The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. VI, Part 1-3, 1909 - Khamkoo

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BANGKOK

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THE
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIAM SOCIETY.
- ·····
VoLUME VI.
(PART I.)
BANGKOK
1909.
Issued to Me1nbers of the Society.
April, 1909.
LoNIION: LEII'ZH: :
LlTZAC & CO. OTT

THE SIAM SOCIETY.
( Founded 1904. )
For the Investigation and Encouragement of Arts, Science and
Literature in relation to Siam, and neighbouring countries.
P:lt.TRON:
HIS RoYAL HIGHNESS, THE CROWN PRINCE OF SIAM.
VICE•PATRON :
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE DAMRONG RAJANUBHAB,.
Minister of the Interior.
Council in t 909.
PRESIDENT :
0. FRANKFURTER, PH. D.
VICE·PRESIPENTS:
W. R. D. BECKETT.
J. HOMAN VAN DER HEIDE.
T. MASAO, D.C.L., L.L.D.
HON. SECRETARY and LIBRARJ AN :
B. 0. CARTWRIGHT, B.A.
HON. ASST. SECRET:lt.RY:
NAI THIEN (MAUNG AUNG THEIN, B.A.)
H ON. TREASURER:
R. W. GIBLIN, F.R.G.S.
MEMBERS OF COUNCIL :
R. BELHOMME, B.A., B.A.I., A.M.I.C.E.
C. BEYER, M.D.
REV. J. CARRINGTON, M.A., D.D.
A. c. CARTER, M.A.
F. H. GILES.
H. CAMPBELL HIGHET, M.D.
W. H. MUNDIE, M.A.
P. PETITHUGUENIN.
PHRAYA PRAJAJIB BORIBAL.
C. SANDRECZKI.

CONTENTS.
The Oldest Know Writing in Siamese by Professor 0. B. Bradley 1
Reports of the First General Meeting . . . 65
Plates 69
PAGE

THE Society does not admit any responsibility on its part for the
views expressed by the contributors individually. In transliteration
each autbor has followed his own system.

THE OLDEST KNOWN WRITING IN SIAMESE
THE INSCRIPTION OF
PHRA RAM KHAMHJENG OF SuruiOTHAI
1293 A.D.
BY
COHNELIUS BEACH BHADLEY, A.M.
P1·ojessor of Rheto1·ic in the University of Cal·ijornia.
BANGKOK
1909.

THE author gratefully acknowledges his special indebtedto
:-H. R. R. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, Minis-.
ter of the Interior, for permission to use the resources of
the Vajiraflana Library and to have free access to the Si:ikho­
tbai stone, and particularly for his invaluable personal as­
sistance in the identification of places named in the text ;
to Oscar Frankfurter, Ph. D. , Secretary of the National
Library, for the generosity with whi ch he has honored every
draft made upon the stores of his learning and scholarship, and
for his kindly interest, wise counsel, and unwearied help­
fulness that have attended every stage of the work; to Phra
Maha W'icha Tham and Luang Cbantharamat, his learned
assistants, for almost daily help rendered by them in all
matters of Siamese philology and archeology ; to Mr. R. W.
Giblin, F.R.G.S. of the Royal SurveJ 7 Department, for the
reproductions of the text whieh accompany this paper; and
in theN orth, to Chau Snriyawong of Obiengmai, to Phra Naphi
Siph'isankhi:in of Wat Chieng Man, and. not least, to Rev.
Daniel McGilv:=try, D.D., for elucidation of many difficult points
involving special knowledge of the Lao country, customs, and
speech.

