Prathivindravarman

Prathivindravarman (Thai: ปฤถิวีนทรวรมัน) emerges as a central political figure of the 5th century through the testimony of the Wang Pai Inscription (K.978),^[1][2] which identifies him as the ruler of Si Thep,^[2] a principal city associated with Qiān Zhī Fú.^[3]: 30 The inscription, inscribed in Sanskrit with Pallava script, discovered approximately 10 kilometers north of Si Thep, was composed to commemorate the coronation of a king described as the grandson of a Cakravartin and the son of King Prathivindravarman, whose power is explicitly compared to that of King Bhavavarman I or Bhavavarman II or another Bhavavarman. Notably, however, the inscription does not explicitly name the king whose coronation it records, leaving his precise identity unresolved.^[1]

This ambiguity has generated sustained scholarly debate, particularly concerning the dynastic relationships implied by the text. Earlier historiographical traditions identify Bhavavarman I as the biological son of Vīravarman. More recent interpretations, however, propose that Vīravarman may instead have been Bhavavarman I’s stepfather, having married the widowed queen of Prathivindravarman. Under this reconstruction, Bhavavarman I would be understood as the biological son of Prathivindravarman and the adopted son of Vīravarman, a scenario that repositions Prathivindravarman as the foundational progenitor of this royal lineage.^[4][5]

Further controversy arises from palaeographic considerations. Some scholars argue that the letter forms employed in the Wang Pai Inscription correspond to post-627 stylistic conventions, raising the possibility that the Bhavavarman referenced in the text is not Bhavavarman I but rather Bhavavarman II, or another ruler bearing the same regnal name who was unrelated to both Bhavavarman I and Bhavavarman II of Chenla.^{[6]: 17–20}