Trai Phum Phra Ruang
Trai Phum Phra Ruang is a 14th-century Thai Buddhist cosmological treatise attributed to King Lithai. Written around 1345 CE, it is considered the oldest known work of Thai literature and played a central role in shaping Siamese religious thought and kingship ideology.
The text reflects many beliefs of the Thai people, such as descriptions of hells, heavens, rebirth, the four continents, kalpa, the kali yuga, the final age of the world, the coming of Maitreya, and the universal monarch. Trai Phum Phra Ruang is among the oldest known works of Thai literature and was widely illustrated in murals on the walls of Buddhist temples since ancient times.
History
Trai Phum Phra Ruang was composed by King Lithai on Thursday, the 15th day of the waxing moon of the 4th lunar month, Year of the Rooster, corresponding to Thursday, March 4, 1321 CE, Chula Sakarat 683, Mahasakarat 1243, in the 6th year of his reign. The king’s intention was to deliver a sermon for his mother and to glorify the Abhidhamma. The work stands as evidence of King Lithai’s profound mastery of Buddhism, as he compiled materials from the Tipiṭaka, commentaries, sub-commentaries, and other treatises into what is regarded as the first cosmological treatise written in the Thai language known today.Professor Sinchai Krapuansang has argued that King Lithai’s composition of the Traiphum Phra Ruang may also have had political motives. Since the work focuses on the contrast between hell and heaven, teaching that good deeds lead to heaven and evil deeds to hell, it served as a tool to guide moral behavior. As the population during King Lithai’s reign grew larger, governing the kingdom and ensuring peace became increasingly difficult. State administration could not reach everyone effectively. Therefore, the king authored this Buddhist work to encourage his subjects to practice virtue in order to attain heaven, while warning that misconduct would bring hellish punishment. For this reason, the Traiphum served as an effective form of social control, shaping people’s morality without the need for coercive laws.