in Phichit.^[2] In Laos, a monument to Phaya Si Khottabong stands in Thakhek, Khammouane Province, in front of That Sikhottabong, an important stupa.^[3]

Phaya Khottabong is also depicted in bas-reliefs of Lavo troops on the Angkor Wat temple.^[4] The city of Battambang (Khmer: Bătdâmbâng), meaning "Lost Club," also has a legend that continues from the story of Phaya Khottabong.^[5]

Phaya Khottabong was the son of Phaya Khodom, a descendant of Phra Maha Phutthasakhon, ruler of a kingdom at Nong Sano Island (present-day Wat Ayothaya). Phaya Khottabong was a king of great strength who wielded a club as his personal weapon. No weapon could kill him. One day, the royal astrologer predicted that a person of great merit would be born in his city. The king ordered all pregnant women to be killed. Later, the astrologer said the person had already been born, so the king ordered all newborns to be burned. One infant survived when a monk found him and raised him at Wat Pho Phi Hai. After 17 years, the boy grew into a young man but was crippled from burns, dragging his feet with a scraping sound, earning him the nickname "Nai Kraek." Rumors spread that the person of merit had arrived.

Indra appeared disguised as an old man leading a horse, leaving it with Nai Kraek and telling him to wait. If hungry, he was to eat the rice wrapped in a bundle. After a long wait, Nai Kraek ate the rice, which gave him great strength. He also found a bottle of oil in the bundle, rubbed it on himself, and was instantly healed. He mounted the horse, wearing regalia given by Indra, and the horse flew to the royal palace.

Phaya Khottabong, startled, threw his club at him but missed, and it landed in Lan Xang. The king pursued the club to Lan Xang, while Nai Kraek ascended the throne by marrying the king’s descendant, taking the name King Sindhob Amarin. The ruler of Lan Xang, fearing Phaya Khottabong’s power, gave him his daughter as wife but secretly plotted to kill him. He tricked his daughter into learning his weakness, and she learned that only a spear thrust into his anus could kill him. The ruler of Lan Xang set a trap in the privy, killing Phaya Khottabong in this manner. Shamed at being deceived by a woman, he returned to his city and died. King Sinthopamarin cremated him at a site called Wat Sop Sawan (now Wat Suan Luang Sop Sawan).

In this version, Phaya Si Khottabong was a commoner who suffered hardship in youth and was ordained as a novice monk but was lazy. One day, while cooking rice for temple workers, he stirred it with a piece of black cotton tree wood, turning it black. Fearing blame, he ate all the rice and felt great strength. Later, he single-handedly carried logs for construction, astonishing the abbot. In Vientiane, when elephants destroyed property, Phaya Anuphawan offered his daughter and city to anyone who could subdue them. Si Khottabong, having disrobed, succeeded and married Nang Khiao Khom. Fearing his growing power, Phaya Anuphawan tricked Nang Khiao Khom into revealing his weakness. When Si Khottabong came to dine, he was trapped and killed in the same way as in the Northern version. Before dying, he cursed Vientiane to never prosper, then flew back to die in Pengchan city.

Phaya Tabong Khayung was conscripted to cut wood for a cremation pyre but assigned to kitchen duty. Stirring rice with a black stick turned it black; fearing mockery, he ate it all and then cooked more. He hung the pot on a tree branch, lowering it for friends to eat, which amazed them. Believing he had supernatural qualities, they supported him in overthrowing the ruler, making him king of Battambang.