MAHABHARATA IN THAILAND
By Amara Srisuchat
The two Sanskrit inscriptions with Pallava script
of the 6th century AD from Ubon Ratchathani Province, North-eastern Thailand,
that are regarded as the inscriptions of King Mahendaravarmadeva, the second
king of Khmer Kingdom, tell us the name of the king, Citrasena, before his
coronation.
Citrasena is the name of various beings, i.e. gandharva, naga, and human beings.
As the name of human beings, Citrasena is the name of various warriors (on the
side) of both Kauravas and Pandavas.
We do not know whose name in Mahabharata that was derived to be the name of king
Mahendaravarmadeva that found in the inscriptions. However, from the content in
the two inscriptions we know that Citrasena or king Mahendaravarmadeva was a
Hindu and a worshipper of Shiva linga, thus he should have a Brahmin counsellor
who had knowledge of Mahabharata and named him Citrasena, derived from the name
of the hero in the epic.
The above-said inscriptions were established by the Hindu king, who,
indisputably adopted the wisdom of Mahabharata through his Brahmin counsellor.
This is a very common phenomenon for the Hindu communities at that time. The
interesting phenomenon is the adoption of Hindu concept into the Buddhist
communities. That is to say, the main Buddhist state of Central Thailand in the
6th to 9th century AD is called Dvaravati. This Buddhist state is named after
the capital of the Vrshnis. Another name of the capital of the Vrshnis is
Dvaraka. According to Mahabharata, Dvaravati is the place of the Yadavas and
their most celebrated leader is Krshna Vasudeva.
The word Dvaravati was also adopted by the Thai people in the later period; that
is to say, in the mid. 14th - 18th century the capital of Siamese Kingdom
(Thailand) known as Ayutthaya in the present Thai Language and Yodia by the
European countries, is the corrupted name from its full name Dvaravati Sri
Ayodhya. In this sense, the capital name of Krishna, Dvaravati, was combined
with those of Rama, Ayodhya, in order to invent the name of the ancient capital
of Thailand.
The Pallava script and Sanskrit language reading Sridvaravati Svarapunya is
found on the silver coins of the Dvaravati state. Influence of the Dvaravati
state spreads into the lower North, the Northeast and the South regions of
Thailand. The Buddhist sculptures, sanctuaries and inscriptions recording
Buddhist aphorism are broadly found in many towns of the regions. Some Hindu
sculptures are also found in the towns of Dvaravati and the eminent ones
reflecting the inspiration from Mahabharata are the images of Krsna and Surya
(the Sun-God) in spite of the fact that Dvaravati's Inscriptions made no mention
of the names of Krshna and of Surya.
An incomplete inscription from Sung Noen District, Nakhonratchasima Province in
the Northeastern Thailand, of the 10th century AD, explains the ability and the
activity of a king who rules the town at that time. It has a paragraph telling
us about the perception of the local people on Mahabharata. The paragraph reads:
pandavepi sata sista sammato. The Pandavas is referred to as the ideal
instruction for the warriors.
In the 10th century inscription of Lavapura town in Central Thailand (presently
Lopburi Province) gives information on an image called Sri Parama Vasudeva that
is protected and taken care by the chief of the community and it has been a
ritual ceremony for worshipping everyday under the command of Lavapura's king
who allotted the land and the benefit from the land to the sanctuary for the
image. It is believed that the image mentioned in the inscription is the image
of Krshna Vasudeva, the great hero in Mahabharata.
There is a manuscript called jinakalamalipakaranam, which was written by
Ratanapannathera, a Buddhist monk, in 1509 AD. It recorded the past story of the
town of Lavapura related to the town of Haripunjaya (in the North of Thailand).
It is said that Haripunjaya was built by an ascetic called Vasudeva in he 9th to
the 10th century for the female ruler, Camadevi, the daughter of Lavapura's
king. And the eighteenth generation of the ruler was the King named Vasudeva.
An inscription from Prasat Phra Viharn, the Hindu sanctuary on the top of the
mountain at the Thai-Khmer border (in Sisaket Province, Northeastern Thailand),
the Khmer script of the 10th century AD, has a paragraph saying about King
Suryavarmadeva, the Khmer king at that time, made an announcement to change the
name of the town, Vibheda to the new name, Kuruksetra. And he orders his men to
develop the town to be more glorious than before like the villages in Kuruksetra
in the epic. It is evident that king Suryavarmadeva is a Mahayana Buddhist; he
is also a patron of the Hinduism. And from the paragraph of the above-said
inscription, it is obvious that the king has the knowledge of Mahabharata. He
also knew that Kuruksetra is a sacred place and once a fierce war took place
there. However, it is wondered why he chose the name of the battle field in the
epic to be the name of the town!
A fragment of the inscription from Prasat Hin Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima
Province, Northeastern Thailand, the 11th century AD, referred to the list of
heroic names including Arjuna, the great hero from Mahabharata. And this is the
last evidence of Mahabharata from the inscriptions of the historic states before
the emerging of the Thai state, Sukhothai, in the 13th century.
