Chan Khlom Sawetra Chat in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and its connection to Phra Maha Sawetra Chat Poem in the Reign of King Rama IV

Abstract

This study examines the contents of the Kham Chan Klom Sawetra Chat manuscript housed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, with the aim of identifying its textual characteristics and contextual relationship to other Kham Chan Sangwe Phra Maha Sawet Chat poem from the reign of King Rama IV. Comparative study found that both textual parallels and distinctive variations contribute to dating the manuscript beyond paleographical evidence.

Chan Khlom Sawetra chat in the Bibliothèque nationale de France represents an alternative version of Chan Khlom Phra Maha Sawetra chat poems not included in the Chumnum Chan Dusadi Sangwei collection compiled by the Vajirayan Royal Library in 1914. The text is divided into three sections rather than the usual four. Its content, dedicated to the ritual worship of the royal white umbrella, includes invocations to deities for auspicious blessings.

While the text corresponds closely to other contemporaneous Khlom Phra Maha Sawetra chat poems particularly in the second and third sections. A significant distinction appears in its explicit invocation for blessings upon the royal white elephant. This feature suggests that the Chan Khlom Sawetra chat in the Bibliothèque nationale de France was composed after the other Khlom Phra Maha Sawetra chat poems in the Chumnum Chan Dusadi Sangwei collection, reflect the manuscript’s value as another literary work mentioning the ritual and poetic traditions of the reign of King Rama IV.