Phra Siam Devadhiraj (, ) is a guardian deity personifying supernatural protection over the country of

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 ...

. The deity (''deva'', a

sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

origin word, sometimes translated as "god" or "angel") is represented by an

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

enshrined in the Phaisan Thaksin Throne Hall of the

Grand Palace The Grand Palace (, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. . ) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the officia ...

. The statue, tall and made of solid gold, was commissioned by King

Mongkut Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization ini ...

(Rama IV), probably around the years 1859–1860. It shows the ''deva'' in royal dress, holding a sword in the right hand and with the left hand at chest level in a blessing posture. The deity is worshipped in an annual private royal ceremony on the first waxing moon of the fifth Thai lunar month, which marks the traditional New Year in the

Thai lunar calendar The Thai lunar calendar (, , , literally, ''Specific days according to lunar norms''), or Tai calendar, is a lunisolar Buddhist calendar. It is used for calculating lunar-regulated holy days. Based on the ''SuriyaYatra'', with likely influence fr ...

References

Thai deities Statues in Thailand Monarchy of Thailand National personifications Tutelary deities {{Thailand-stub

See also

References