Historical & Cultural Ties between India & Thailand

by Mrs Wanna Sudjit, Cultural Attache to the Thai Consulate, Mumbai

http://www.orientalthane.com/history/news_2003_11_15.htm

excerpts:

1. "The ceremonies of coronation of Thai kings are practiced more or less in its original form even up to the present reign. The Thai idea that the king is a reincarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu was adopted from Indian tradition. [Jan: Same idea is held in Nepal.] Though this belief no longer exists today, the tradition to call each Thai king of the present Chakri dynasty Rama (Rama is a reincarnation of Vishnu) with an ordinal number, such as Rama I, Rama II etc. is still in practice.

2. Thai literature and drama draws great inspiration from Indian arts and legend. The Hindu epic of Ramayana is as popular in Thailand as it is in India. Thailand has adapted the Ramayana to suit the Thai lifestyle in the past and has come up with its own version of the Ramayana, namely, the 'Ramakien'.

3. 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, 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 Pali through the medium of the old Khmer characters.

4. Loy Krathong - the Festival of Lights which is celebrated on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month, when the rainy season has ended and the rivers and streams are filled with water. The floating of lanterns, which began in the Sukhothai period, continued throughout the different stages of Thai history. Prior to setting their krathong afloat, people place in it a lighted candle, incense sticks, flowers, a coin and some food offerings. They make a silent prayer of thanks for the water received, a request for forgiveness for wrongs done, and a wish for the fulfillment of a secret dream. The present day understanding is that the festival is celebrated as an act of worship to Chao Mae Kangka, the Goddess of the Waters, for providing the water much needed throughout the year, and as a way of asking forgiveness if they have polluted it or used it carelessly.

5. According to the Thai monk Venerable Buddhadasa Bhikku's writing, 'India's Benevolence to Thailand', the Thais also obtained the methods of making herbal medicines from the Indians. Some plants like sarabhi of Guttiferae family, kanika or hursinghar, phikun or mimusops and bunnak or the rose chestnut etc. were brought from India. He pointed out that Thai food too was influenced by India. He claimed that Thai people learned how to use spices in their food in various ways from Indians".

Vedic Thailand Lives on

http://hinduism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsi...2/6/28.html%233

Chennai, June 10:

The successor to the present Rajaguru of the Royal Government of Thailand is all set to undergo training in different subjects such as purohitam, karmakanda, sastras, Sanskrit and Tamil at Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya at Enathur near Kanchipuram.

The 12-year-old Brahmin boy is currently on a visit to Chennai along with Pra Rajaguru Vamadevamuni, Chief of Royal Court Brahmanas, Royal Government of Thailand.

Speaking at a reception organised by The Hindu Rakshana Samiti and Hindu Dharmaparipalana Sabha here Saturday, the Rajaguru recalled age-old cultural links between Thailand and India, in particular Tamilnadu.

Referring to Ramayana, he said the epic had a tremendous impact on Thais as can be seen from a number of dramas on the Ramayana staged in the country. The other fine arts also reflected ethos of the magnificent saga, he added. Mural paintings on Ramayana at the Royal Thai Temple stood as a testimony to the special affinity of Thais for the epic.

Continuing in the same vein, Pra Rajaguru Vamadevamuni spoke of Tiruppavai and Thiruvembavai, two devotional works in Tamil and said just like in Tamilnadu, they were sung in the month of Margazhi in Thailand.

Expressing his concern over the decline in number of Brahmins and Hindu rituals in the East Asian nation, Rajaguru Vamadevamuni said he had discussed the issue with the Sankaracharyas of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and also mooted training younger generation of Brahmins in the State. He said he got a concrete assurance from the Kanchi seers in this regard.

On the relationship between Hindus and Buddhists-the predominant communities in Thailand, he said that despite being a Buddhist nation, the relationship between them could not be better and assured the gathering that he would do his best to foster cultural links between Thailand and India. The Rajaguru also said he was planning to organise a seminar in this connection soon.

Delivering his benedictory address, Swami Dayananda Saraswathi spoke on the need of a guru to the ruler of a country to advise him on the rights and wrongs. A guru must be a dispassionate person and should not be a ' aye man ' , he said.

It is a difficult task to advise a ruler on the proper course of action and clear doubts in a critical situation and towards this end one must have an acharya, he reasoned.

Swami Dayananda Saraswathi presented the citation and a Gayatri lamp to the Brahmin Temple at Bangkok to the Rajaguru.

