Suvacanaraja


Suvacanarāja or Pasujakumāra was an 11th-century Mon monarch mentioned in the Northern Chronicle as the ruler of Mueang Chaliang. He ascended the throne following the death of his elder mixed MonTai brother, Arunaraja, in 1052. Suvacanarāja was the youngest son of the second consort of King Abhayakamini of Sukhothai. Similar to his brother, he married a Chinese princess named Pasujadevī. The couple had one daughter named Padumadevī, and two sons, Dharmatriloka and Baramatriloka. Suvacanarāja is recorded to have had a long reign and was succeeded by his elder prince, Dharmatriloka, around the mid 12th century.
During Suvacanarāja’s reign, the authority of Chaliang extended, through royal relations established by his father, northward to the Tai polities of and. The principal northern administrative center was located at or Kampoṭanagara, governed by his brother Ṛddhikumāra. Several subordinate towns were recorded under this jurisdiction, including Mueang Khiri, Mueang Sawangkhaburi, Mueang Yangkhiri, Nakhon Khiri, Mueang Khonkiri, Mueang Lek, Mueang Singthao, and Mueang Nakhon. Suvacanarāja’s reign was characterized by the consolidation of the polity through the fortification of the capital, the enactment of administrative laws, and the enhancement of state infrastructure. It is further recorded that he submitted a royal request to his father-in-law, the Emperor of China, for ten craftsmen skilled in casting artillery. These craftsmen subsequently produced approximately 120 cannons and 500 muskets to strengthen the kingdom’s military capability.
Suvacanarāja later confronted an invasion led by Śrīdharmatripiṭaka of Tai's Yonok Chiang Saen—identified in some accounts as King Phrom, who was the only Tai ruler recorded to have launched a campaign into the Menam Basin. The conflict concluded with a peace agreement, through which Suvacanarāja gave his only daughter, Padumadevī, in marriage to Śrīdharmatripiṭaka. The two polities then became allies. Their union produced two sons: Kesariraja of Lavo and Jatisakara, who later succeeded his father at Chiang Saen.
During this period, the Monic sister polity to the west, the Thaton kingdom, is recorded to have fallen under the Pagan in 1057.