Buddhist monasteries · Haripunjaya, the Mon kingdom of Lamphun · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Mon Sangha of Lamphun

The Mon Sangha is the one literate institution of the north.

Seven large Mon steles of 1213 to 1219 show the king giving land, people and buildings to the monasteries of Lamphun, building an uposatha hall about 1214, repairing after an earthquake, and being ordained for a short time on Tuesday 28 May 1219 (Julian) at Vat Don (Jetavana) with two sons present; the English Wikipedia summary has 80 monks and 102 novices as witnesses. All of that is later than 1 January 1200 by thirteen to nineteen years. That the Sangha was already rich and Mon-speaking in 1200 is inferred from the steles and from the chronicle tradition of a continuous line, not read from a document of 1200.

Who holds it

Title
The abbots and the Sangha of Lamphun; patron: the king (Sabbadhisiddhi in 1213 to 1219)
Since
not known
Born
not known
Family
No abbot is named in the English Wikipedia summary.
Confidence
low

English Wikipedia (Haripunjaya, summarising the Lamphun inscriptions).

Overlord

the king of Haripunjaya (patron)

What it holds

  • Villages, land and bonded people given by the kings (the steles; not itemised in what we could read)
  • The monasteries of Lamphun and the Ping plain
  • Patronage of the relic cult

How it was acquired

By royal gift over generations.

Allies and rivals

The king; the other Theravada houses of the Mon coast (a Burmese or Sinhalese tie is a style judgement, not a political fact).

How things stand that morning

Inferred; no document of 1200.

Wealth

Endowed land and people; pilgrims' gifts.

Threats

  • None dated

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1213 to 1219The steles are cut: gifts, an uposatha hall about 1214, an earthquake, the ordination of 28 May 1219 (Julian).Depends on: The court and Sangha going on as they are. Stopped by: Loss of the throne before 1213.

Places of note

  • Lamphun: seat of the Mon Sangha

Where the sources disagree

  • The steles are cited from the English Wikipedia summary; the editions (Bauer, and others) were not read.

Evidence: Dated stone for 1213 to 1219; nothing dated earlier.

On the map: A point; the estates are not located.

Primary sources for Haripunjaya

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
  • The later Tai, Lao and Mon chronicles of the north, Ratanapanna (Jinakalamali); Bodhiramsi (Chamadevivamsa); anonymous monks and court scribes (the Chamadevivamsa about 1410; the Jinakalamali 1516 to 1528; the Chiang Mai Chronicle in its surviving form 1827; the Nithan Khun Borom 16th to 17th century). There is no text of 1200 for the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya, the Tai muang of Ngoenyang (Chiang Saen), Chiang Rung, the Yom and Nan valleys, or the Lao middle Mekong.
  • Epigraphia Birmanica, being lithic and other inscriptions of Burma, Various, edited by Taw Sein Ko, C. Duroiselle and C. O. Blagden (inscriptions of the 11th to 15th centuries; the series ran from 1919 to 1936). The Archaeological Survey of Burma's series of edited inscriptions with full translations. Read online
  • Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava; Inscriptions of Burma, Various (the Pagan kings, queens, ministers and donors), edited by Tun Nyein, Taw Sein Ko, G. H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin (inscriptions of the 11th to 14th centuries; editions 1899 and 1933 to 1956). The dedicatory inscriptions of Pagan are the only contemporary texts for the kingdom of Narapatisithu (reigning 1174 to 1211). Read online
  • The Inscriptions of Cambodia, Various (the Khmer kings and their officers), edited by George Coedes (inscriptions of the 6th to 14th centuries; edited 1937 to 1966). The Khmer empire of 1200 is known almost entirely from the great foundation stelae of Jayavarman VII (reigning from 1181), which Coedes edited: the Ta Prohm stele of 1186 (K. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia, Haripunjaya (Mon inscriptions of 1213, 1218 and 1219; chronicle king list and its caveats)
  2. Wikipedia, Lamphun

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.