KING NARESUAN,SYMBOL OF STRENGTH.

Part 2

Sod Daeng-iad, Director of the Bureau of Archaeology and the National Museum in Ayutthaya and an expert on the history of Ayutthaya, talked about the importance of King Naresuan to Thailand.
He said: There are murals in the wihaan at Wat Suwandararam in Ayutthaya.Although they were painted during the Rattanakosin Period, they tell the story of the King's life.

The largest painting above the entrance shows a battle on elephant-back between King Naresuan and the Burmese Pha Maha Uparacha (Similar to a vice-regent, the younger brother of the Burmese King Nanthabureng).

"There were 24 wars between Thailand and Burma",he said. But Burma only attacked Ayutthaya six times. They attacked from that direction as the royal palaces were close by so if the Burmese fired a large gun across the river,t hey could damage them. Such things demoralised people in the city.

The big field in that area is made up of three smaller ones separated by narrow canals. The fields are called Thung Phuk-hao,Thung Lumphlee,and Thung Makham Yong. Thung Makhan Yong is where Phra Sri Suriyothai fought in the Battle of the White Elephants, she was an aunt of King Naresuan.
It was at Thung Lumphlee that King Naresuan showed his bravery again; with the Burmese mobilising their troops to move on Ayutthaya and approaching the city by numerous routes, King Naresuan,with his small force,attacked them repeatedly.

The Burmese recognised the tactics as being the King's style and thought the Ayutthaya army was solely under his command. They decided if they could capture him it would mean certain victory.
So they planned to lure him into Thung Lumphlee, where one of Burma's most brilliant commanders,Lawai Thamu, would be waiting for him.
King Naresuan did go into the field and there was a battle, on horseback, between the two men. King Naresuan stabbed Lawai Thamu to death with a long spear,and the Burmese forces scattered and fled.This incident is the story behind the new monument which will show King Naresuan on horse back wielding a long spear.

Full Introduction

King Naresuan Part 1

King Naresuan Part 2

King Naresuan Part 3

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