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Ramayana - A Timeless Tale

The Greatest influence on almost all of the arts of South east Asian region has been from India.  The "Ramayana" tells of good defeating evil. It offers inspiration and spiritual fulfillment .

This sacred Epic has been deeply etched in the collective psyche of all the countries of Southeast Asia.

In second place, but far behind, has been the cultural forms from China. Of all the Indian inspirations, the most important ones have been related to the Ramayana – an epic story of Prince Rama, his loving wife Sita, and their adventures following her abduction and rescue from a demon-king Ravana. Each episode of the story provides entertainment, but also instruction on the virtues: courage, honesty, morality, loyalty, duty and trustworthiness. The great theme is that of the triumph of good over evil. Another Indian masterpiece is the Mahabharata, which tells of heroic struggles among the ruling families of India.   

 

The Thai Ramakien: Literally means "Ram akhyan".. 

 In Southeast Asia, the story of Rama has become a traditional part of culture in Buddhist Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. In Malaysia and Indonesia.

Watch Video on Save Ramsetu. Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledgeWatch video - Brahmins in India have become a minority

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In India, where plays have been presented in almost every community for centuries, everyone knows the epics almost by heart. In Southeast Asia, the story of Rama has become a traditional part of culture in Buddhist Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. In Malaysia and Indonesia, this story had become popular long before the conversion of the people to Islam. It is kept alive, in slightly modified versions, in all countries of the region.

(source: Southeast Asia: Earliest Indianized Kingdoms – By M Ladd Thomas  p. 45 -  79 and 80 - 84).

Ramayana is well known to the Thai people as Ramakien, the name being derived from the Sanskrit term Ramakirti. According to their knowledge, it was written by Sri Valmiki more than 2000 years ago.  

The Ramayana or Ramakien has been appreciated by the Thai people for ages. In Ayudhya period it was regarded as the sacred story and is because of the story of Ramayan that the first King of Ayudhya was named Rama and its capital, Ayudhya. The Ramayana written by Ramayana scholars in Thailand is divided into 7 Kandhas or sections.  

The Ramayana story as found in Thailand, according to the great scholar of Thai literature, Phraya Anumanrajthon, did not come directly from India, but it came from Indonesia about 900 years ago. At that time on a lot of ruins are depicted the scenes from the Ramayana story. One of the most outstanding examples is found in the stone shrine “Prasat Hin Pimai” in the Pimai district, Nakhon Rathaseema Province, north-east of Bangkok. In King Ramkhamhang’s inscriptions was mentioned the cave of Rama and Sita. 

At a later time, when Taksin became King of Dhonburi, he wrote the Ramayana in Thai verses. They are of 2012 verses in four volumes: 

  1. Phra Mangkuta practicing the art of bow.
  2. Hanuman courting Nang Vanarin.
  3. King Malivaraj ajdudiating the case.
  4. Thosakan (Dasakantha) setting up the ceremony of making sand acid to be his weapon.

(source: The Ramayana Tradition in Asia - By V Raghavan. p. 245 - 255).

Ayuthaya has a great significance for Indians. The name Ayuthaya was derived from the original Sanskrit name Ayodhya. This city (Ayodhya) was the capital of the ancient Hindu Kingdom (around 1500 BC) of Rama, a great king and hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana. The ancient city still exists and is situated on the banks of the Sarayu River in the northern part of India.

Although Thailand is today predominantly Buddhist, there are traces of Hindu influence, visible mostly in the court ceremonials. Until recently, the court Rajguru Brahmins cast horoscopes, consulted omens, and performed worship of both Hindu and Buddhist deities. Ceremonies of coronation, tonsure, cremation, and lesser rites connected with agriculture were developed by the Brahmins. The Siamese call their coronation by its ancient Sanskrit designation, the Rajabhiseka. The entire complex of coronation ceremonies, such as homa (sacrifice of Fire), purificatory rites, ablutions, anointment, are closely modelled on Hindu rituals, and are presided over by the Brah Maha Raja Guru.  

The tonsure ceremony in Siam is a rite of initiation of youths, corresponding to the Hindu Cudakarma Mangala, which is very important Hindu Samskara. Cremation, an old Vedic rite, is the only means of disposal of the remains of deceased royalty in Siam. 

 

       

Even today, the Kings of Thailand bear the royal title is Rama, a Hindu avatar, and the story of Ramayana is depicted on the palace and temple walls of Bangkok. 

Watch Video on Save Ramsetu

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Even today, the Kings of Thailand bear the Royal title is Rama, a Hindu avatar, and the story of Ramayana is depicted on the Royal Palace and temple walls of Bangkok.   

Hindu festivals such as Dashahara, commemorating the victory of Rama over the demon king Ravana, are still observed in Thailand. 

