The (, , ; ; sometimes also spelled ) is one 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 ...

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group wi ...

s. It is a Thai version of the ancient Indian epic ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', and an important part of the Thai literary canon.

King Rama VI Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese national ...

was the first person to shed light first on the ''Ramayana'' studies in Thailand, by tracing the sources of the , comparing it with the Sanskrit ''

Valmiki Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. He found that the was influenced by three sources: the

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's Ramayana, the ''

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

'', and ''Hanuman Nataka'' .Lipi Ghosh, 2017
India-Thailand Cultural Interactions: Glimpses from the Past to Present

Springer Publishing Springer Publishing Company is an American publishing company of academic journals and books, focusing on the fields of nursing, gerontology, psychology, social work, counseling, public health, and rehabilitation (neuropsychology). It was estab ...

, pp. 157 A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

. His son,

Rama II Phutthaloetla Naphalai (born Chim; 24 February 1767 or 1768 – 21 July 1824), also known by his regnal name Rama II, was the second King of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, ruling from 1809 to 1824. In 1809, Itsarasunthon succeeded his father R ...

, rewrote some parts of his father's version for ''khon'' drama. The work has had an important influence on

Thai literature 300px, ''Samut Thai'', a traditional medium for recordation and transmission of Thai and other literature in mainland Southeast Asia Thai literature is the literature of the Thai people, almost exclusively written in the Thai language (althoug ...

, art and drama (both the ''

khon Khon (, ) is a dance drama genre from Thailand. Khon has been performed since the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensemble. A variati ...

'' and ''nang'' dramas being derived from it). While the main story is similar to that of the ''Dasaratha Nataka'', differences in some tales still prevail. Many other aspects were transposed into a Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography, and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. As

is considered a

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

society, the Buddhist history latent in the serves to provide Thai legends with a

creation myth A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Cre ...

, as well as representations of various spirits which complement beliefs derived from Thai animism. A painted representation of the is displayed at

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 ...

's Temple of Emerald Buddha, and many of the statues there depict characters from it.

Background

The

came to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

by means of Buddhist missionaries, Indian traders, and scholars who traded with Khmer kingdoms (such as

Funan Funan (; , ; , Chữ Hán: ; ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Khmer-Mon Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''( Mandala)''—located in Mainland Southeast Asia covering ...

and

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 ...

) and

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

, with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties. The Thai adopted from the

Khmer people The Khmer people (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ) are an Austroasiatic ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 95% of Cambodia's population of 17 million.https ...

components of Indianized culture such as the ''

''. In the late first millennium, the epic (written as , but read as ) was adopted by the Thai people. The oldest recordings of the early

Sukhothai kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom was a post-classical Siamese kingdom (Mandala (political model), ''maṇḍala'') in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thaila ...

, dating from the 13th century, include stories from the Jataka legends. The history of the legends was told in the shade theater (Thai: , ), a shadow-puppet show in a style adopted from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, in which the characters were portrayed by leather dolls manipulated to cast shadows on a nearby screen as the audience watched from the other side. The Thai version was first written down in the 18th century, during the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

, following the demise of the Sukhothai government. Most editions, however, were lost when the city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by armies from Burma (modern

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

) in the year 1767. The version recognized today was compiled in the Kingdom of Siam under the supervision of King Rama I (1726–1809), the founder of the

Chakri dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...

, which still maintains the throne of Thailand. Between the years of 1799 and 1807, Rama I supervised this well-known recension and even wrote parts of it. It was also under his reign that construction began on the Thai Grand Palace in

, which includes the grounds of the

Wat Phra Kaew Wat Phra Kaew (, , ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Wat, Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings ...

, enshrining the

Emerald Buddha The Emerald Buddha ( , or , ) is an image of the meditating Gautama Buddha seated in a Meditation attitude, meditative posture, made of a semi-precious green stone (jasper rather than emerald or jade), clothed in gold, and about tall. The imag ...

. The walls of the Wat Phra Kaew are lavishly decorated with paintings representing parts of the .

(1766–1824) further adapted his father's edition of the for ''

'' drama, a form of theater performed by non-speaking Thai dancers in elaborate costumes and masks. Narrations from the were read by a chorus to one side of the stage. This version differs slightly from the one compiled by Rama I, giving an expanded role to

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

, the god-king of the apes, and adding a

happy ending A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which there is a positive outcome for the protagonist or protagonists, and in which this is to be considered a favourable outcome. In storylines where the protagonists are in phy ...

. Since its introduction to the Thai people, the has become a firm component of culture. The of Rama I is considered a masterpiece of

, and is still read and taught in the country's schools. In 1989, Satyavrat Shastri translated the into 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 ...

epic poem (''

mahakavya Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of phenomena such as scenery, love, and battles. T ...

'') named , in 25 s (

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from th ...

s) and about 1,200 stanzas in 14 metres. This work won eleven national and international awards.