BIBI,IOGRAPHY.
BowRING, Sm JOHN : The K ingdom and People of Siam.
London 1827. Vol. I. pp. 278-279.
(A very brief notice accompanied by a
specimen of the writing-an indifferent
pen -sketch of the first few lines.)
BASTIAN, DR A . : Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Bengal. Vol. XXXIV. 1864. (The
translation occupies pp. 7-12 of the
reprint, which alone I have been able
to see. It is really no translation, but
a first sketch, in which the writer reports
such impressions of the drift and
import of the writing as he was able to
get from Siamese sources.)
ScHMITT, PERE : Excursions et Reconnaissances, Vol. VIII.
Saigon 1884. pp. 169-187, with 9
plates of the text-its first publication.
(The text is neither a facsimile nor a
tracing, nor a rendering of it by any
method of accurate reproduction.
What the author supposed to be found
on the stone, and what he supplied
from conjecture, are both .set down
alikein coarse black letters apparently
drawn with a brush. Words still plainly
to be read on the stone reappear
strangely, or even absurdly, transformed.
The translation, naturally repeats
the errors of this transcript, with, of
course, others of its own.)
ScHMITT, PERE : Deux Anciennes Inscriptions 8iamoises
transcrites et traduites par M. Schmitt.
Saigon 1885. (A little booklet apparently
made up of reprints of the article
just named, and of another from Vol.
VII. of the same series).
P AVIE AuGuSTE : Mi::;sion Pcwie, Indo-Chine, 1879-1895.
:Etudes Diverses II. Paris 1898. pp.
176-201. (Introductory Note, transliteration,
translation, and text by the

The Oldest Known Writing in Siamese.
MR. PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF T liE SIAM SOCIETY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :-
I feel very sensibly the honor you have done me in
asking me to present first of all before you some of the results
of my months of study here. Those studies lie, as you all
know, in the very heart of the Dryasdust realm, and are not
supposed to be interesting, or intelligibl e eveu, to any save
dryasdust people. I felt sure that no other sort of people
would come here this evening. I confess therefore to no little
surprise at the large and distinguished gathering that I see
before me--surprise not unmingled with fear at thought of
what you may be ready to do to me before the evening is
done.. My own impression of people who work on inscriptions
has not greatly improved on closer acquaintance with
them. My subject has one point of general interest, however,
which I may do well to mention at once. The earliest known
inscription in Siamese is a unique document, not merely
among the documents of ;jiam, but among the documents of
the world. If I am not entirely wrong, there is no other
document extant which records the achievement of letters for
an untamed speech by one to whom that speech was native,
arid which at the same time fully illustrates that achievement.
\Vhen we recall the part these very letters of this very inscription
have played in the culture and the life of the Thai race
both north and south, and when we reflect that the very form
in which we read and write Siamese today is the lineal descendant
of that,- not far removed and but little changed,-we
may be interested to know something more about it.
There is another point also. As your President has
just told us, the inscription itself has repeatedly been published,
with transliterations, translations, and essays upon it. Yet
few things in Bangkok seem so little known, or understood,
or right1y valued. Few even of those who know something
about ii lave ever seen the stone, or know where it stands, or
have an:r clear idea of what it is all about. In spite of all

0
21
two rhymes and five rhyming words in this short stanza.
Had this been a stanza of a continuous poem, there should
have been two rhymes more to link it with the stanzas
preceding and following.
It is scarcely necessary to remark how well these terse,
balanced, and metrical forms serve the pur­
Proverbs poses of proverbial and aphoristic utterance,
and
maxims. the pithy maxims of policy and of life. The
reputed sayings of King Alfred ::tnd of Phdi,
Ruang are here alike in point. Their form not merely
makes them more impressive, but makes it possible to
remember and repeat thAm. There is little doubt that the
three examples last cited were actually quoted by the Prince
from a mass of current " saws" concerning the methods
am] results of just government 1 .
Qontrary to what might be expected, these poetic forms
are no unwarranted invasion of the realm of
Function ·
of poetic prose. Like any other poetic quotation or
form allusion, they serve rather to mark very natuin
prose.
rally elevation of thought, the touch of lyric
feeling, a glimpse of the ideal. This function is finely showu
in a passage already cited, (ll. 18-19) which begins the
sketch of a happy and prosperous realm under a kind and
just government; and again in the Epilogue, where, as we
pause to take our last look at the Prince, it seems as
though he were already a memory in the hearts of his
people. The stately, measured words in which are summed
up the aims of his life read like an echo of the closing
verses of the Book of Deuteronomv.
If we pass from form to content, the most striking feature
of the diction is, no doubt, its concrete­
Objectivity
and ness, its objectivity. Everything touched upon
visualiza­ is visualized-is realized in terms of space,
tion.
action, and motion. This is true even of the lyric
passages of which we h::tve been speaking But it is much
more true when the Prince's thought is free to range at
will. Then it is ever "this city of Sl'1khothai," "this grove
of palm trees," "this stone slab," "the bell hung up there,"
l Since the above was written there has come unexpected confirmation of this
statement. In looking casnally over some fragments of inscriptions which arrived a
few days ago at the l{oyal Library, l was surprised and pleased to light upon the precise
duplicate of the second of the three referred to, the one found in 11. 27-28.

