The Present Stage of Knowledge on 'Bot Lakhon Reung Inao'

“Bot Lakhon Reung Inao”, a royal composition in His Majesty King Phutthaloetla Naphalai, is one of Thailand’s important traditional literatures. It has been more specially praised than other literatures, as it is also considered a “textbook”. Many academics and students have studied it in several aspects, including (1) the history and the connection to other editions of Inao, (2) performances and adaptations based on the literature, (3) language, literary arts, and communications, (4) characters, (5) social and cultural conditions, and (6) others. Since literature and politics have been inseparably connected, throughout the past four decades many Thai literatures have been examined to find what political contexts are infused between the lines and what are the implications. However, it appears that “Bot Lakhon Reung Inao” has not been studied in such contexts, so it very much deserves such consideration.