Ratanabimbavaṃsa

Rattanabimbavaṃsa is an early chronicle of the Emerald Buddha (Phra Phuttha Maha Mani Rattana Patimakorn), composed before other versions of the legend.^[1] It was written in Pali by a Lanna monk named Phra Phrommarachapanya Thera in 1429. Later, Phraya Thammapreecha (Kaew), while serving as Phraya Thammaporohit, rendered it into Thai in 1788 CE (B.E. 2331), during the reign of King Rama I, and submitted it for scholarly review.^[2] Subsequently, Phraya Pariyat Thammathada (Pae Talalaksm) translated it again into Thai under the title Legend of the Emerald Buddha (Tamnan Phra Kaeo Morakot), which was first published in 1913 CE (B.E. 2456).^[3]

The exact date of the original composition is unknown, but it is believed to have been written after 1436 CE (B.E. 1979), when the Emerald Buddha was enshrined in Lampang, since the narrative concludes there. The story of the Emerald Buddha is divided into four episodes:

• The miraculous birth of Nāgasena
• The creation of the Rattana image
• The journey of the Emerald Buddha from Kambuja to Chiang Rai
• The relocation of the Rattana image from Chiang Rai to Lampang^[4]

The historically significant portion concerns the discovery of the Emerald Buddha in a stupa at Chiang Rai and its subsequent enshrinement at Lampang.

When compared with earlier Buddhist literature, Rattanabimbavaṃsa shows influence from the Milindapañha in the section on the creation of the Rattana image. The account of the Emerald Buddha's travels from Cambodia to Chiang Rai likely draws on traditions of the spread of Buddhism into Southeast Asia, while the episodes of the Emerald Buddha's stay at Kamphaeng Phet, the war with Thao Mahaphrom of Chiang Rai, and its final installation at Chiang Rai appear influenced by the Sihinganidāna, enhancing the legend's credibility.^[4]