22
11 the forest-monastery yonder." The demonstratives, in fact,
seem to be the most bard-worked word sin his whole vocabulary.
It is the same when he recalls the battle so narrowly
retrieved, in which, as a mere stripling, he won his
spurs and his name. H e tl;lere sees the movements as ''to
left" and 11 to ri ght.'' He sees the soldiers "flee, beaten
and cowering." The elephants n.re "driven." The lad "urges
his way into the fight ahead of his father." It is "a thrust
of a weapon hurled " that disables the opposing elephant
and turns the tide of battle. It is the same when he recounts
the glories of his capital city. There are, of course,
the noble temple grounds and buildings, the palace, the market
place, the "groves of tamarind and mango, fair as if made to
look at." But his real interest is in the moving spect;1cles, in
scenes of thronging human life and motion- the imposing
ceremonies at the consecration of the inscribed stones, and at
the taking of the oath of fealty; the illuminations and fireworks
" when the Prince burns candles, when he plays with fire ;" the
great city gates when storm ed by the tremendous rush of
people surging through to see the spectacle. A nd in the midst of
all, that inimitable touch revealing the very heart of an artist
and poet,-that " gushing rock-spring of water as clear and as
goou to drink of as is the K.hong in the dry season 1 .
THE MAN.
The most interesting thing in the whole writing is the
man himself, Prince Khun Ram Khamba:mg- The inscription
commemorates his reign. He himself is the speaker, at least
throughout the body of the document. The perspective is
that of a man of large and generous nature looking back with
not unreasonable satisfaction over a long and strenuous career.
· In it he bas risen from being the youngest son of a petty feudal
chieftain--as we gather from the atmosphere and background
of the opening scenes- to a point where he challenges the
allegiance of the whole Thai race (ll. 99-100). His territory,
at first not stretching further· than twenty miles from his
1 The Me K hong is fed by melting snows on t he slopes north of the Himalaya.
V{hen its spring Hood is ove·r, 1 a m told t hat it runs clear and cold. But in
such a matter I should be •1uite willing to t ake the word of a man with eyes and heart
like those of the P rince. Only on e who had seen and tasted and felt could have spoken
so.

30
cities wide and elephants many. Eastward he conquered and
secured to pis realm 115 Sa : Luang (Phich1t), Sawng Khw::e
(Phltsaniilok), Lambachai, Sakha, up to the banks of the
Khong 11 6 and on to W iang Chan and Wiang Kham. Southward
117 he won the men of Phra Bang, (Nakhawnsawan)
Bhrrek (Sangkhabmi), Suphanaphum, u s Rachaburi, Phechaburi,
Sithammarat, and the shore of the 11 9 ocean sea. Westward
he won Mi.i.ang Chawt, 1 2 0 Mi.i.ang .. . . Hongsawadi
(Pegu), with the ocean for 1 21 boundary. Northward he won
Mtiang Phlre, M ii.ang Man, 1 2 2 Mii.ang . . . . . . . , Mtiang
Phlua, and beyond the banks of the K hong, 12 3 Mi.Hing Chawa
(Luang P hrabang), securing them to his realm. H e planted
and nurtured a host of sons of his city 1 24 and realm to be in
accord with righteousness every one.
Ladies and gentlemen :- I think you will agree with
me that we have here som ething far more valuable and important
than a unique philological document, however important
a document of that kind it may be. W e have something
mure important than a unique historical documefit, which
undoubtedly it is. We have bere what some one has called a
'human document ' of uncommon richness and power. We
have a glimpse of the heart and the ideals of a man. The
heart was one that could conceive, and the hand was one
that:for his brief day could bring to some realization that ideal
toward which we all are still yearning- a Siam united, free,
and good.

