When I met Somdech Phra Bsnaratana of Wat Pa Kaew
by Phra Dhebsinghaburajarn and English version by Dr. Suchitra Ronruen
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One night I dreamt that I wnet somewhere and met a monk wearing a very old triple robe, the appearance and bearing appropriate to monk. I saw that he was a senior monk, I then paid respect to him. He stoped in front of me saying:
I am Somdech Phra Banaratana of Wat pa Kaew of Ayudhaya. I want you to go to Wat Yai Chaimongkol to see my inscription that I engraved for blessing King Naret the Great of Thailand , on the occasion of the finish of Triumph Poagoda construction. This Triumph Pagoda was built to celebrate King Naret the Great since he triumphed over King Maha Uparaja of Burma and liberated Thailand from Burma for the first time. When you see my inscription, make a note of it and spread it to others. It's time you must know this.
In the dream I accepted his order and he told me where the inscription was kept in the Pagoda. I reflected about my dream and thought that I was mindful all the time and such untrue dreams could not be happening to me. I had been informed the same day that the Fine Arts Department would finish restoring that pagoda and the scaffolding would be pulled down.
I went to the pagoda and climbed up to the top to find way to the buttom. There was a scaffolding and I was determined to climb down though it was very dangerous. If I fell down from the scaffolding, it meant that my life would cease to be . Around 9.00 a.m. I climbed down to the bottom of the pagoda with a flashlight in my hand and saw what Somdech Phra Banaratana had told me in the dream.
I had just realized that the inscription he told me was in fact the chant called ' Bahum Mahaka ' , a well-know chant.
The end of the inscription was written: ' I am somdech Phra Banaratana of Wat pa kaew of Ayudhaya. I engraved this inscription to bless King Naret the Great. ' The ' Bahum Mahaka ' is the chant consisting of Buddhaguna, Dhammaguna, Sanghaguna, Bahum that begins with Bahum Sahassa to Duggahaditthi till Mahakaruniko natho hitaya and ends with Bhavatusabba mangalam...Sabba Buddha Sabba Dhamma, Sabba Sanghanu bhavenasada Sotthi bhavantu te ' , I called this chant ' Bahum Mahaka '
I then understood at that moment that Bahum Mahaka was composed by somdech Phra Banaratana of Wat pa kaew , presented to king Naret so that king should chant daily especially during war time. It aooeared that King Naret never lost the war but won every time even though he was alone with his brother among thousands of Burmese soldiers in the war, but the Burmese still couldn't catch neither he nor his brother because of the protection of this chant.
After I had found what was in my dream, I climbed up with great relief. I spent nearly three hours at the bottom of the pagoda. My body was dusty and covered with spider-webs. A nun saw me and asked in a loud voice. "Luang Poh, did you enter that cave?" But I said nothing. Since then, I have taught this chant to my disciples. Why? Because this chant is the most valuable and it gives the greatest since it comes from the eight hymns of the buddha's glorious triumphs that he had conquered Mara, Alavaka yakkha, the elephant Nalagiri, the robber Angulimala, the woman named Cinca, the mendicant Saccaka,Nandopananda Naga and Baka, the brahma god.One who recites and recollects these eight hymns will be prosperous and mindful. If he dies mindfully, he will be born in Happy states.
I wish that everybody chant this ' Bahum Mahaka ' every day to protect himself as well as his family. If all citizens chant, then our country will be prosperous and ignorant people will disappear from our society.
Not only did King Naret the Great get advantages because of this chant ,but King Tak Sin the Great also got these advantages. There was an ancient memorandum telling this :
" When King Tak Sin the Great conquered Chandaburi, he realized that this war would be serious and would last long. He then ordered his soldiers to make the flag like that of Ayudhaya's and invited senior monks to chant this ' Bahum Mahaka' and he himself followed in King Naret's footsteps and finally could succeed in liberating Thailand from Burma.
" May every household chant this ' Bahum Mahaka ' for prosperity.
