Sri Dharmasokaraja II

Sri Dharmasokaraja II (Thai: ศรีธรรมโศกราชที่ 2), also known by the alternative names Narapati (พญานรบดี) and Chandrabhanu I (จันทรภาณุที่ 1), was a 12th‑century monarch attested in both epigraphic and literary sources, most notably the Pali–Khmer–Thai Dong Mè Nang Mưo’ng 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 characterized by a temporary reassertion 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. In response, he consolidated Tambralinga as his principal political center, from which the kingdom continued to exercise religious patronage and maintain diplomatic relations, including tribute missions to China. His rule also coincided with regional conflicts and negotiated alliances involving other contemporary dynasties, contributing to the reconfiguration of power that preceded later political formations in southern and central Thailand. He died in 1183 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sri Dharmasokaraja III (Chandrabhanu II).