47
passages is encountered at once at the close of the general
introductory statement.
All the European editors seem obsessed by the idea
that in this section must be found the " Code " which has
become, it would almost seem, the one indispensable element
in every such inscription. P writes in flowing phrase, p. 177,
" Il donne ensuite la constitution de son royaume, tant administrative
que religieuse. Il a fait graver sur cette pierre
la loi qui regit son royaume, pour que le peuple en prit
connaissance .... Cette inscription est restee la base fondamentale.
de leur vie civile et religieuse." Unfortunately
this strong prepossession of all the editors displays itself, in
the large amount of intrusive material they find it necessary to
import into their translations, and in the surprising liberties
they take both with the grammar and with the natural sense
of the text. If other "codes" with which of late we have
been made familiar are no better grounded in the facts of
speech than is this, it is safe to say they never could have
been administered. From beginning to end of the section
there is not found a single one of all those verbal phrase-forms
and modal particles--permissive, mandatory, or prohibitivewithout
which, in an uninflected language, no " code " could
possibly be known to be such. The only natural and obvious
inference, both ft·om sentence form and from content, is that
in his general survey of the conditions prevailing in his reign,
the Prince, by a natural transition, and with natural and
pardonable pride, passes from the visible prosperity, security,
and happiness of his realm to speak of the kind and just
government which has made these things possible. 'rhe
features of that government he expounds concretely and
dramatically, precisely as he has expounded the prosperity,
by a series of illustrative examples or scenes-idealized of
course. But with true human and true literary instinct he
has refrained from marring their interest and weakening their
force by attempting to make them prescriptive.
With this comprehensive statement, the value of
which any one conversant with the language is invited to test
for himself, I must dismiss this matter. I trust I may be
excused from exhibiting tn detail what I cannot but re.gard
as mere foibles on the part of scholars whom I sincerely respect,
however much I disapprove of some of their methods

67
tionum Siamensium. That this hope of scholars both Eastern
and Western will soon he fulfilled we have, however, good
reasons to believe. Alreadv excavations are made in old
cities, the inscriptions found are collected and preserved
from the inclemency of the weather. We have in Siam no
written records of ancient Kings, or rather, we should say,
they have not yP.t been t.meed. vVhat therefore remains are
the inscriptions in which the Kings and people recorded their
pious deeds, and in collecting them, it will become true what
the poet said, perhaps in another sense :-
" T¥enn Menschen schweigen, werclen Steine Teclen."
Mr. R. W. Giblin in seconding the motion saiJ :­
" I have much pleasure in seconding t.he vote of thanks
so happily proposed by our President.
Professor Bradley's account of the inscribed stone and
his translation of the inscription will always rank very highly
in the records of this Society. They will be published in the
Journal almost immediately and so reach those who have not
been able to attend this meeting. I think that I shall be expressing
the wish of all the members of the Society present
to-night in stating that Professor Bradley's able paper should
be the first of such a series as will embrace all the inscriptions
which have been found in Siam up to date, and those
others, as they are brought to light, which om President has
indicated yet remain to be discovered.
It may be said that those inscriptions which have
already been copied have been deciphered and the translations
published, and Dr. Frankfurter has referred to that Corpus
Inscriptionum Siamensium ( not yet in being ) which should
contain copies of the known inscriptions. But the point I
wish to make is that it will be worth while to publish in the
Journal of this Society even those translations which have
been made, with illustrations or copies of the inscriptions
themselves. Professor Bradley has shown in the case of the
Sukotai stone that it has been possible to improve on former
readings of it., and if t;bat achievement is not to be accomplished
in every case, the publication of inscriptions in the
Journal, with their translations, will be of the greatest
interest to those of us who have not the learning to decipher,
w bile to those who can do so the means will be increased of
indulging in the exercise of their science and skill.

