Phichit (พิจิตร)

Thai. ‘Beautiful city’. Name of the provincial capital of a jangwat (map) of the same name in North Thailand situated, 344 kilometeres to the North of Bangkok. According to legend, the city was founded by Phaya Kotabong (โคตรบอง) during the period when the Khmer were in power, though it is uncertain on which date precise, yet some sources mention the year 1058 AD. The word kot (โคตร) means ‘lineage’ and bong (บอง) refers to a kind of ‘tiger’, but is also a Khmer equivalent for the Thai word phih (พี่), meaning ‘elder brother’, whereas the ‘a’ in between those words is merely used as a connection vowel to ease pronunciation. The name Kotabong could hence be interpreted as the ‘elder brother of the tiger lineage’, implying that he was probably a descendant of a heroic family or recognized as a person with a certain brave background. In the Sukhothai period the city was called Meuang Sra Luang (เมืองสระหลวง), meaning ‘City of the Royal Pond’. During this period it was an important metropolis and a front for Sukhothai. Later, in the Ayutthaya Period, King Trailohkanat (1448-1488 AD) of the Suphannaphumi Dynasty, changed the city's name into Meuang Ohkaburi (เมืองโอฆบุรี), literally meaning ‘Inundated City’ or ‘Flooded City’, most likely referring to the area's low and fertile river plains. Phichit is the birthplace of the Ayutthayan king Somdet Phra Sanphet VIII (1703-1708 AD) of the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty, who was nicknamed Phra Chao Seua, meaning the ‘Tiger King’, a title reminiscent of that of the city's legendary founder. The province is also the hometown of the story Kraithong about the crocodile Chalawan, and has nine amphur and three king amphur. See also Phichit data file. 回