Pra Poat honne Sourittep pennaratui sonanne bopitra

Pra Poat Honne Sourittep Pennaratui Sonanne Bopitra (Thai: พระปฐมสุริยเทพนรไทยสุวรรณบพิตร), alternatively titled Sommedethia Ppra Pattarma Souria Naaranissavoora Boppitra Seangae (สมเด็จพระปฐมสุริยนาราณีศวรบพิตร)^[1]: 127 and widely associated with Padumasuriyavamsa (พระปทุมสุริยวงศ์),^{[1]: 133 [2]: 38} is a monarch in early Siamese historical tradition. His reign is documented in the French works Du Royaume de Siam and the Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal in 1684, which present him as a sovereign of a polity designated Tchai Pappe Mahanacon (ไชยบุรีมหานคร).^{[3][4][1]: 127} The polity has been tentatively correlated with the historical region of Phraek Si Racha, which is briefly mentioned in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as being located east of Sankhaburi.^[5]: 4–5 Yet, scholarly debate persists, especially since Michael Smithies proposed that Tchai Pappe Mahanacon may instead correspond to Angkor.^[1]: 127 Despite such uncertainties, the narrative of Sourittep Pennaratui provides one of the earliest genealogical frameworks for later Siamese dynasties and contributes significantly to the reconstruction of Siamese pre-Ayutthayan history.

Following the invasion by Angkor in the mid 10th century, Padumasūriyavaṁśa's descendant, Visnuraja, is reported to have migrated northward to the seat of Phitsanulok in 957 and his descendents subsequently relocated the seat back to the Phraek Si Racha region. This newly established polity became known in Chinese sources as Xiū Luó Fēn. Historical Chinese records further attest that Xiū Luó Fēn maintained dynastic and cultural affiliations with Qiān Zhī Fú, the polity associated with Si Thep. Taken together, these accounts indicate that the political activities and territorial movements of Padumasūriyavaṁśa's descendants were confined to the Menam Valley, where they founded and governed several urban centers, such as Oghapurī (โอฆะบุรี; modern Phichit), Vijaya (พิไชย; modern Thung Yang), Vicitraprakāra (พิจิตรปราการ or วิเชียรปราการ; modern Kamphaeng Phet), Phrip Phri, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, as well as Phraek Si Racha.

Sourittep Pennaratui is described as the first Siamese king, ascending the throne around 757 CE and serving as the ancestor of Uthong, the founder of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.^[3][4][6] His reign unfolded during the decline of the Dvaravati polities.^{[7]: 60 [8]: 61} Following his time, Chinese sources record continued diplomatic activities from the polity's successor, while later Siamese traditions developed complex genealogical claims linking various dynasties to him. During his reign, Sukhothai, Lavo, and Talung (เมืองตลุง or ตะลุมดอ) were brought under his control.^[9]: 8

Sourittep Pennaratui's reign coincided with the fragmentation of the coastal Mon-Dvaravati states in the lower Chao Phraya basin.^{[7]: 60 [8]: 61} Prior to his rule, the polity associated with Qiān Zhī Fú—identified in Chinese sources as Gē Luó Shě Fēn—had already absorbed the western Dvaravati and Sukhothai regions. At the same time, according to the Cefu Yuangui, the eastern Dvaravati polity centred on Lavapura, known in later historiography as the Lavo Kingdom, retained a degree of autonomy.^[a] Nevertheless, certain local textual traditions state that both Sukhothai and Lavo regions were eventually brought under the authority of Padumasūriyavaṁśa.^[9]: 8

The Du Royaume de Siam likewise provides information on his successors, noting that ten kings followed him, the last being Ipoia Sanne Thora Thesma Teperat (พญาสุนทรเทศมหาเทพราช), who transferred the political center to Tasoo Nacora Louang (ธาตุนครหลวง),^[3][4] identified with Lavapura. Alternative sources, including the Instructions Given to the Siamese Envoys Sent to Portugal in 1684, report that this new center, designated Yassouttora Nacoora Louang, which some scholars have identified it with Yaśodharapura in the Angkor region.^{[1]: 127, 133} This has spurred further debate over the precise geography and cultural networks associated with the early Siamese polities described in these sources, as the previous seat, Tchai Pappe Mahanacon, has also been equated with Yaśodharapura by early scholars.^{[9]: 1–3 [1]: 127}

The genealogical account of Sourittep Pennaratui presented in Du Royaume de Siam is believed to derive from a copy of the Ayutthaya Chronicle brought to France, as noted by Abbé de Choisy. The original text is thought to have been lost during the second fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.^[11] As Sourittep Pennaratui is identical to Padumasūriyavaṁśa,^[2]: 38 according to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, his reign lasted 43 years,^[5]: 10 ending around 800 CE. The same source states that he ascended the throne at age 15,^[5]: 10 implying a birth year around 742 CE.