Content

The tales of the are similar to those of the

, though transferred to the topography and culture of Ayutthaya, where the

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

of Phra Narai (the Thai incarnation of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, who is also known as Narayana, Govinda, Vasudeva) is reborn as Phra Ram.

Main figures

Divine beings

* Phra Narai/ WitsanuVishnu/Narayana * Phra IsuanShiva (who is also known by the epithet

Ishvara ''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism. Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara, University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of ...

) *

Phra Phrom Phra Phrom (; from Sanskrit: ''Brahmā'', ब्रह्मा) is the Thai representation of the Hindu creator god Brahma. In modern Thailand, Phra Phrom is often worshipped outside of Hindu contexts by regular Buddhists, and, like many other ...

Brahma/Sahampati/Byanma * Phra Uma-thewiconsort of Phra Isuan (Parvati/Uma) * Phra LaksamiLakshmi, the consort of

Narai King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

* Phra In (Indra)king of ( devas) – lesser celestial deities. Divine father of Phali (Vali) * Mali Warat (

Malyavan Malyavan is a character in Hindu mythology, appearing in the epic Ramayana. A rakshasa, he is the son of Sukesha, and the brother of Mālī and Sumālī. He is described to be a major counsellor to the King of Lanka, Ravana, along with also bein ...

)god of justice. Maternal grandfather of Thotsakan (Ravana) * Phra Athit (Aditya/

Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...

)the solar deity. Divine father of Sukhrip (Sugriva) * Phra Phai (Vayu)the wind deity. Father of

. * Phra Witsawakam/Witsanukam ()the artisan god, responsible for rebuilding

Lanka Lanka (; ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary Rakshasa king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks kn ...

after

burned it down and creator of Khitkhin (Kishkindha) in Ramayana and Dvaraka (Capital of Krishna's Kingdom) in the Mahabharata.

Human

* Phra Ramthe Bodhisatta, son of the king Thotsarot (Dasharatha) of

and the incarnation of Phra Narai. * Nang Sida(Sita) wife of Phra Ram, who embodies purity and fidelity. Incarnation of

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. * Phra Phrot (Bharata), Phra Lak (Lakshmana) and Phra Satarut (Shatrughna) Younger half-brothers of Phra Ram, who represent the reincarnated possessions of Phra Narai. * Thotsarot(Dasharatha) is often called Thao Thotsarot. King of

and father of Phra Ram and his brothers. * Nang Kaosuriya (Kausalya)one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Ram. * Nang Kaiyakesi (Kaikeyi)one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Phrot. * Nang Samutthewi (Sumitra)one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Lak and Phra Satarut.

Allies of Phra Ram

god-king of the apes, who supported Phra Ram and acted as his

vanara In Hinduism, Vanara () are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people. In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-like beings. Etymology There ...

general. * Phali Thirat (Vali)king of Khitkhin (Kishkindha), elder brother of Sukhrip and uncle of

. * Sukhrip (Sugriva)viceroy of Kitkin, younger brother of Phali and uncle of

. * Ongkhot (

Angada Angada (Sanskrit: अङ्गदः, IAST: Aṅgada) is a legendary vanara in Hinduism. He helps Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana, in the epic Ramayana. He is the son of Vali (Ramayana), Vali and prince of Kishkindha, an ...

)ape-prince and son of the Pali Thirat and NanMontho(Devi Tara), cousin of

. * Phiphek (Vibhishana)estranged brother of Thotsakan. He is an excellent astrologist and provided valuable information to Phra Ram in defeating Thotsakan. * Chomphuphan (Jambavan)Bear-prince and adopted son of Phali, an expert in the healing arts and acted as the troop's medic.

Enemies of Phra Ram

* Thotsakan (Ravana) (from )king of the rakshasas of

and strongest of Phra Ram's adversaries. Thotsakan has ten faces, twenty arms, and possesses a myriad of weapons. * Intharachit (Indrajit)a son of Thotsakan. Phra Ram's second most powerful adversary. Intharachit uses his bow more than any other weapon. He once fired arrows (Nagabat Arrows), which turned into Nagas (or snakes) in mid-air and rained down on Phra Ram's army. He once had a blessing from the Phra Isuan that he shall not die on land but in the air, and if his severed head were to touch the ground, it will bring down great destruction. * Kumphakan (Kumbhakarna) of Thotsakan and commander of demonic forces. * Maiyarap (Mahiravana)king of the Underworld, embodied as a donkey. * Khon (Khara), Thut (Dushana) and Trisian (Trishira)younger brothers of Thotsakan, and the first three to be killed by Phra Ram, in that order.

Plot

The text can be split into three logical parts: the first one dealing with the origins of the main characters, the second depicting the dramatic events including the fall of Thotsakan, and the final part describing what happened afterwards.

Part One

The first part begins with the story of Phra Narai in the form of a boar vanquishing the demon

Hiranyaksha Hiranyaksha (, ), also known as Hiranyanetra () was an asura king as per Hindu mythology. He is described to have submerged the earth and terrorised the three worlds. He was slain by the Varaha (wild boar) avatar of Vishnu, who rescued the ...

