Anuruddha

Anuruddha (อนุรุทธ) is described in Pali and Thai historiographical traditions as a ruler associated with the Dvaravati cultural sphere, particularly the polity of Arimadhanaburi (อริมัทนบุรี),^{[1]: 126 [2]: 4} which has been identified by modern scholars with Nakhon Pathom.^{[2]: 4 [3]: 6} He is principally attested in the Jinakalamali and the Northern Chronicle, where he appears as a monarch engaged in political consolidation in the modern central Thailand.

The Jinakalamali, which also refers to Camadevi of Haripuñjaya, situates his reign approximately in the mid to late 7th century.^[1]: 128 Both the Jinakalamali and the Northern Chronicle attribute to him the establishment of the Chula Sakarat era in 638 CE, based on which some scholars have proposed a reign spanning from 639 to 679 CE^[3]: 6  and have identified him with Kakabhadra, the putative founder of the era.^{[4]: 241–3} However, this reconstruction stands in tension with another passage in the Northern Chronicle, which records that Kalavarnadisharaja succeeded Kakabhadra at Nakhon Pathom in 641 and later transferred the political center to Lavo in 648.

According to the Jinakalamali, Anuruddha is portrayed as the ruler who orchestrated the overthrow of Manohanaraj at Ayojjhapura,^{[1]: 126–7} described as a principal city of the polity identified in Chinese sources as Qiān Zhī Fú and associated with Si Thep.^[5]: 30 This campaign followed earlier events in which Manohanaraj's father, Rajadhiraj, had invaded Lampang, part of Haripuñjaya, and removed black stone Buddha images of Sikhī to Ayojjhapura.^{[1]: 125–6}

Anuruddha subsequently requested one of these images from Manohanaraj, Rajadhiraj’s successor. When the request was refused, he launched a military campaign against Ayojjhapura, resulting in the capture of Manohanaraj and the transfer of two Sikhī Buddha images to Arimadhanaburi.^{[1]: 126–7 [2]: 4} The Jinakalamali further records that he later returned these images to Haripuñjaya during the reign of Camadevi, who then gave them to her son Hanayos, ruler of Lampang.^[1]: 128 Since Hanayos’ accession is dated to 688 CE,^[6] this account indicates that Anuruddha’s activities extended at least until that period. This chronological horizon corresponds with another tradition, which recounts that Balidhiraja of Sukhothai marched southward, overthrew the ruler of the western Menam valley, and installed his younger son, Sai Thong Som, as the new ruler.^[2]: 3–4

The Northern Chronicle further depicts Anuruddha as engaging in a conflict with Indaprasthanagara over sacred objects, namely the Pali Canon and the Emerald Buddha, which he had reportedly transferred from Lanka. According to the narrative, these items were transported by two junks that lost their course and instead arrived at Indaprasthanagara, whose ruler subsequently refused to return them. In response, Anuruddha is described as having exerted political pressure upon Indaprasthanagara,^{[7]: 93–101}  a polity identified in the Ayutthaya Testimonies as lying to the east of Sankhaburi.^[8]: 5–6 The dispute is said to have been partially resolved when Indaprasthanagara returned one of the objects, the Pali Canon, while retaining the other.^[7]: 97 In addition, he is portrayed as maintaining religious connections with Lanka, particularly through the transmission and patronage of Buddhism.^{[7]: 91–3}

Scholarly discussion concerning Anuruddha’s identity arises from phonetic similarities and chronological inconsistencies in the sources. His name resembles that of Anawrahta, the 11th-century ruler of Pagan.^{[9]: 124–6} The Northern Chronicle likewise identifies the two figures;^{[7]: 88–98} however, it presents internal inconsistency, as the same text also associates Anuruddha with the establishment of the Chula Sakarat era in 638 CE.^{[7]: 97–8 [4]: 241}

Some researchers have proposed identifying Anuruddha with Kalavarnadisharaja of Lavo.^[2]: 4 This interpretation presents chronological inconsistencies, as the narrative places Anuruddha at Nakhon Pathom after the enthronement of Camadevi at Haripuñjaya, while other accounts indicate that Kalavarnadisharaja was ruling at Lavo during the same period.

The identification of the 7th-century Anuruddha with the 11th-century Anawrahta of Pagan also affects the interpretation of the location of Indaprasthanagara, leading some scholars to place it in present-day Myanmar. This stands in contrast to other sources, including the Ayutthaya Testimonies and the Yonok Chronicle, which describe it as situated to the east of Sankhaburi in the Menam basin.