Sri Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal read out a few passages from the speech of Sri Chandrasekharendra Swamigal at the fourth Akhila Bharata Sarvaskha Veda Sammelanam at Vijayawada which the then Rajaguru attended and spoke elaborately on the age-old links between the two nations.

Thambiran Swamigal from Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam gave away prasadam to the Rajaguru on behalf of the head of the Adheenam.

Chamanlal, a senior RSS activist and in-charge of the international activities of the sangh, who specially flew to Chennai from New Delhi as the representative of the Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, presented a bouquet and a silver bowl to the Rajaguru.

Dr Chirapat Prapandvidya, director, Sanskrit Studies Centre, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, spoke on the cultural links between Tamilnadu and Thailand.

Cho S Ramaswamy, editor, Thuglak and Rajya Sabha MP and S Gurumurthy, Chartered Accountant and columnist, offered felicitations.

Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, vice-president, Hindu Dharma Rakshana Samiti, welcomed the gathering and A N Srinivasa Rao, president, Dharma Paripalana Sabha, proposed a vote of thanks.

siamese got these DIRECTLY from khmer empire!

Yep. We got Indian influence thru Buddhism.

from Khmer empire

I'm not surprised the Thais didn't mention the Khmer influence...after all, they even claim the Angkor Wat. lol

this thread makes me wonder

wonder bout what? siamese can't accept the truth?

Some people on AF really do have wounds or something.

I'm too lazy to this but well, I'll repeat it again.

- Things influenced by Ancient Khom, we do say so.
- Things influenced by China, we do say so.
- Things influenced by India, we do say so.

And they stated the origins of whether how the influences came...and so as those from India.

If you haven't really visited Thailand and you haven't really read Thai history books, then don't you make up ideas just because your parents or your friends (who don't like Thailand) say so.

We have never claimed Angkor Wat. It's not in our books or in our conversations. I mean as I was born and I live in Thailand....I haven't heard of that idea from Thais but I only hear it all the time from Khmer people.

Well....

Great post.....I like I like.

i think its pathetic how some people still have a tribal mentality in the 21st century, especially from a nationalistic perspective by stereotyping people from a thailand as all having certain traits and charasteristics (claiming to have built angkor wat is one that comes up quite often). last time i checked there was this thing called "human agency" whereby human beings are quite capable of making their own minds up and are also quite different from one another. i think some people on here claim to have an intense dislike of thais based on stereotypes their friends/internet contacts/family/books tell them but in reality have never been to thailand or met any thai in people thailand (so the only thais they have met - if any - have been from abroad). its the kind of idiotic behaviour i expect from a bunch of low level secondary school students (and this is coming from an 18 year old). its a good thing i don't what most people here say seriously, otherwise i would have a very low opinion of alot of nationalities.

siam do claim lotsa sh!t

อย่าไปซีเรียสกับ พวกบักเสี่ยวบนนี้มากเลยน้อง......

Kate, you have to understand that the majority of Khon Thai are very ignorant. I'm not saying all, but the a lot of them are.

You never heard of it in Thailand that has to be the biggest crap I have ever heard... wasn't this on the news or something before about the Thai Embassy being burnt for that cause ? It may not be in your records but I'm sure the Thai people are still passing that false information around claiming that you guys built it. You even claim that your culture has been there first before the present day Khmers and Lao. I'm been researching a lot more lately and it seems that the Thais have been borrowing, stealing, being influenced whatever you want to call it by the Lao people also, but I know for a fact you guys were influenced by the Khmers as of how we were influenced by our Kings and Princes which they are Indians. You guys have no direct contact with India at all and you know it.

Yeah... few years ago, Thai embassy in Combodia was burnt.
What Thai newspaper said is khmer people thought that a Thai star Kob Suwanan claim that Angkor Wat is Thai.
But I haven't heard that from her by myself.
The Buddha (the religion in Thailand that influenced by Khmer; if I can please you that) said that you should not believe any things even though it comes from your teacher, your parents, the rumours that sound reasonable until you prove it by yourself, see it with your eyes and hear it by your ears.
So have you heard she said about that by yourself?
I guess NO... and so do Thai people.
Just only a rumour in a newspaper, hundreds of khmer people could gather and burn down Thai embassy.
Why do you believe things so easily??
You said Thai people are brainwashed, and what about you???

Good night guys too much fairy tale from our beloved neighbor and it made me so sleepy.

To me rumors don't go around unless someone says something and it's a bigger threat to me that someone has the balls to even say something in the first place... I usually would only defend myself unless I know it's a cause to do so. Cambodians being brainwashed ? Yes we may have killed our own people during the Khmer Rouge Regime but at least our kids don't go to school being taught by their teachers with false history. I believe that most Thais don't like to hear the truth am I not right ?

