74
king, who also gave two white elephants richly adorn-
ed. This Burmese invasion in Siam lasted for five
months.1
Though the king, Vara-Dhiraraja reigned for
sixteen years, yet the loss of the white elephants
troubled him much and he abdicated the throne in
favour of his son in order to enter the orders.
XVI—MAHAMAHINDA
In the Burmese history, the date of the first
Burmese invasion of Siam is given as 1548, where as
in the Pali chronicle of Siam, it is 1563. The second
Burmese invasion is dated 1563.
In 1563 the king of Pagu, heard that the Siamese
king had acquired a few new white elephants. As
the possession of the white elephant was thought to be
the distinctive mark of a Buddhist king, the king of
Pagu demanded one of the white elephants. To
this demand, the king of Siam gave an evasive reply.
The king of Pegu, therefore, sent a large army to
punish the king of Siam, The Burmese army invest-
ed the city of Ayuthia. After a long war, the king of
Siam had to surrender. The king, his queen and his
younger son were taken away as captives, and the
Crown Prince Bra Mahein ( Bramahin ) was proclaim-
ed and installed as king of Siam.2 ( A. D. 1564).
1. Burmese Invasions oi Siam—Journal of the Siam So-
ciety V, 1908, I, pp. 1-12.
2. Ibid, pp. 21-29.