Rama (King of Thailand)
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Chakri dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...
of
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 ...
are often referred to as King Rama in the English speaking world. The name Rama was adopted from the name of the
Hindu God Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. L ...
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
, an
avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
of
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
. The use of the name "King Rama 'n'th" is in line with Thai practice of giving numbers to the king in the current dynasty. However, the translation was not exact and can give rise to some confusion as to whether this was actually the name adopted by the king on his
coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
.


History

While "Rama" was used as a title for all the kings, it was not always taken on as the name. In the present dynasty, the first king to call himself Rama was Phra Mongkutklao or King Vajiravudh, who was the sixth to reign. His reigning title was ''Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua'' (พระมงกุฎเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว); later in his reign, he preferred to style himself as ''Phra Ram thi Hok'' (พระรามที่หก, ). It was presumed that he was influenced by the European practice of numbering the rulers with similar names while he studied in England. Quite conveniently, it coincided with another practice of the
Thai people Thai people, historically known as Siamese people, are an ethnic group native to Thailand. In a narrower and ethnic sense, the Thais are also a Tai peoples, Tai ethnic group dominant in Central Thailand, Central and Southern Thailand (Siam prope ...
. Traditionally, the name of the king is sacred and would not normally be said. Instead, people would refer to the king by other words, currently ''Nai Luang'' (ในหลวง) or ''Phra Chao Yu Hua'' (พระเจ้าอยู่หัว). When King Phutthayotfa Chulalok founded the dynasty, he was commonly referred to as ''Phan Din Ton'' (แผ่นดินต้น, ''lit.'' 'the First Reign'); and when his son King
Phutthaloetla Naphalai Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father ...
inherited the throne, he was referred to as ''Phan Din Klang'' (แผ่นดินกลาง, ''lit.'' 'the Middle Reign'). That then became awkward when Prince Chetsadabodin (King
Nangklao Nangklao (born Thap; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), also known by his regnal name Rama III, was the third Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. Nangklao was the eldest surviving ...
) became the third king, as the obvious referral would then be ''Phan Din Plai'' (แผ่นดินปลาย, ''lit.'' 'the Last Reign'), which did not sound very auspicious. He decided to give the names "Phutthayotfa Chulalok" and "Phutthaloetla Naphalai", after the names of two
Buddha statues Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained B ...
, to his two predecessors. He was then posthumously given the name "Nangklao" by his successor, King
Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...
, who also tried to establish more systematic royal nomenclature. Later historians would refer to King Nangklao's reign as ''Ratchakan thi Sam'' (รัชกาลที่ 3, ''lit''. 'the third reign'). That was becoming more common, probably because of Western influences on Thailand during the reigns of Mongkut and his son,
Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
. Since then, all the reigns of kings in the dynasty are also known unofficially as ''Ratchakan thi'' n ('the ''n''th Reign'); hence, the present King's reign is also known as ''Ratchakan thi sip'' ('the tenth reign') and extrapolated back to all the earlier kings of the dynasty. Since King Vajiravudh called himself Rama VI in English, the name was seemingly equivalent to Thai ''Ratchakan thi hok''. This rough translation is still in use today, but no other king in the dynasty before him used the name "Rama" as such. However, there have been several kings in the
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 ...
and
Thonburi __NOTOC__ Thonburi () is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which is ref ...
periods who are best known by the title '' Ramathibodi'' ("Overlord
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
"). ''Ayutthya'' itself was borrowed from the name of Rama's capital in the
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
epic,
Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...
. Still, most of the names of the earlier kings as given by historians are titles rather than real names. It was not customary to refer to a king by his name during his lifetime, and in many cases, the personal names of the kings are not known. Even the titles are often doubtful. Each king had his full style and title inscribed on a golden plate, which, however, were all lost when the Ayutthaya Kingdom was destroyed in the sack of the city by the Burmese in 1767.


Chakri Kings of Thailand

* King Rama I (1782–1809), Phutthayotfa Chulalok (27 years) * King Rama II (1809–1824),
Phutthaloetla Naphalai Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father ...
(15 years) * King Rama III (1824–1851),
Nangklao Nangklao (born Thap; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), also known by his regnal name Rama III, was the third Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 21 July 1824 to 2 April 1851. Nangklao was the eldest surviving ...
(27 years) * King Rama IV (1851–1868),
Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...
(17 years) * King Rama V (1868–1910),
Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
(42 years) * King Rama VI (1910–1925),
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 ...
(15 years) * King Rama VII (1925–1935),
Prajadhipok Prajadhipok (8 November 1893 – 30 May 1941) was the seventh king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VII. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to political and social changes during the 1932 Siamese revolution. He i ...
(10 years) * King Rama VIII (1935–1946),
Ananda Mahidol Ananda Mahidol (20 September 19259 June 1946) was the eighth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam (later Thailand) from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VIII. At the time he was recognised as king by the National Assembly of Thailand, National ...
(11 years) * King Rama IX (1946–2016),
Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...
(70 years) * King Rama X (2016–present),
Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn (born 28 July 1952) is King of Thailand. He is the tenth Thai monarch of the Chakri dynasty since ascending the throne in 2016 with the regnal name Rama X. The only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirik ...


See also

*
Monarchy of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government of Thailand (formerly ''Siam''). The king of Thailand (, historically, ''king of Siam''; ) is the head of state and head of the ruling Chakri dynasty. ...
*
List of Thai monarchs The succession of Monarchy of Thailand, Thai monarchs began with Si Inthrathit at the establishment of the Sukhothai Kingdom, first Thai kingdom in 1238. With brief interruptions, 55 monarchs have ruled over four successive kingdoms, the current ...
*
Regnal name A regnal name, regnant name, or reign name is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they accede ...


References


External links


Kings of the Chakri Dynasty


{{Southeast Asian leaders Thai royal titles Chakri dynasty