Maha Sura Singhanat

Somdet Phra Boworaratchao Mahasurasinghanat (Thai: สมเด็จพระบวรราชเจ้ามหาสุรสิงหนาท; 1 November 1744 – 3 November 1803) was originally named Bunma (Thai: บุญมา) was the younger brother of King Rama I, the first monarch of the Chakri dynasty of Siam.

When he came of age, he entered royal service as a mahadlek (royal page) in the Ayutthaya court. After the second fall of Ayutthaya, he escaped the Burmese troops and joined King Taksin's army, taking part in the capture of Chanthaburi and the expulsion of the Burmese from Thonburi. He was appointed Phra Maha Montri (chief of the royal police). Throughout the Thonburi period, he was a key military figure and was promoted several times, successively holding the titles Phraya Anuchit Racha, Phraya Yommarat, and Phraya Surasi Phitsanuwathirat, governor-regent of Phitsanulok. Owing to his brave, strong, and decisive character, he earned the epithet "Phraya Suea" ("Tiger Lord").

Throughout the reign of King Rama I, he served as the Prince of Front Palace and continued to play an active role in several military campaigns, including the Nine Armies War at Lat Ya (1785), the campaign to expel the Burmese at Tha Din Daeng (1786), the attack on Tavoy (1787), and the campaign to drive the Burmese from Chiang Mai (1795).

He also produced several literary works, many of which reflected contemporary military events and historical circumstances.

Bunma was born in 1744 to Thongdi and Daoreung. His father Thongdee was the Royal Secretary of Northern Siam and Keeper of Royal Seal. As a son of aristocrat, he entered the palace and began his aristocratic life as a royal page. Thongdee was a descendant of Kosa Pan, the leader of Siamese mission to France in the seventeenth century. Bunma had four other siblings and two other half-siblings. Bunma himself was the youngest born to Daoreung.

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, Bunma (later Maha Sura Singhanat) joined the forces of Phraya Tak and took part in the campaigns to seize Chanthaburi and to drive Burmese forces from Thonburi.^[1] During the Thonburi period he emerged as one of Taksin's key military leaders; he also brought his elder brother Thongduang into the king's inner circle, and the two became among Taksin's most successful generals.^[2]

Bunma held the office of Phra Maha Montri (chief of the royal police) and rose through a succession of promotions, including Phraya Anuchit Racha, Phraya Yommarat, and Phraya Surasi Phitsanuwathirath, serving as governor of Phitsanulok and a commander responsible for the northern frontier. Owing to his forceful character, he was remembered by the sobriquet "Phraya Suea" ("Tiger Lord").^[1]

Siamese counter-offensives after 1767 gradually reduced Burmese pressure on the northern towns. Burmese influence in Lanna was later rolled back, and Chiang Mai was re-established under Bangkok's suzerainty in cooperation with the local ruler Kawila (of Lampang).^[2]

These wars also intersected with Bangkok's eastward expansion. The Thonburi regime's tensions with the Lao states culminated in the Thai campaign of 1778–1779, which resulted in the conquest of Vientiane; contemporary accounts of the aftermath place the conquering general, Chao Phraya Surasi, in a supervisory role over Lao captives brought to the capital area.^[3]

In April 1782, a coup ended Taksin's reign and Thongduang ascended the throne as King Rama I.^[2] Bunma was appointed Somdet Phra Baworn Racha Chao (the Front Palace/uparat) and took up residence at the Front Palace complex, established to the north of the Grand Palace.^[1]

In 1785, the Burmese king Bodawpaya launched a major invasion of Siam (known in Thai tradition as the Nine Armies War), which was ultimately repelled by Siamese forces.^[4][5] According to the Fine Arts Department, Maha Sura Singhanat took part in the war at Lat Ya in 1785. In 1786, he led an expedition against Burmese forces in the southern provinces; the campaign is associated with his literary work Phleng yao rop phama thi Nakhon Si Thammarat. That same year, Siamese forces also fought and expelled Burmese troops at Tha Din Daeng.^[1]

In 1802, Burmese forces again threatened Lan Na and Chiang Mai. Maha Sura Singhanat marched north with Prince Thepharirak, but he fell ill at Thoen; Rama I then ordered the Rear Palace to proceed to the front, and the Siamese ultimately defeated the Burmese forces.^[1]

Aside from his military service, he composed several literary works that drew upon contemporary historical circumstances and military events. His notable works include:^[1]

• Phleng Yao Thawai Phayakon (1789), composed following a lightning strike at the Indra Bhisek Maha Prasad Throne Hall, Grand Palace.
• Phleng Yao Rob Phama Thi Nakhon Si Thammarat (1786), written during the Burmese campaign in the southern provinces.
• Phleng Yao Rueang Ti Mueang Phama (1787), composed on the expedition to capture Tavoy.

• Statue of Maha Sura Singhanat at Wat Mahathat
• Monument of Prince Maha Sura Singhanat of the Front Palace

In 1803, Maha Sura Singhanat fell ill seriously. However, as recorded by Princess Kampushchat, Maha Sura Singhanat's daughter with his Cambodian concubine, the Front Palace officials blocked the Royal Palace forces from entering the Front Palace as Phutthayotfa Chulalok came to take care of his brother. Maha Sura Singhanat also expressed his will that the treasures of the Front Palace should be inherited only by his own descendants. Maha Sura Singhanat finally died in 1803.

Later tradition claims that, while gravely ill, Maha Sura Singhanat asked to be carried around the Front Palace (Wang Na) and uttered a curse that anyone who later possessed the palace without being his descendants would not find happiness. The saying was later remembered in Thai popular writing as the so-called "Wang Na curse" (คำสาปวังหน้า).^[6][7][8]