. This is followed by an account of the origins of the ancestors of Thotsakan. According to Ramakien, Phra Isuan grants his servant Nonthok (Bhasmasura) a boon that enables him to change his finger into a diamond and destroy anyone at whom he points it. As Nonthok begins to abuse this power, Phra Narai assumes the form of a charming woman who dances in front of Nonthok, who tries to imitate the movement of her hands. At one moment, he points the diamond finger towards himself and instantly dies. Nonthok is later reborn as Thotsakan. He also has four brothers and a sister, as well as half-siblings. Thotsakan first marries Kala Akhi (Mandodari), the daughter of Kala Nakha (Mayasura) of the underworld, and later receives Nang Montho as a gift from Phra Isuan. Thotsakan and Kala Akhi have a son with the first name Ronapak (Meghanada); after his victory over Indra, he is called Intharachit(Winner of Indra). The text then explains the origins of the

simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkey, Platyrrhini (New World mon ...

characters Phali and Sukhrip. They are born to Kala Acana (Anjana), the wife of king Khodam (Kesari), as a result of her adultery with Phra In and Phra Athit. When King Khodam immerses them in a lake to test their legitimacy, they turn into monkeys and vanish into the forest. Phra Isuan grants Phali a magic trident, which will transfer to Phali half the strength of anyone fighting him. Sukhrip is rewarded with a beautiful young maiden Dara (Tara), but Phali takes her for himself. Later, Phali also seizes Thotsakan's consort Nang Montho, and they have a son named Ongkhot before she is returned to Thotsakan. Finally, Phali banishes Sukhrip to the forest where he meets Hanuman. Hanuman is said to be born after Phra Isuan places his celestial weapons in the mouth of Sawaha, the daughter of Kala Acana. Hanuman at first stays with Phali and Sukhrip, but later decides to join Sukhrip in his banishment in the forest. Rama, known in the Ramakien as Phra Ram, has ancestors tracing back to Phra Narai through King Thotsarot. Phra Ram himself is a reincarnation of Phra Narai, and his brothers Phra Lak, Phra Phrot and Phra Satarut are manifestations of Phra Narai's emblems: the serpent, the discus, and the mace, respectively. Phra Ram's consort Nang Sida is a reincarnation of Phra Narai's consort Laksami, but she is born as the daughter of Thotsakan in Lanka and adopted by king Chonok (Janaka) of

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

Part Two

Part two deals with the main drama of the story. Phra Ram and Nang Sida fall in love at first sight before an archery contest. A hunchback named Kucci (Manthara) instigates the queen to ask for the banishment of Phra Ram. He sets off to live in the forest with Nang Sida and his brother Phra Lak, where they meet Sammanakha (Surpanakha) who took on the form of a beautiful maiden. She tries to seduce the two brothers, but they resist and punish her. As revenge, Thotsakan abducts Nang Sida to his palace in Lanka. Phra Ram and Phra Lak meet Hanuman, Sukhrip, and another Vanara, Chomphuphan, and ask them to help find Nang Sida. When Hanuman locates Nang Sida in Lanka, he identifies himself by showing her ring and kerchief and retelling the secret of her first meeting with Phra Ram. Hanuman is then caught by Thotsakan's son Intharachit but escapes while setting Lanka on fire. On returning to Phra Ram, Hanuman helps build a causeway with the help of Nal and Nil to connecting Sri Lanka With Indian mainland and the war with Thotsakan begins. After a lot of fighting and attempts of treachery by Thotsakan's allies, Phra Ram manages to kill Thotsakan and Intharachit and free Nang Sida. After she passes a fire ordeal to test her faithfulness, Phra Ram takes her with him to Ayutthaya and grants various parts of his kingdom to his allies.

Part three

After Nang Sida draws a picture of Thotsakan on a slate, Phra Ram orders Phra Lak to take her to the forest and kill her. Instead of doing as commanded, he brings to Phra Ram the heart of a doe to trick him into believing that Nang Sida is dead. In the forest, Nang Sida finds refuge with a hermit named Wachamarik Valmiki, and she gives birth to two sons: Phra Monkut (Kusha) and Phra Loph (Lava). Phra Ram decides to take her back to Ayutthaya, but she refuses and disappears into the Underworld. Finally, Phra Isuan brings Phra Ram and Nang Sida together again.Singaravelu, S. (1982). The Rama story in the Thai cultural tradition. Bangkok: Siam Society.

References

External links

NAMELIST AND PICTURES OF RAMAKIEN CHARACTERS
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cixspWFjbUM&list=PLfp3OAuMmnMn3dSQn8ZrW_1hbhhmno-bE A Ramakian Tale – Thai Ramakien Myth (Youtube audio book series) {{Ramayana Epic poems in Thai Works based on the Ramayana