Rama (Kings of Thailand) - History

History

In fact, the only king in the dynasty who called himself Rama was Phra Mongkutklao or King Vajiravudh, who was the sixth to reign. His reigning title was Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua; later in his reign, he preferred to style himself as Phra Ram thi Hok (พระรามที่หก lit. Rama VI). It was presumed that he was influenced by the European practice of numbering the rulers with similar names while he studied in England.

This quite conveniently coincided with another practice of the Thais. Traditionally, the name of the king is sacred and would not normally be said. Instead people would refer to the king by other words — these days Nai Luang or Phra Chao Yu Hua. When King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke founded the dynasty, he was commonly referred to as Phan Din Ton (แผ่นดินต้น lit. 'The First Kingdom'); and when his son inherited the throne, he was referred to as Phan Din Klang (แผ่นดินกลาง lit. 'the Middle Kingdom'). This then became awkward when Prince Jessadabodindra became the third king, as the obvious referral would then be Phan Din Plai (แผ่นดินปลาย lit. 'the Last Kingdom') — which did not sound very auspicious. King Nangklao decided to give the names Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke and Buddha Loedla Nabhalai, after the names of two Buddha statues, to his two predecessors. See Jessadabodindra, "Naming of the reigns"

Later, his half-brother King Mongkut, who succeeded him as king of Siam, posthumously gave the name "Nang Klao" to his predecessor and tried to establish more systematic royal nomenclature. King Nang Klao would be referred to by later historians as Ratchakan thi Saam (รัชกาลที่ 3 lit. 'the third reign'). This was probably becoming more prominent due to Western influences on Thailand during Mongkut's and later Chulalongkorn's reigns. Since then, all the kings in the dynasty are also known unofficially as Ratchakan thi nth ('the nth Reign'). The present King is hence also known as Ratchakan thi kao ('the ninth reign'). This has also been extrapolated back to all the earlier kings of the dynasty as well.

Since King Vajiravudh called himself Rama VI in English, the name was seemingly equivalent to the Thais' Ratchakan thi hok. This rough translation is still in use these days, although no other king in the dynasty before him used the name "Rama" as such. However, there have been several kings in the Ayutthaya and Thonburi periods who officially used the reigning name of Ramathibodi (Rama + Athi + Bodi, lit. 'the great ruler Rama'). The name Ayutthya itself was borrowed from the name of Rama's capital in the Ramayana epic, Ayodhya