'·

CONTEN'rS.
Early Astronomical and }.!Iagnetic Observcttions in Siam,
by R. W. Giblin, F. R. G. S. ••• ••• •••

Early Astronmical and
Magnetic Observations
in Siam ..
In two volumes describing his jom·neJS t

[ 3 ]
An instrument to find n,t the same time the Right Ascension
·and Declination of stars.
1 Equinoctial Quadnwt marking the hours to minutes, n,ml
which carried at its base a great ner.dle to find at all hours the
declinn.tion of the compass . .
2 Hal£ Circles eli viclecl vet·y exa.ctly (from six to six minutes}
for Geometrical Observation, one pro,,idecl with a sight rule and the
other with a telescope.
1 Hal£ Circle divided de trois en trois minutes.
2 Repeating pendnlums.
Some buming mirrors ( hom 12 to 20 in ches diameter).
Magnets, Microscopes.
Several Thermometers am113::trometers.
Tubes a,nd instruments fo r ex periments in vacuo,
A clock for an inclined phtne.
'l'wo instrumeuts of Romer, one representin g the movement
of the Planets, the other eclipses of the Sun ttnd Moon.
Several booli s from the Royal Library.
'l'o these must be rtclded r;e,-eral telescopes of various lengths,
which are refcrreLl to at different times but not mentioned
catagorically.
Euch a list could not fail to be of interest at the present
time, n,nc1ntises in one's mind the desire for a personal examination
of the instruments themselves, to see the means whereby the fathers
carried out those observations, the results of which have come
down to us.
Tachanl mentions that on the voya.ge oub they sighted
"l'is1e de F er," ( Ferro ) , the most wAs tern of the Canary I slands,
c ( where om Geographers have fixed their fi rst Meridian." The
longitude of Ferro is about 18°. 12'. west of the initial longitude at
Gt·eenwich, n,ncl it is no longer a matter of prini.ary importance.

[ 13 ]
The magnitude of the problem which the Fathers set themselves
to solve by their observations on this trip was quite out of
proportion to the results obtained, but those results are by no
means without their utility. When a topographical survey of the
Chainat district has to be made, it will be useful to know beforelland
that the compass is not to be relied on in that district, and
indeed it will be of general ad vantage to continue, as it were, the
Fathers' investigations, in order to define properly the limits of the
1·egion within which erratic or anomalous variations of the orc1inary
declination of the needle take place.
On arrival at the Cape on his second voyage to Siam Father
Tachard and his companions made use of their opportunity to carry
out further investigations. A fresh determination of the difference
between the longitudes of Paris and the Ortpe was made and he
1·emarks that good marine charts put the longitude of the Cape at
37 degrees or thereabouts, so that the cha,rts had improved since his
£rst voyage, the true longitude of the Cape, with respect to Ferro,
being about 36°. 41'. Father Tachard also took some notes on the
tides and observes that with a north wind blowing one observes no
reflux, while with a south wind the sea mounts to a prodigious
height and does not go down. The declination of the compass was
found to be so. 40', north-west, while the value used at that time by
the local pilots was so. 30'. It was intended to observe for
magnetic dip, on behalf of the Dnc de Maine, but the instmment
for measuring it was not ready to be put on board when the ships
left Brest.
With regard to the latitude of the bat· of the Menam Tachard
1·emarks that nearly all the Marine Charts they had seen put the
bar at 13°. 4·5' uorth, but as they had found the latitude of Lopburi
to be 14°. 42'. i:JO" while Father Thomas had found that of Ayutia
to be 14°. 1S'; that of the bar therefore should be a little less than
that given by the charts.
'l'he present accepted values of the three places just
n1entioned are as follows :
Bar
Lopburi
Ayuthia
13.
14.
14. '
25.
4S.
20.
0.
17.
57,

I
[ 15 J
In conclusion, let it be said, when considering the work done
in the past by the Jesuit l!'athers in all qua.rters of the globe,
(I 1·efer of course to theit· scientific work outside any efforts in
propagating the gospel) , ancl admiring the results achieved in the
face of difficulties and ad verse conditions, to any one who takes
interest in the historical point 0f view previously refened to it must
be a source of satisfaction that there were found men ready to risk
and to endure the hardships certain to be met with iu o1:der, as we
have read above, that they might ''establish Secmity in Navigation
and improve Sciences and Arts." It is only quite recently that
Geography has been universally elevated to the dignity of a science
and its study a.nd teaching formulated in a manner befitting the
subject. In the annals of that science the Jesuits who tt·avellecl to
the East, and some of whom worked in Siam, will assuredly have
their place.