And who were these Khoms? Anyway I found this quite interesting




Full Source:: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...mp;pagewanted=1

those rumours could always be created to execute a certain action and have a reason to justify it. It's funny how those hundreds of people who burnt the Thai embassy down claim to have read/saw/heard the Thai actress claim Angkor to be Thai YET there is no physical evidence? HOW STRANGE?!

so because a few entrepreneurs (in this case coincidentally being THAI) enter into Cambodia's tourism industry whereby directly involved with Angkor and becoem successful at what they do - it is translated to Thailand trying to CLAIM Angkor .. so all those foreign organisations and firms entering into China's market at the moment and setting up shop - they too must be claiming China as their own?

So in this case... what is the truth??

"Something you must dig through to understand yourself..."

Cambodian community radio station put down fake news about Thai actress saying "Angkor was Thai", without any evidence.
That actress ("Kob""Suwa-none Kongying) even came out on the popular variety T.V. show and asked for the prove from Cambodia government. They could never show any record or TV show to prove she've said anything like that.
.....But the embussy was already burnt, the hatred had been evoke......Just because of what? The argument between Thai and Cambodian government on the issue in the Siamese Gulf? Just for the oil? So they make their people hate their neigbor?This is too lame for any government to do so...

Again guys! Angkor wat is belong to the cambodians...We do respect that....Thailand already lost that piece of land to France since 1907( the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907)....We accepted and again We do respect that......So enjoy your glory!....

P.S.Please stop telling us things we didn't do...

I'm not trying to directly say you guys actually did it, but like I have said it's just rumors going around and I wanted to find out what you guys had to say... I just needed to confirm that whether it was true or not. I respect that you understand that it belongs to us now, but on the last line that you have stated...

Thailand already lost that piece of land to France since 1907( the Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907)....We accepted and again We do respect that......So enjoy your glory!

Before we go back in time... that land still belonged to us since the beginning of the Khmer Empire. I guess it's good to know that we finally got our piece of land back and you know as bad as it is... we already lost most of what we have... I'm just hoping for the better that my people will just keep rebuilding of what we lost through our own actions.

In the other hand I will not debate over this issue anymore... I'm hoping you guys will understand that we aren't complaining... we are just expressing our feelings of what has happened to our torn country... we were once prosperous but look at us now...

Fair enough

But I need to point out one thing, too.We can't really blame any races for the land taken away by another Empire in the past in the warfare. Every Empire did their territory expansion.....Funan Empire defeated by Chenla(Campuchea)Empire.....Campuchea Empire defeated by Ayodthaya Empire........Ayodthaya Empire defeated by Burma empire......Burma empire defeated by Ayodthaya empire....back and forth.......They were all fought in the same maners with their armies....Let us leave it there,shall we?.....It's all in the past,"history".....[b]We just learn from it,make sure the history won't repeat itself,and nothing more[/b].....After all we are all related somehow.......

Ah Thanks... Next time when I want to understand myself, I have to ask you then.
Seems like you have much more time to pay attention to others, don't you?

Is this another rumor?

Thais on high alert of another anti-Thai riots in Cambodia [-Thailand contesting the ownership of Preah Vihear again?]
Thu, June 28, 2007
The Nation (Thailand)


Thai authorities have gone on high alert for fear of another antiThai riot in Cambodia after the Bangkok government opposed Cambodia's efforts to get ancient Hindu shrine Preah Vihear Temple on the Unesco's World Heritage.

Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh held an urgent meeting of Thai nationals in Cambodia last week to go over an evacuation after it was informed of the government's position on the matter.

The Thai government objected the Cambodian's plan because are a number of unsettled matters between Thailand and Cambodia concerning Preah Vihear, particularly that the joint border has yet to be demarcated.

Unesco decided on Wednesday not to include the ancient shrine on its World Heritage list, thus, heightening a growing fear among Thai authorities of another chaos.

Thai Foreign Ministry feared that history would repeat itself. In 2003 an antiThai riot broke out, mainly in Phnom Penh, was hundreds of Cambodians went on a rampage, looting and attacking Thai business and embassy. The incident erupted after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen lend legitimacy to an unconfirmed report that a Thai celebrity has made a derogatory remarks against the Cambodian people.

The Cambodian government has over the recent years renewed their efforts to have Unesco classify the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site.

Cambodia wanted the temple, which lies in the Northwest border of the country but perched on the Thai border, to be recognised as a World Heritage monument to help assure its continued preservation.