Thao Thosarot Dies

Thao Thosarot dies heart-broken

Time passed,Thao Tosarot, at the time 60,000 years old, wanted to hold a coronation for Phra Ram to succeed him as king.  It so happened that Naang Kaiyakesee’s hunchbacked servant, Naang Kuchee, had held a grudge against Phra Ram ever since he was a boy.  He had shot an earthen bullet into her hunchback, making her look foolish in the eyes of the ladies-in-waiting and the pages.  She now urged Naang Kaiyakesee to ask Thao Tosarot to give the kingdom to Phra Phrot while Phra Ram would be sent to wander the wilderness for fourteen years.  Naang Kaiyakesee had once provided an invaluable service to Thao Tosarot by using her own hand to replace Thao Tosarot,s broken chariot axle thus enabling him to overcome Pathoodthan, king of the demons.  Thao Tosarot therefore promised to grant her any wish.  At her request, the king reluctantly agreed to leave the kingdom to her son and to have Phra Ram ordained and sent into the wilderness, with Phra Lak, Naang Sida and Sumantan to watch over them.

Sumantan came to report to Thao Tosarot that the three had already fled.  Saddened and broken-hearted, the king died.

Phra Phrot and Phra Satarut returned from the city of Kaiyaketto join in the celebration of Phra Rams ascension to the throne.  Instead, they found that their father had died. When Phra Phrot learned the whole story, he was saddened and furious at his mother.

The crematorium for Thao Tosarot was decorated with many beautiful parasols.  There were also varieties of entertainment.  To comply with Thao Tosarot,s wish, expressed before he died, the hermits Wasit and Sawamitra forbade Naang Kaiyakesee and Phra Phrot from lighting the cremating fire.

A hermit prevents Naang Kaiyakesee and Pha Phrot from lighting the cremating fire.

NEXT:  CHAPTER 6  Phra Phrot, Phra Satarut and the three queen mothers search for Phra Ram