THE SIAM SOCIETY.
(FOUNDED 1904.)
For the Investigation and Encouragement o£ Arts, Science and
Literature in r elation to Siam, and neighbouring countries.
PATRON:
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE CROWN PRINCE OF SIAM.
VICE-PATRON:
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE DAMH.ONG RAJANUBHAB.
1li inister· of the Intm·im·.
COUNCIL IN 1909.
PRESIDENT:
0. FH.ANKFUR'l'ER, PH. D.
VICE-PRESIDENTS:
W. R. D. BECKETT, C.M.G.
J. HOMAN VAN DER HEIDE.
T. MASAO, D.C.L., LL.D.
HON. SECRETARY AND LIBRARIAN:
B. 0. CAH.TWRIGHT, B.A.
HON. ASST. SECRETARY:
NAI THIEN (MAUNG AUNG THIEN, B.A.)
HON TREASURER:
R. W. GIBLIN, F.R.G.S.
MEMBERS OF COUNCIL:
R. BELHOlVIME, B.A., B.A.I., A.M.I.C.E.
C. BEYER, M.D.
REV. J. CARRINGTON, M.A. , D.D.
A. C. CARTER, lVl.A.
F. H. GILES.
H. CAMPBELL HIGHET, M.D.
W. H. M:U JDIE, M.A.
P. PETITHUGUENIN.
PHRAYA PRAJAJIB BORIBAL.
C. SANDREOZKI.
ACTING HON. TREASURER:
A. J. IRWIN, B.A., B.A.I., ASSOC. lVI. INST. C. E.

CONTENTS.
'J'mnslation of " Events in Ayuddhyn., 686-966,"
by 0. Frankfmtcr, Ph. D.
PAGE .
Introduction
1
Prcfn.ce by Prince Damrong .. .
1
Translation
Some Remarks on Kaempfer's Description of
3
Siam, 1690- By 0. Frankfurter , Ph. D. 23
(also numbered 1)

THE Society does not admit any r e::Jponsibility on its part for the
views expressed by the contributors individually. In transliteration
each author has foll owed his own system.

EVENTS IN AYUDDHY1\
FROl\f
CfiULASAKARAJ 686-966.
A TRANSLATION
from the
O. FRANKFURTER, PH. D.

III)
the gossip of the bazaar which r eached them necessarily in a dis­
torted form. Nevertheless t hese foreigners all agree that, for
reasons variously explained by them, the Siam ese had no
historical records, and we may in support quote Jeremias Van
Vliet, chief of the Dutch factory in 1636, who, in his description of
Siam, printed, Leyden, 1692, says:-
,, However much old chronicles and trustworthy historians
of the past, are witnesses of the times, councillors for the
present and signposts for the future, the Siamese have little knowledge
t hereof. The position, Government, power, religion, manners
and customs and other remarkable things of foreign or outlandish
nations are unknown to them, they have also no curiosity to inquire
into them: of antiquities of their country, of t he beginning of war, of
the conclusion of peace, of the loss of countries and towns, victories
or defeats in battles, famous heroes or excell ent persons in virtue
and knowledge, et-c, they have few descriptions, thus that their
principal descriptions consist in the laws of the country, the
fundaments of their r eligion, the lives, deeds and praise of
some dead kings whose fame was not so much based on Royal
respect as on servic0 rendered to the gods, temples and priests living
in their country, and these descriptions were mostly committed to
the care of the priests, by whom also their ceremonies, punishments,
exbortions, consolations and instructions are formed. Thus amongst
the nobility, the rich or civil population, not many chronicles or
historical records are known, with exception of those which are
reported verbally or are related in discourses."
Without attaching any undue weight to anything noted
down by Pere Tachard it may also perhaps be worth recording the
entry which he made under elate November 19th, 1685. He writes:-
" J e ne vous ai pas dit que M. l' Ambassadeur obtint bier nne
chose qui sera fort agreable au Roi. O'est les chroniques du Royaume
de Siam.
"Il y'a peine de la vie a les avoir chez soi et sa Majeste les
accorda agreablement quand on lui dit que cela feroit plaisir au
Roi."
These chronicles have, however, up to now not been traced.
3 J