When Sukhothai was the kingdom of the lower North of Thailand during the 13th to
15th century AD, this Buddhist kingdom adopted Hindu concept from the ancient
communities in the kingdom.
Two inscription of Sukhothai kingdom contain the text depicting the impact of
Mahabharata on their thought.
The Wat Si Chum inscription of the 14th century states on side II, line 37, that
Sri Sraddharajaculamani, the eminent monk, who was formerly a prince, is an
avatara (of Vishnu) to be Krshna and in his previous life he was Rama, an
avatara of Vishnu. (the seventhe incarnation of Vishnu).
Anpther inscription of Sukhothai that shows the impact of Mahabharata on the
perception of Sukhothai people is the inscription of Pu Khun Cit Khun Cot, in
the 1392 AD. In the inscription the chronology of kings of Sukhothai is recorded
in the first side and in the second side contains the list of gods and the
sacred places in the heaven that has to be worshipped. Amongst the name of the
gods, there are the names of three heroes from Pandavas -Yudhishthira, Bhima,
and Arjuna.
The historic manuscripts of Sukhothai, Lanna or Chiangmai (the upper North
Kingdom), and Ayutthaya (the kingdom in the central part), during the
1438-1475AD bear the name of a Sukhothai prince called Yudhishthira. He is the
son of the last king of Sukhothai, Parama Pala Dharmaraja. Yudhishthira
struggled for the independence of Sukhothai. Under the control of Ayutthaya, the
powerful state, ruled by his relative, King Parama Trai Lokanartha, Yudhishthira
asked for the help from king Tilokaraja of Lanna to fight with King Prama Trai
Lokanartha. According to the literature of Ayutthaya, Yuan Phai, literally, the
defeat of Lanna, that was composed by Ayutthayan poet to make the eulogy of King
Parama Trai Lokanartha in the battle with King Ti Lokaraja and Prince
Yudhishthira. In the literature the poet said that his king has a strategy to
fight in the battle like Krshna. The battle was ended by the treaty of peace
between Lanna Kingdom and Ayutthaya Kingdom.
This histrical story indicates that Mahabharata was popularly known among the
Thai scholars in the main three kingdoms at that time.
Literary Works inspired by Mahabharata :
Mahabharata in Thai version started by the brief translation of Luang Bowon
Bannarak (Niyom Rakthai) in 1920 AD entitled Mahabharatayudha. In 1932 " Poems
on Bharata War" by Phrya Upakitti Silapasara. (Nim Kancanajiva) was published.
In 1974 an article entitled " Mahabharata, the Great Epic" by Cua Satavethin was
published. In 1979 Suphon Phonchivin won the first prize of the Bangkok Bank
foundation contest on the poetry when he submitted his work entitled "Thai Kavya
on Bharatayudha" and Mahabharata was used as the model for composing the poetry.
In 1982 a brief translation of Mahabharata in Thai version was done by scholars
like Professor Karuna and Acharn Ruang Urai Kusalasaya.
Apart from the translation of the Mahabharata there are translation works of the
Bhagavad Gita.
There are a version of Professor Saeng Monvithun, translated from Sanskrit text;
a version of Indrayudha (Nai Phi); the pseudonym of. Ashani Phonlachan,
translated from the English text; a version of Thavit Plengvidthaya and Samak
Buravat, also translated from the English text.
Many Thai literatures that are considered to be the gems of literature have
Mahabharata as a considerable source. For instance, (1) Poems on the Instruction
of Krshna, composed by Somdet Phra Saman Chao Kromphra Paramanuchitchinorot,
1833-1834 AD, was inspired by the story of Satyabhama asked Draupadi (or Krshna)
about the means and ways to bring the husband over to her side and Krshna
instructed her (Draupadi- Satyabhama- samvadaparvan). And at the behest of king
Rama III, these poems were inscribed on the stone slabs and placed on the wall
of a pavilion at Wat Pho, the famous Buddhist Temple (2) Dramatic Songs of
Savitri, composed by king Vajiravudha (King Rama VI), 1910-1920 AD, was inspired
by the story of Savitri and Satyavan narrated by Markandeya to the Pandava (Vanaparvan)
(3) Royal poems on Nala, composed by king Vajiravudha and (4) Nala Chanda,
composed by Prince Thaninivat. Both were inspired by the story of Nala and
Damayanti in Nalopakhayanaparvan which is the sub parva of Vanaparvan.
The story of Nala and Damayanti in Thai version of both works has been
well-known. Recently, the famous writer, Ms. Vimol Chiamcharoen, has been
publishing in all her writings under the pseudonym of Damayanti. -CNF
(Ms. Amara Srisuchat is presently the Director of Ramkhamhaeng National Museum,
Thailand.)
-CNF