Prathivindravarman

Prathivindravarman (Thai: ปฤถิวีนทรวรมัน) emerges as a central political figure of the 5th century through the testimony of the Wang Pai Inscription (K.978),^[1][2] which identifies him as the ruler of Si Thep,^[2] a principal city associated with Qiān Zhī Fú.^[3]: 30 The inscription, inscribed in Sanskrit with Pallava script, discovered approximately 10 kilometers north of Si Thep, was composed to commemorate the coronation of a king described as the grandson of a Cakravartin and the son of King Prathivindravarman, whose power is explicitly compared to that of King Bhavavarman I. Notably, however, the inscription does not explicitly name the king whose coronation it records, leaving his precise identity unresolved.^[1]

This ambiguity has generated sustained scholarly debate, particularly concerning the dynastic relationships implied by the text. Earlier historiographical traditions identify Bhavavarman I as the biological son of Vīravarman. More recent interpretations, however, propose that Vīravarman may instead have been Bhavavarman I’s stepfather, having married the widowed queen of Prathivindravarman. Under this reconstruction, Bhavavarman I would be understood as the biological son of Prathivindravarman and the adopted son of Vīravarman, a scenario that repositions Prathivindravarman as the foundational progenitor of this royal lineage.^[4][5]

Further controversy arises from palaeographic considerations. Some scholars argue that the letter forms employed in the Wang Pai Inscription correspond to post-627 stylistic conventions, raising the possibility that the Bhavavarman referenced in the text is not Bhavavarman I but rather Bhavavarman II, or another ruler bearing the same regnal name who was unrelated to both Bhavavarman I and Bhavavarman II of Chenla.^{[6]: 17–20}