Srimanya

Śrīmānya (ศรีมานยะ) was an 8th-century ruler mentioned in the Wat Ban Waan Inscription (จารึกวัดบ้านหว้าน ศก. 13), a Sanskrit inscription written in the Pallava script that was discovered at Ban Waan (บ้านหว้าน) in Rasi Salai district, Sisaket Province, in northeastern Thailand.^[1] Although the text does not clearly specify his political status, some Thai scholars have proposed that Śrīmānya may have been a local ruler associated with the cultural sphere of Dvaravati,^[2]: 275 based on the architectural style of the surviving ruins found in the area.^[3]

The event described in the inscription concerning the circumstances of his reign bears similarities to the account of King Śrīmānarājā (ศรีมานราชา) in the Wat Pa Nong Peng Inscription (จารึกวัดป่าหนองเป่ง), which was engraved on a sema stone, written in Sanskrit using the Old Khmer script, and discovered further north in Ban Phue District, Udon Thani Province.^[4] The inscription, dated to the 7th–8th century,^[5] describes the reign of Śrīmānarājā as occurring during a period of turmoil; however, despite these thematic parallels, the political relationship between the two regions or between the two figures has not been established.^[2]: 275

At present, there is no definitive evidence indicating which of the major political powers controlled the area where the Wat Ban Waan Inscription was found, largely due to the limited archaeological research conducted in the region. Some scholars have suggested that this area may have briefly fallen under the influence of Chenla when Mahendravarman expanded his power into the Mun–Chi Basin in the early 7th century. The region was likely connected to important salt-producing sites such as Bo Phan Khan (บ่อพันขัน) and Don Khun Ngern (ดอนขุนเงิน), resources that may have attracted Chenla’s expansion into the interior.^[2]: 276 In this context, the reference to Śrīmānya in the Wat Ban Waan Inscription therefore provides an important clue for understanding the political dynamics of the Mun–Huai Thap Than river basin during the early historic period.^{[2]: 273–6}