Kakabhadra

Kakabhadra (, ), called Sakkorn Dam () in the , was a ruler of Takkasila, identified with Nakhon Pathom in Kamalanka. He is traditionally credited with instituting the Chula Sakarat era in 638 CE. His reign is placed in a period of recurrent warfare between Chenla and the polities of the Menam basin, and it ended with the accession of his elder son Kalavarnadisharaja, under whom Tou Yuan was reorganised as the Lavo Kingdom.

Dating and identity

The dates rest on a back-calculation. Manit Vallibhotama placed the enthronement of Kalavarnadisharaja in 641 CE, and since the Northern Chronicle credits Kakabhadra with a rule of 72 years over Takkasila, his reign is taken to have begun about 569.

That span overlaps the period associated with Siddhijaya Brahmadeva, and some scholars have argued that the two are the same monarch. Others hold that the accounts differ enough to keep them apart.

Reign

Kakabhadra's reign fell during recurrent conflict between Tou Yuan, to the south-east, and Chenla in the Tonlé Sap basin. By 647 Tou Yuan is recorded as a vassal of Dvaravati, and in the following year it was reorganised as the Lavo Kingdom under Kalavarnadisharaja.

No evidence shows Dvaravati intervening directly in those hostilities, but conflict between Chenla and Dvaravati is recorded epigraphically. The Bhavavarman II inscription (K. 1150), also known as the Wat Kud Tae inscription and dated to the 6th century, is in Sanskrit in Pallava script; it states that during Chenla's north-westward expansion the deputy governor of Jyesthapura — Muang Phai () in the present Aranyaprathet district — fought wars against Sambuka, which has been identified with modern Nakhon Pathom. Tatsuo Hoshino has suggested that several polities of the Menam and Mekong basins may have been drawn into the wider conflict, and that it may have carried on into the wars between Lavo and Haripuñjaya in the early 10th century.

Dvaravati in Chinese records

Chinese sources of the Sui period (581–618), which overlaps Kakabhadra's reign, describe the polity to which Kamalanka belonged. The Tongdian records Dvaravati as the Tou-he Kingdom.

Its principal city is said to have held more than 10,000 inhabitants, with a royal palace guarded by about 100 soldiers, and a monarch whose crown, dress and ornaments were of gold set with gemstones. Administration was headed by the Chao-qing-jiang-jun, under whom the Can-jun, Gong-cao, Sheng-bo, Cheng-ju, Jin-wei-jiang-jun, Zan-li and Zan-fu handled military and internal affairs. The laws were codified, with execution as the most severe penalty.

The same source records six markets and no personal taxation; the markets have been read as trading centres, possibly Nakhon Pathom, Khu Bua, Uthong, , Dong Lakhon and Pong Tuk. The population is described as chiefly agricultural and skilled in riding both horses and elephants, with Buddhism as the principal religion, schools in existence, and a language distinct from Chinese.