The Don Chedi Monument (, ) is a royal memorial Don Chedi district ,

Suphan Buri province Suphan Buri (, ) located in the central region of Thailand, is one of the country's 76 provinces (จังหวัด, changwat), the first-level administrative divisions. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Uthai Thani, Chai ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, built to commemorate King

Naresuan Naresuan (1555/1556 – 25 April 1605), commonly known as Naresuan the Great, or Sanphet II was the 18th Monarchy of Thailand, king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and 2nd monarch of the List of monarchs of Thailand#Sukhothai dynasty (1569–1629), S ...

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

's legendary 1593 victorious

elephant duel Elephant duels were a historical martial practice where opposing army leaders engaged each other on the battlefield in single combat on the back of war elephants. They are documented in historical records from Southeast Asia, mainly in present-da ...

over the Burmese ''

uparaja Uparaja is a noble title reserved for the viceroy in India and the Buddhist dynasties in Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, as well as some of their minor tributary kingdoms. It is ultimately from Sanskrit उपराज ''upa- rāja'' equivalent ...

Mingyi Swa , title = Viceroy of Toungoo , image = , caption = , reign = 15 October 1581 – , coronation = , succession = Heir Apparent of Burma , predecessor = ...

in the

battle of Nong Sarai A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. It was built on the site of a ruined ''chedi'' (

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

), believed to have originally been erected by Naresuan, and comprises a new ''chedi'' covering the ruins, and a statue of Naresuan mounted on his war elephant. The search for the site's location was initiated by the historian Prince

Damrong Rajanubhab Prince Tisavarakumara, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธอ พ� ...

following the discovery of the Luang Prasoet Chronicle, which identified the site of the duel as a place called Nong Sarai. The ruins were discovered by the Governor of Suphan Buri in 1913, and King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

made a pilgrimage to the site in January 1914. Plans were made to build a new ''chedi'' to house the ruins, but this was shelved due to the poor economy. The project was later revived in 1950 by the government of

Plaek Pibulsonggram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...

, and the memorial, with the new ''chedi'' and the royal statue designed by Silpa Birasri, was opened in 1959 during the government of

Sarit Thanarat Sarit Thanarat (also spelled Dhanarajata; ; born Siri (); 16 June 1908 – 8 December 1963) was a Thai politician and military commander. He served as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army (from 1954) and as Minister of Defense during ...

. The identification of the site has been disputed, most significantly by proponents of a different site in

Kanchanaburi province Kanchanaburi (, ) is the largest of the western Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. The neighboring provinces are (clockwise, from the north) Tak province, Tak, Uthai Thani province, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri province, Sup ...

Phanom Thuan district Phanom Thuan (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the eastern part of Kanchanaburi province, western central Thailand. History The area of Phanom Thuan was occupied in prehistoric times. At the archaeological site of Ban Don Ta Phet many artifacts ...

. The debate gained national attention around 1972–1973, but was shut down as the country slid back into dictatorship following the

6 October 1976 massacre The 6 October 1976 massacre, also known as the 6 October event ( ) in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat Un ...

. Other dissenters question the existence of a historical stupa altogether, citing either disagreement between sources or the fact that the historicity of the duel itself is disputed by Burmese chronicles.

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Further reading