The Thais, like the Hindus, still believe in Vishnu or Naryana (Phra Narain), and Mahadeva or Siva, and dislike the asuras (asuns) as the enemies of the devas. 

Famous Indian works, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Shakuntala have formed the basis of some of the outstanding Siamese literature. 

The Ramayana, known in Siam as the Ramakien "Ram - Akhyan" where Akhya is a Sanskrit word meaning "rendition of the story of".  

Phendin-Klang Rama II (1809-24), was an outstanding poet, producing Thai translations of the Hindu Ramayana.

It is regarded as Siamese classic. Knowledge of this work is as essential for a cultured Siamese as Homer used to be for an European. The epic and Puranic literature of India constituted the principal source of inspiration not only for Siam but for the whole of Southeast Asia. It provided the themes for classical theatre, shadow theatre, and marionette shows. 

Indian influence is clearly seen on Siamese dance, drama, and music. Many of the themes of Siam's various dance-dramas (lakhon-ram) are drawn from Indian stories: for example, the story of Savitri and Satyavan. Many Thai musical instruments closely resemble those of India. The Siamese legal system is directly descended from the Manusmriti. The Hindu Dharmasastras, provided the framework for Siamese justice. 

Thai language too bears close affinity with Indian An indication of the close linguistic affiliation between India and Thailand can be found in common Thai words like Ratha Mantri, Vidhya, Samuthra, Prachinpuri, Karuna, Prannee etc. which are almost identical to their Indian counterparts. Thai language basically consists of monosyllabic words that are individually complete in meaning. His Majesty King Ramkhamhaeng the Great created the Thai alphabet in 1283. He modeled it on the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pai through the medium it on the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pali through the medium of the old Khmer characters.  

 

Angkorwat - miniature in Bangkok Palace, Thailand.

(source: webmaster's own collection of photos taken during a recent visit).

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The tales of the Ramakien are similar to those of the Ramayana, though transferred to the topography and culture of Ayutthaya, where the avatar of Phra Narai (the Thai incarnation of Vishnu) is reborn as Phra Ram. 

The Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya, named after Rama’s capital of Ayodhya, was itself sacked and destroyed by invading armies from Myanmar in the 18th century, resulting in the loss of literary works. When a new capital was established at Bangkok shortly after, one of the first tasks of King Rama I, who took on the name of the hero of the epic, was to have the lost Ramakian composed again. The episodes were rearranged, however, in a more linear time fashion. In addition, Tamil tradition probably played an important role in the royal literary effort, for the Thai epic has many features in common with southern Indian ideas, such as strong females (which also is an indigenous Thai trait), soul transfer, and characters magically transforming themselves into other beings. Many of the ogres have special powers or weapons, and they are defeated in unique ways with help from Vibhisana. Hanuman becomes as lover to many women and has several wives, thus completely going against the entire Indian tradition in which he remains celibate and unmarried. The brothers of Rama and even his sons battle against the surviving ogres and destroy them, thus repeating several motifs and greatly increasing the length of the epic.

(source: A Timeless Tale).

Thailand, Nepal honor legendary Indian King - Janak of Ancient Mithila

A legendary Indian king is being feted by Nepal and Thailand.

The two countries are coming together to pay a tribute to King Janak of ancient Mithila on the occasion of the 76th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand as well as the Thai National Day. The Nepalese translation of a magnum opus by the Thai king himself, "The Mahajanaka: The Story of King Janak of Ancient Mithila", will be distributed free in Nepal to symbolise the ties between Nepal and Thailand. The genesis of the royal book goes back to 1977 when King Bhumibol was listening to a sermon about King Janak from "Tripitaka", the sacred texts of Theravada Buddhism.

The Thai royal was especially impressed by a tale about King Janak's visit to the royal park in Mithila, believed to have been located in modern day Bihar in India. At the entrance of the park, the story went, stood a fruit-bearing mango tree and a barren one. While coming out of the park, the king saw that the mango tree with delicious fruits had been uprooted by his entourage. The parable taught the lesson that good things are endangered by greed.

King Janak is said to have been revered for his just ways as well as being the father of Sita, the consort of god Ram.

"The underlying themes of self-reliance, moderation and compassion in the story of King Janak struck a chord with the king's Thai subjects who were increasingly disenchanted with materialism in an era of instant gratification," wrote Sudhindra Sharma, a visiting scholar at The Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

The Thai king's daughter, Princess Maha Chakkri Sirindhorn, a student of linguistics and Sanskrit, is said to be researching King Janak and Mithila.


(source:
Thailand, Nepal honor legendary Indian King Newindpress.com - December 6 2003). Watch Scientific verification of Vedic knowledge

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