Sri Dharmasokaraja II
king of Lavo-Tambraling
Sri Dharmasokaraja II (Thai: ศรีธรรมโศกราชที่ 2), also known as Chandrabhanu I (จันทรภาณุที่ 1), was a 12th-century monarch. He is attested in both epigraphic and literary sources, most notably the Pali–Old Khmer Dong Mae Nang Mueang inscription (K. 766), the Legend of Nakhon Si Thammarat, and the Legend of Phatthalung. These sources portray him as the ruler of the Phraek Si Racha–Lavo–Tambralinga polities during a period of intensified political competition between regional centers of the Chao Phraya basin and the expanding Angkor.
The reign of Sri Dharmasokaraja II is marked by a temporary assertion of authority over Lavo and the lower Menam basin in the mid-12th century, followed by the loss of Lavo under Angkorian pressure during the reign of Jayavarman VII. He then made Tambralinga his principal seat. From there the kingdom continued its religious patronage and its diplomatic relations, including tribute missions to China. His reign also saw conflicts and negotiated alliances with other dynasties of the time, which reshaped the distribution of power in southern and central Thailand before the polities that followed. He died in 1183 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sri Dharmasokaraja III (Chandrabhanu II).
Accession and authority in Menam basin
Sri Dharmasokaraja II appears to have taken the throne of Lavo around 1157. His reign is attested most clearly in the Dong Mae Nang Mueang inscription (K. 766), dated to 1167/68, which shows his authority reaching well north of Lavo and the lower Menam basin by that year.
The northernmost limit of his recognised power lay at Dong Mae Nang Mueang (ดงแม่นางเมือง), in the present-day Banphot Phisai district of Nakhon Sawan province.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sri Dharmasokaraja II” as king of Lavo-Tambraling. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as king of Lavo-Tambraling. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q137443577. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1183, 1157 and 1167.
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