Māravijaya attitude is an attitude of Buddha in Thai art of which the seated Buddha is putting his hand in the relax posture towards to the ground, loosely holding his knee. The other hand is on his lap. His eyes, sometimes closed, look down to the ground. The gesture of the hand reaching the ground is called '' bhumisparshamudra'', which also refers to the attitude as well. The gesture refers to the episode which the Buddha calling the earth to witness. The attitude refers to the episode that he was reaching the

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and being disturbed by

mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

s. Learning that the maras asked him to give up, he touched the ground and called the Phra Mae Thorani to help him fight with the maras. Thoranee called tonnes of water and flooded away the maras. The episode results in the name ''Mara Vichai'' which means the "Victory (vichai) over the Mara". The ''Māravijaya'' seated Buddha is considered the common attitude for principal Buddha in of Khmer, Lao and Thai

wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

s and Burmese ''kyaung''s. The Dakkhinasakha style of the Buddha in Burmese art features the Buddha in the Māravijaya attitude.

Names

The iconography is known by various names throughout Southeast Asia. In Burmese art, the attitude is called the ''bhūmiphassa mudrā'' (). In

Khmer art The history of Cambodian art () stretches back centuries to ancient times, but the most famous period is undoubtedly the Khmer art of the Khmer Empire (802–1431), especially in the area around Angkor and the 12th-century temple-complex of Angk ...

, this attitude of Buddha is called ''preah pud (buddha) p'chanh mea'' (), which means the sacred buddha defeating the enemy (māra). In Thai art, this attitude is variously called ''mara vichai'' (, ), ''Chana Mara'' (ชนะมาร; victory over the Mara), and ''Sadoung Mara'' (สะดุ้งมาร; striking fear into the Mara).

Notable examples

As mentioned, the ''Māravijaya'' Buddha is the most commonly-built Buddha, some of the notable

Buddharupa Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained ...

s in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

that are built depicting the ''Māravijaya'' are: *

Great Buddha of Thailand The Big Buddha of Thailand, also known as The Great Buddha, The Big Buddha of Thailand, Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin, and Mahaminh Sakayamunee Visejchaicharn (; ) is a statue of the Buddha, located in Ang Thong Province of Thailand. It is the tall ...

* Phuket Big Buddha * Golden Buddha of

Wat Traimit Wat Traimit Witthayaram Worawihan () is a Theravada Buddhist temple (wat) in Samphanthawong district, the Chinatown area of the Thai capital Bangkok. Probably dating to the early Rattanakosin period, it was previously known as Wat Sam Chin () an ...

*Phra Achana in

Sukhothai Historical Park Sukhothai Historical Park (Pronunciation) covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in north central Thailand. It is near the city of Sukhothai Thani, capital ...

Gallery

File:Preah Pithu25.JPG, Double row of sculpted Buddhas in sanctuary chamber of temple "X" of Preah Pithu,

Angkor Angkor ( , 'capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura (; ),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Bureau of Special Research in Modern Languages. The Catholic Uni ...

, Cambodia. File:Phra Buddha Shinnasee (I).jpg, in Phitsanulok province File:Phra Putta Trilokachet.jpg, at

Wat Suthat Wat Suthat Thepwararam (, ) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok (23 in Thailand). Construction was begun by King Rama I in 1807. In the beginning, it was initiall ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

File:Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin Sakayamuni Sri Wisetchaichan 2.jpg,

File:Big Buddha - Phuket, Thailand.JPG, Phuket Big Buddha File:Laos - Luang Prabang 105 - Buddha statue at Wat Xieng Thong (6582771709).jpg, at

Wat Xieng Thong Wat Xieng Thong (, ; "Temple of the Golden City") is a Buddhist temple (vat or wat) on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Prabang, Laos.Lall, Vikram. ''The Golden Lands: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand & Vietnam / Vikram L ...

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

File:Wat Traimitr Golden Buddha.png, Golden Buddha of

References

Thai Buddha Attitudes translations
*translated from :th:ปางมารวิชัย on

Thai Wikipedia The Thai Wikipedia () is the Thai language edition of Wikipedia. It was started on 25 December 2003. As of , it has articles and registered users. As of March 2022, Wikipedia (all languages combined) was ranked 14th in Alexa's Top Sites Thail ...

External links

*{{commons-inline, Bhumisparshamudra Buddhist art Buddhist iconography Laotian art Thai Buddhist art and architecture Buddhism in Laos Cultural depictions of Gautama Buddha