Prince Kromma Muen Thepphiphit () was a Siamese prince of the Ban Phlu Luang dynasty of the Ayutthaya kingdom. He is known for his colorful adventurous political career. Prince Thepphiphit led a failed rebellion in 1758 against his half-brother Ekkathat, the last king of Ayutthaya. He was then exiled to Sri Lanka, which was then the Kingdom of Kandy. In 1760, Sinhalese Sangha and nobility conspired to overthrow King Kirti Sri Rajasinha to place the Siamese prince Thepphiphit on the Kandyan throne but the plan was thwarted and Thepphiphit had to leave Sri Lanka. Prince Thepphiphit returned to Siam at Mergui, Tenasserim, in 1762. When the Burmese attacked and conquered Tenasserim in early 1765, Thepphiphit moved to Chanthaburi on Eastern Siamese coast. In 1766, he raised an army in Eastern Siam to fight the Burmese but was defeated. Thepphiphit fled to Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast, where he engaged in a local power struggle, ending up being held hostage at Phimai. At the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, local officials in the northeast declared Thepphiphit a ruler, becoming "Chao Phimai" or the Lord of Phimai as one of several regional regime leaders in aftermath of the collapse of Ayutthaya, entrenching himself at Phimai. In 1768, the new king Taksin of Thonburi kingdom marched to subjugate Thepphiphit's Phimai regime. Thepphiphit was then captured and deported to Thonburi, where he was eventually executed in November 1768.
Early life Very few native Siamese records about the early life of Prince Thepphiphit survive. A Chinese source stated that, at his death in 1768, Prince Thepphiphit was around fifty years old so he should be born around 1718, in the reign of his uncle King Thaisa of Ayutthaya. Prince Thepphiphit, at his birth, was known as Khaektao ("parakeet") or Prince Phra Ong Chao Khaek () of the Phra Ong Chao rank. The Chinese source stated that Thepphiphit was an elder half-brother of Ekkathat, who was also born in 1718, while in Thai chronicles the order of the princes was given as Prince Thammathibet coming as the first one, Ekkathat as the second one and Thepphiphit as the third one. Thepphiphit should be nearly the same age as his half-brother Ekkathat.
Prince Thepphiphit, initially known as Prince Khaek, was a son of Prince Phon, who was the younger brother and Wangna or Uparat or heir presumptive to King Thaisa. He was born to an unnamed secondary consort of his father. According to the Chinese source, Thepphiphit's mother was of the Baitou race, suggesting Northern Thai or Lao ethnicity. Thepphiphit had a younger brother Prince Phra Ong Chao Pan () and a sister who shared the same mother. In 1732, King Thaisa became ill and Prince Phon, Thepphiphit's father, rallied armies in preparation for the upcoming succession conflict but was caught. Prince Phon, along with his sons and presumably Thepphiphit, ordained as Buddhist monks to avoid political repercussions. Next year, in 1733, King Thaisa died, and a succession war ensued in Ayutthaya between Prince Phon and his nephews, sons of Thaisa. Prince Phon eventually prevailed and ascended the Siamese throne as King Borommakot in 1733.
In efforts to contain future dynastic princely conflicts, King Borommakot assigned manpower regiments known as Kroms to his sons the royal princes to control the allocation of manpower among his sons. Prince Khaek was given the Krom title Kromma Muen Thepphiphit (), while his brother Prince Pan became Kromma Muen Sepphakdi (). Borommakot's sons were also ranked according to the status of their mothers. Thammathibet, Ekkathat and Uthumphon, who were born to Borommakot's two main queens, were given the superior rank of Kromma Khun. Other sons of Borommakot who were born to his secondary consorts, including Thepphiphit and his brother Sepphakdi, were given the inferior rank of Kromma Muen.
Princely conflicts Prince Thammathibet, eldest son of Borommakot born to a principal queen, was made Wangna Prince of the Front Palace and heir presumptive to Borommakot in 1741. The princes maintained uneasy share of power during the reign of their father. The seven royal princes were divided into two political camps. The first faction composed of primary sons of Borommakot including Thammathibet, Ekkathat and Uthumphon. The second faction composed of the secondary princes including Chitsunthorn, Sunthornthep and Sepphakdi (Thepphiphit's brother), known collectively as Chao Sam Krom () or the Three Princes. Thepphiphit, despite being a secondary prince, seemed to be aligned with the faction of the superior princes. Death of Chaophraya Chamnan Borirak the chief minister in 1753 allowed Prince Thammathibet the royal heir to assert his powers. Prince Thammathibet was later found having adulterous relationship with a consort of his father Borommakot and was also found yearning for a sedition. Prince Thammathibet was whipped with rattan cane strokes and died from injuries in April 1756.
Death of Prince Thammathibet in 1756 left the position of royal heir vacant. It was this time that Prince Thepphiphit made his first political move. King Borommakot disfavored his second son Ekkathat for his supposed incompetency. Thepphiphit then led the proposal to the king in 1757, in concert with other high-ranking ministers of Chatusadom, to make Uthumphon the new heir. Uthumphon, as the youngest son of Borommakot, did not aspire for kingship but Borommakot preferred Uthumphon over Ekkathat, citing that Ekkathat would be sure to bring disaster to the kingdom. Uthumphon finally consented to the demands of his father Borommakot, who made Uthumphon the Prince of the Front Palace and heir presumptive in 1757 and also exiled Ekkathat to become a Buddhist monk in the northeastern outskirt of Ayutthaya to prevent Ekkathat from incurring any troubles. This event earned Thepphiphit a political favor as he was the one who proposed to Borommakot to elevate Uthumphon to the position.
