The Traiphum Versions of King Rama I

The Traiphum versions of King Rama I

One of activities of King Rama I concerning the Triphum was the commissioning of a new version barely a year after his accession to the throne. LIke other texts that were destroyed or scattered after the fall of Ayutthaya, the Traiphum text was not extant when king Rama I took power in 1782. Moreover,King Rama I discovered that the monks, the most erudite in the kingdom, had an inadequate knowledge about the Buddhist cosmology. Consequently, in 1783, he ordered agroup of monks to compile a new edition of the Traiphum, a process that lasted some nineteen years. However,when the king reviewed the resulting text, he found the language to be uneven and not in accord with the canon and commentaries (Reynolds C.,Monkhood 210). Therefore, he requested yet another revision, appointing the head of the Royal Pundits, Phraya Thammapricha, a man who had been a high-ranking monk under King Taksin,to supervise the work. In addition, many of the high-ranking monks, including the Supreme Patriarch, were made responsible foe its content (Reynolds C., Cosmography 57).

The second revision was completed in 1802 and this more authoritative, revised text came to be known as the Traiphumlokawinitchai. It is much more comprehehensive than any of the earlier editions, containing numerous legends and descriptive accounts not found in them.

It is also far more voluminos than the others: its published from comprises 1532 pages, while King Lithai's edition comprised 373 pages (Brereton,Image 43) Through this authoritative and extensive compilation of the Traiphum, King Rama I provided the monks with an appropriate treatise on cosmology that would form an essential part of the body of knowledge that they were required to possess. Furthemore,given the intense and careful attention King Rama I gave to the text , it can be concluded that he found the Traiphum to have practical value, more precisely socio-political value, in consolidating the society and his power.

As was noted earlier, the Traiphum,through its structure and content, originally served as an effective and convincing tool for educating to populace in Buddhist values, that is enforcing morality as well as legitimising Buddhist kingship and the rule of Thai kings, which were the main concerns of King Rama I. At the same time,the Traiphum was also an all-embracing treatise, covering all aspects addressed in king Rama I's reconstruction activities along five lines: external goverment , administration, legislation, religion, and culture. As a literary work on morals that accords with orthdox Buddhist beliefs, the text was intended to restore Siamese culture and religion. The large space devoted to the Realm of Men and emphasis on the power and role of Cakkavatti in relation to merit in the text provides evidence of its relevance of such areas as legislation, administration, and external