King Neressuan the Great
King Naresuan the Great was know as the hero of Teleng Phai ( or the Defeat of the Mons ). Thai people gave him the utmost respect and praised him as a worrior - king. He was a son of king Maha Dhammaraja. He had an elder sister, Princess Supantevi and a younger brother, Prince Ekatosarote were sometimes known as the Black Prince and the White Prince respectively.
At the early age, Prince Naresuan was taken away to Pegu respectively. Bayinnuang ( Burengnong ) also known as " the Victorious One " when he put Maha Dhammaraja on the throne of Ayutthaya. He was kept nine years in to be Governor of Pitsanuloke.
There is a story about him as a young man while being held as a hostage in Burma. One day he took part in cockfighting with some Burmese princes. His cock won, and the Burmese Prince was annoyed and exclaimed, " Oh, how good this captive cock is !". Prince Naresuan replied :" This captive can not only fight for a gamble, but it can also fight for a kingdom ", This shows that the Prince realised himself of being a hostage and yearned for the independence of Ayutthaya.
Fortunately, King Bayinnuang passed away in 1581. His successor ( King Nand Bayin ) was so weak that several colonies rebelled, including a city on the hill in the Mon region, Muang Kang. Three princes took turns to attack the hill city. Though assigned by the Burmese king to be the last, Prince Naresuan was able to capture the city. As a result, the Burmese king distrusted him because of his courage and intelligence and even planned to murder him. When informed of the plot by the two Mon gernerals, Prince Naresuan declared the independence of his nation and prepared a fierce resistance against the Burmese attacks.
Prince Naresuan successed to the throne when his father passed away in 1590. It is to be understood that during the reign of King Nand Bayin, Autthaya was invaded 5 times, namely ; During the third campaign, King Nand Bayin came himself. During the fourth and fifth invasions the Burmese army was again led by Maha Uparaj or the Crown Prince was killed by King Naresuan in a single duel, elephant fight, in 1592 at Nong Sarai in present day Suphan Buri Province. This most glorios battle earned him the victory.
Throughput his life, King Naresuan never gave up trying to conquer Burma. Had he lived longer, he might have brought the whole region under his rule and the Burmese would never have been able to conquer Ayutthaya in 1767. While marching to Toungoo, he suddenly fell sick in Lampang, and succumbed to his illness and died on May 16, 1605. Prince Ekathosarot succeeded his brother and brought down his dead body to Ayutthaya for a royal cremation.
To the Thai people, King Naresuan the Great is always their hero whom the entire nation holds in high regard. Thus, every year during the week of January 25, a week long Don Chedi Monument Fair is held in Suphan Buri Provinc to commemorate his victory over the Burmese Crown Prince.
* The celebration of king Naresuan the Great 's victory in an elephant duel over Burmese prince has been moved up a week from Jan 25 to Jan 18, to make it historically more accurate. ( Bangkok Post, November 30, 2005)
By Essays on Thailand
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