Padumasūriyavaṁśa is described as fathering four sons and three daughters,^[5]: 10 whose descendants founded the polities of Oghapurī (โอฆะบุรี; modern Phichit), Vijaya (พิไชย; modern Thung Yang), Vicitraprakāra (พิจิตรปราการ or วิเชียรปราการ; modern Kamphaeng Phet), and Dhamanpāya (ทมันไป้; possibly Dhanyapura at Dong Mae Nang Mueang). The Ayutthaya Testimonies further differs from Du Royaume de Siam by asserting that fifteen, rather than ten, kings followed his reign.^[5]: 11

Several later Siamese dynasties claimed descent from Padmasūryavaṁśa. These include the Phra Ruang dynasty through Suryaraja, the ancestor of Si Inthrathit;^[5]: 11 the Xiān rulers of Xiū Luó Fēn beginning with Visnuraja;^[5]: 38 the Lavo dynasty of Ayutthaya through Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri;^{[5]: 43–4} and even King Narai of the Prasat Thong dynasty.^{[1]: 127, 133} The Siamese monarchy and population, particularly during the Ayutthaya period, are understood to have derived from a multi-ethnic lineage, incorporating Mon, Khmer, and Tai ancestral components.^[12]: 301

Scholarly interpretations of Padmasūryavaṁśa vary widely. Earlier researchers attempted to associate him with Angkorian kings,^{[12]: 301–2 [2]: 38–41} including Suryavarman II,^[13] Yasovarman I,^[9]: 1–3 Jayavarman II,^[14]: 83 or Jayavarman VII.^[15] However, such identifications conflict with the French account Du Royaume de Siam placing his reign in 757 CE.^[3] This date predates not only the conventional establishment of Angkorian Yaśodharapura in the late 9th century but also corresponds to a period widely characterized as one of political fragmentation within the Tonlé Sap basin during the 8th century, thereby standing in marked contrast to Thai textual narratives that depict the reign of Padmasūryavaṁśa as an era of territorial consolidation in which multiple polities were brought under his control. Since early Thai scholars viewed Padmasūryavaṁśa and his polity as part of the Angkorian sphere, they ended up placing the stories about him within the Khmer Chronicle tradition.^[5]: 4

The figure has also been linked to Indapraṣṭhanagara (อินทปรัษฐ์นคร), which many Thai scholars have equated with Angkor Thom.^[9]: 1–3 Yet, the chronology is incompatible: Angkor Thom belongs to the reign of Jayavarman VII (1181–1218),^{[16]: 378–382} whereas Padumasūriyavaṁśa's reign predates this by four centuries. The Ayutthaya Testimonies place Indapraṣṭhanagara east of Sankhaburi and note that it existed before Padumasūriyavaṁśa but lacked a ruler before him.^[5]: 4–5 Importantly, the Testimonies do not connect the city with Angkor.^{[5]: 4–11} Moreover, Indapraṣṭhanagara is identified in the Legend of Nakhon Si Thammarat as the place of origin of Sri Dharmasokaraja I, whose political authority was initially centered at Lavo–Indapraṣṭhanagara. According to the tradition, a severe outbreak of endemic disease at Indapraṣṭhanagara led to a drastic population decline, prompting Sri Dharmasokaraja I, in 1117 CE, to relocate southward and refound Nakhon Si Thammarat as his new seat of power, while Lavo simultaneously came under Angkorian control.^{[17]: 36–43} The final narrative reference to Indapraṣṭhanagara appears in accounts concerning the formation of the Sukhothai Kingdom, which relate that Candraraja of Sukhothai (r. 1181–1214) ceased sending tribute to Indapraṣṭhanagara, provoking a retaliatory campaign that resulted in Indapraṣṭhanagara's defeat;^{[5]: 15–6} following this episode, Indapraṣṭhanagara disappears from the historical record.