In spite of these speculative arrangements, conflicts erupted between Uthumphon and the Three Princes who sought to claim the throne when Borommakot died in April 1758. Ekkathat returned from exile to assist Uthumphon in putting down the Three Princes. Ekkathat, Uthumphon and Thepphiphit unified and cooperated against the Three Princes. The Three Princes, including Thepphiphit's brother Sepphakdi, were eventually captured and executed in May 1758. Uthumphon triumphantly ascended the Ayutthayan throne in May, but Uthumphon faced political challenges from Ekkathat who laid his own claims to the throne. Uthumphon gave in and abdicated after merely ten days. Ekkathat ascended the throne as the last king of Ayutthaya in June 1758, while Uthumphon went to become a Buddhist monk at Wat Pradu temple, earning him the epithet Khun Luang Hawat or the King Who Sought Temple.
With the ascension of Ekkathat at the expense of Uthumphon, Thepphiphit felt threatened because he had been such a supporter of Uthumphon. After the enthronement ceremony of Ekkathat, Thepphiphit went out in June 1758 to be ordained as a Buddhist monk to avoid possible political retributions from Ekkathat, staying at Wat Krachom temple just off the northeastern corner of Ayutthaya citadel.
Rebellion of 1758 Upon his ascension to the throne, Ekkathat found few supports in the royal court, most of whom supported Uthumphon. Ekkathat brought his two brother-in-laws Pin and Chim to power in Siamese royal court. Pin and Chim were given immense powers. They upset and insulted high-ranking Chatusadom ministers. Those ministers, including Chaophraya Aphairacha the chief minister and Phraya Yommaraj the police chief, conspired to overthrow Ekkathat in favor of Uthumphon. In December 1758, those conspirators visited Prince Thepphiphit, who had been a Buddhist monk at Wat Krachom temple. Thepphiphit, despite being a Buddhist monk, was still very active in politics. Thepphiphit accepted this challenge. Thepphiphit and other conspirators visited Uthumphon at Wat Pradu temple, asking Uthumphon to consent to the plan. Uthumphon, who was unwilling to be involved in such seditious affair, gave a vague unpromising answer that was interpreted as favorable by Thepphiphit.
Uthumphon, however, decided not to trust Thepphiphit, given his ambitions. Uthumphon told Ekkathat about the upcoming rebellion in exchange for Ekkathat sparing the lives of the conspirators. The conspiring ministers Aphairacha, Yommaraj and others were arrested, punished, whipped with rattan canes and imprisoned for life but not executed. Thepphiphit himself fortified at Wat Krachom temple against Ekkathat. Thepphiphit's Chao Krom or Chief Servant managed to raise a number of supporters who vehemently and devotedly defended Thepphiphit. Ekkathat devised a plan to take down Thepphiphit without forces by declaring that the crime of sedition would be placed solely upon the Chao Krom or Thepphiphit's Chief Servant. The Chief Servant then deserted Thepphiphit along with his subordinates, leaving Thepphiphit exposed. Thepphiphit was left with no choices but to escape. Thepphiphit fled to the west where he was caught and apprehended at Phra Thaen Dong Rang in modern Tha Maka district, Kanchanaburi province.
Upholding the promise made to Uthumphon, Ekkathat would not execute Thepphiphit but rather exile him. Coincidentally, a Dutch ship happened to arrive in Ayutthaya to procure some Siamese Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka. Ekkathat then had Thepphiphit, still in Buddhist monk robes, along with his family, consorts and children, board on the Dutch ship across the Indian Ocean to be exiled to Sri Lanka in early 1759.
Conspiracy in 1760 Kandyan coup attempt
Ascension of Sri Vijaya Rajasinha, who was of South Indian Telugu Nayakkar origin, to the Sinhalese throne of Kandy in 1739, with the support of his mentor the Sinhalese Buddhist monk Weliwata Sri Saranankara, began the rule of Madurai Nayak dynasty over Kandy. The Nayaks of South India were practitioners of Shaivite Hinduism rather than Sinhalese Theravada Buddhism. In the aftermath of repeated Portuguese and Dutch incursions, Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka had been in a deteriorated state without any properly ordained Bhikkhu monks left to maintain and continue the religion.
Sri Vijaya Rajasinha died in 1751 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law Kirti Sri Rajasinha. The new king Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy, inspired by the monk Weliwata Saranankara, made efforts to rehabilitate Sinhalese Theravada by sending delegates to the Siamese kingdom of Ayutthaya, requesting for Siamese monk to revive the Upasampada ordinations and to reestablish Bhikkhu monastic order in Sri Lanka. King Borommakot of Ayutthaya responded by sending Siamese monks under Upali to Sri Lanka, arriving in 1753, leading to conception of the Siam Nikaya sect in Sri Lanka. The monk Weliwata Saranankara was ordained by the Siamese monks into this new 'Siamese sect'. Since then, Ayutthaya and Kandy had been maintaining religious relations, with Dutch ships serving as the conduit to regularly transport Siamese monks to Sri Lanka. Weliwata Saranankara was appointed by Kirti Sri Rajasinha in 1753 as the Sangharaja or Buddhist Hierophant in Sri Lanka. Despite these religious achievements, the powerful native Sinhalese monks, led by Weliwata Saranankara himself, were contemptuous at the king's association with Hinduism.