IV )
With regard to the history before the foundation of Ayud­
dhya, which is recorded in the Pbougsavadan :Muang Niia n,nd of
·which a version has been printed in 1870, it can only be con­
side['ed as throwing a general light on the hi story.
It is well known that t he Kings and chiefs of principalities
were eager to connect their history and that of the people over
which they governed with events recorded in the legends of the
Buddha. The Jatalm tales were freely put und er contribution, as
has been pointed out by the late Phya. Prajn,kit, who in the Phong­
savadan Yonok publishec;l just before his death gave many details.
The names of cities and towns are mostly of Indian origin, and
we find additional difficulties in locating them in the fact that when
cities had to be abandoned, as often as not, on account of the dearth
of water, or the river bed changing, or through invasions, the new
places to which the people emigrated received the old names.
Besides the Indian names the original names are sometimes pre­
served. There is therefore some difficulty in fixing the position of
the towns mentioned, and i t has for t hi s reason been deemed
more advisable not to attempt the location in this translation.
Omens and portents play of course a hu·ge part in the events
recorded, and in all instances these omens and portents can be traced
to Indian folklore and religious belief or supe['stitions. For their
explanation in the present version I a111 indebted to Hluang Lokadip.
vVith regard to the style of OUl' Yersion attention may perhaps
be drawn to the euphemisms used for eyents which in common langu­
age would be described as adultery, conspiracy and murder. It is also
interesting to note the large part played by Phitsnulok as second
capital.
The elates given in the ne\Y ,·ersion do not agree with those
given in the Bradley edition, ''vhich howe \·er agree with those
recorded in the history of Burma and Cambodia.. Now that would
appen,r to militate against the genuineness of the new version, iE it
were not that the Burmese and Cambodian chronicles were compiled
at a date considerably later than om present version.
[ 4 J

•

901.
893 .
11 ]
In 910, t he year of t he monkey, on Saturday the :fifth of the
.5th waxing 1noon the King wi tneRsed a.n elephant fi g ht a,nd the
tusks of the elephant Phraymecl s uncls from t he Patu Bha ij ant fo reboding an e\' ent, a,nd on
Sunday t he 5th of t he 8th wa xing moon un accident befell th e King.
The Khnn Jinar 5:i took O\' er the Gonm1 ment for 42 days, but an
accid ent befell both him a nr.l one of t he King's wi\res named Sri
S ud fLcha,ndr. Somd et Ph t'tt Th iem aj ad iliraj assumed the throne a.nd
too k t he nft ine of Somd et Phra Mah a. Chakraph an. After he h

949.
954.
[ 19 ]
Lomphli:, and the camp was established at .Thluang vVan. On Monday
the 13th of the fourth wa11ing moon, at 12 midday, as he could not
conquer Hongsa, the King's army r eturned.
In 958, the year of the monkey, on Tuesday the 4th of the
6th waxing moon the Laosians fled. Khun Cha Miiang fought them
at Taldtien Duen. On 1,hursday the 6th of the 3rd waxing moon rain
was falling for three days constn,ntly, ttS if it were the rainy season.
On Thursday the lltb day of t he 11th waxing moon, at 8.48
a.m., in 96 1, in the yeru of the pig, t he King procee led with an army
to Tong U, a.nd celebrated th e ceremony of consecrating the a.rms at
Lomphli, and established his a1·my at Wat T iLu . In tho 11th month,
when the SUD was standing between Yi rgo and Libra, on vVednesday
the lOth of the 4th waxing moon, the King l' a.ched 'Tong U,
and he established his army about 30 sen from Tong U. After the
army ha.d been there for two months, a fam ine brok e out and many
peuple died fo r want of foocl. On Wedn esday the 6th of the 6th
waning moon the ar1ll y of the King n.:turned to Aymldhya.
In 963, the year of th.; bull, in t he seventh month there was
an ecli pse of the sun.
In that year statues of Sivn, and Narayana were received, and
on one a.nd the . a.me day homn,gc was p:1id to t lt c fom statues
[of the Brahma nic gods] by boing carried in procession.
In 96

10
the Dutch East India Company at seven Rhillings the crown. We
have of course not been able to identify all word s given by our author ,
and in correcting his proof-sheets we shou!J have in some instances
been compelled to send them back with a query. As conscientious
proof readers we might have given our reading and thus explained
Tsian Krue as Chao Khun and even Tsiant Tsiam, as Thai Thao, for
these wer e, as they are now, the forms of address without any
epitheton ornans.
t 38 j
l

Printed by The Bangkol: Times Press, Ltd ., June, 1931.