A further layer of complexity arises from the narrative asserting that Ipoia Sanne Thora Thesma Teperat transferred the royal seat from Tchai Pappe Mahanacon, or Indapraṣṭhanagara, to Tasoo Nacora Louang or, alternatively, to Yassouttora Nacoora Louang.^[3][4] Despite these purported relocations, both destinations have been identified by different scholars as corresponding to Yaśodharapura—Indapraṣṭhanagara by Thai scholars^[9]: 1–3 and Michael Smithies^[1]: 127 and Yassouttora Nacoora Louang also by Michael Smithies.^{[1]: 127, 133} This convergence of disparate identifications results in a collapse of the textual chronology, thereby exposing a significant incongruity between the primary historical accounts and the interpretive models adopted in certain strands of modern scholarship.

Moreover, although Smithies likewise tentatively equates the latter polity with Yaśodharapura based on phonetic considerations,^{[1]: 127, 133} the records concerning the final monarch of this lineage, Pra Poa Noome Thele Seri—regarded as the progenitor of the Lavo dynasty of the Ayutthaya Kingdom—complicate such identifications. According to the narrative, he subsequently relocated the royal seat to Sukhothai.^[1]: 127 Yet, attestations found in local sources, including the Ayutthaya Testimonies (which refer to him as Indraraja, อินทราชา),^{[5]: 45–7} the Northern Chronicle,^[b] and the Nakhon Si Thammarat Chronicle,^{[17]: 42–3} consistently situate his political activities within the Menam Basin from his childhood in the 1150s until his death in the 1220s, indicate political activity confined to the Menam Basin, and he is described as the son of Anuraja,^[5]: 44 the last monarch of Phraek Si Racha in modern central Thailand.^[5]: 43 This localized trajectory further undermines efforts to associate these polities with the geo-historical sphere of Angkor and highlights significant tensions between textual traditions and certain modern historical reconstructions.

According to the Ayutthaya Testimonies, Padumasūriyavaṁśa was adopted by a monk named Subhattā (สุภัตตา), who, at the time referenced in the narrative, resided in Sankhaburi. Subhattā subsequently facilitated Padumasūriyavaṁśa's accession to the vacant throne of Indapraṣṭhanagara.^[5]: 4–6 In contrast, a substantial corpus of later tradition—most notably the 1938 Collection of Chronicles (ประชุมพงศาวดาร ภาคที่ 71)—presents a divergent genealogy. This source identifies Padumasūriyavaṁśa as the adopted son of Ketumāla,^[9]: 5–6 whose mother Devavadī had served as a queen consort of Gomerāja of Pranagara Khemarājadhānī (พระนครเขมราชธานี). Owing to a prophecy foretelling calamity for her newborn son, Devavadī and the infant prince were compelled to leave the royal court, eventually taking refuge on the mound of Khok Thalok (โคกทลอก), near Phra Bat Chan Chum (เมืองพระบาทชันชุม).^[9]: 2–3 Consequently, if Subhattā is to be identified with Ketumāla, Khok Thalok must also be in the east of Sankhaburi.

When Ketumāla reached three years of age, he and his mother are said to have founded a new settlement at Khok Thalok.^[9]: 3–4 Ketumāla, who produced no biological heirs, later adopted Padumasūriyavaṁśa and designated him as crown prince.^[9]: 5–6 Padumasūriyavaṁśa subsequently married Nāṅ Nak (นางนาค) and established the city later identified as Indapraṣṭhanagara.^[9]: 6–7 The prevalent hypothesis that equates this city with Angkor Thom,^[9]: 8 however, is untenable, as the reign of Padumasūriyavaṁśa predates the construction of Angkor Thom by several centuries.

Upon Ketumāla’s death, Padumasūriyavaṁśa ascended the throne but governed from Indapraṣṭhanagara rather than from Khok Thalok. His reign is further characterized by the establishment of diplomatic and dynastic relations with China, as well as the expansion of his political authority, during which Sukhothai, Lavo, and Talung (เมืองตลุง or ตะลุมดอ; corresponding to the area of modern Prakhon Chai district) were brought under his suzerainty.^[9]: 8 He was succeeded by his son,^[9]: 11 Padum Kumara,^[5]: 10 who ruled the polity designated Pāla (พาละ).^[9]: 11

Following his reign, a Tai Yuan monarch named Vasudeva (วาสุเทพ), together with his three younger brothers, is recorded as having migrated to Lavapura of Lavo, where they established their authority in 861 CE.^[17]: 39