The majestic city was for 417 years the capital of the flourishing Siamese Buddhist kingdom until it was captured and destroyed in 1767 by the invading Burmese forces forcing the inhabitants to leave the city. Fifteen years later General Chao Phraya Chakkri of Thailand became king, moving the capital to Bangkok, on the eastern side of the Chao Phraya river.The Chakkri rulers adopted the name of Rama (today the dynasty 's 10th ruler occupies the throne as King Vajiralongkorn, with the nickname, King Rama X). Though Thailand is Buddhist, the Ramayana 's dominant influence here is as obvious as it is here in India, perhaps even more so.
The royal palace is decorated on its walls with scenes from the epic. Although Ayutthaya, its 200,000 people and 4,000 Buddhist temples have been plundered and destroyed, it has been restored by the Chakkri dynasty, and the gleaming Buddhist temple in the ruins of Ayutthaya is today a major tourist attraction.
While Thailand is primarily Buddhist today, there are traces of Hindu influence, mostly noticeable in the court ceremonies. The court Rajguru Brahmins had, until recently, cast horoscopes, read omens, and worshiped both Hindu and Buddhist deities. The Brahmins established ceremonies of coronation, tonsure, cremation, and lesser rites related to agriculture. By their ancient Sanskrit designation, the Rajabhiseka, the Siamese call their coronation. The whole complex of coronation ceremonies, such as homa (Fire sacrifice), purifying rites, ablutions, anointing, are closely modelled on Hindu rituals, and are presided over by the Brah Maha Raja Guru.The Siam tonsure ceremony is a rite of youth initiation, corresponding to the Hindu Cudakarma Mangala, which is very important in Hindu Samskara. The only way of disposal of the bodies of deceased royalty in Siam is cremation, an ancient Vedic practice.
The Residence of King Rama IX is named Chitralada. The national and royal thai emblem is Garuda's Vishnu vahana. Also today it is important to note the widespread presence of Hinduism in Thailand. Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu 's Hindu Trinity are filled with unrelenting respect. Of course Vishnu and his Rama avatar are the most revered of them all. The walls of the magnificent Temple next to the Kings Grand Palace are painted on them with mural scenes from the entire Ramayana story. This temple was closely modelled on the ruined Temple of Ayuthaya.They have not forgotten Ramas Sita either. A statue of Mae Thorani ("Mother Earth") stands on a white pavilion in the "Royal Field," north of the temple, which is the traditional site for royal cremations and for the royal Ploughing ceremony. King Rama I wrote the Thai version of Ramayana called Ramakien in a poetic format, as the original manuscript containing the Ramayana was burnt in Ayuthaya's Carnage. His friend, Rama II, adapted it much shorter. This story is the key feature of the traditional Thai dance-drama to this day.
The Kings of Thailand carry the Royal title even today is Rama, a Hindu avatar, and Ramayana 's story is depicted on Bangkok's Royal Palace and temple walls.Throughout Thailand Hindu festivals like Dashahara, commemorating Rama 's victory over the demon king Ravana, are still being observed.
Unlike the Hindus, the Thais also believe in Vishnu or Naryana (Phra Narain), and in Mahadeva or Siva, and hate asuras (asuns) as the devas' rivals.Famous Indian plays, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Shakuntala have provided the basis for some of Siamese literature that is outstanding.The Ramayana, known as the Ramakien "Ram – Akhyan" in Siam, where Akhya is a Sanskrit term meaning "story rendering of.'
The Ramakien's tales are similar to those of the Ramayana though transferred to Ayutthaya 's topography and culture, where Phra Narai's avatar (Vishnu's Thai incarnation) is reborn as Phra Ram.
In the 18th century, the Thai Kingdom of Ayutthaya, named after Ayodhya's Ramas capital, was itself sacked and devastated by invading Myanmar armies, resulting in the loss of literary works. Shortly after the establishment of a new capital in Bangkok, one of King Rama I's first tasks, who took on the epic hero's name, was to have the lost Ramakian composed once more. However the episodes have been rearranged in a more linear form of time.Moreover, Tamil tradition probably played an important role in the royal literary initiative, for the Thai epic has many features in common with southern Indian concepts, such as powerful female soul transfer, and characters turning themselves magically into other beings.Many of the ogres have special powers or weapons, and with help from Vibhisana they are defeated in unique ways. Hanuman becomes as lover to many women and has several wives, thus totally opposed to the whole Indian tradition in which he remains celibate and unmarried. Rama 's brothers and even his sons are battling and killing the remaining ogres, repeating many motifs and dramatically raising the duration of the epic.
Phendin-Klang Rama II (1809-24) was an outstanding poet who wrote Hindu Ramayana's Thai translations.It is called classic Siamese. Awareness of this research is as important to a cultured Siamese as it was for a European when Homer was. India's epic and Puranic literature was the primary source of inspiration not only for Siam but for Southeast Asia as a whole. It produced classical theatre, shadow theater, and marionette shows with themes.
There is clear indigenous influence on Siamese dance , drama, and music. Many of Siam 's different dance-dramas themes (lakhon-ram) are drawn from Indian stories: the story of Savitri and Satyavan for example. Many Thai musical instruments are closely analogous to those of India. The Siamese legal system descends directly from the Manusmriti. The Hindu Dharmasastras, established Siamese justice system.
In common Thai words like Ratha Mantri, Vidhya, Samuthra, Prachinpuri, Karuna, Prannee etc., which are almost identical to their Indian counterparts, indicate the close linguistic association between India and Thailand. Thai language basically consists of monosyllabic words, which are meaningfully individually complete. The Thai alphabet was created in 1283 by His Majesty King Ramkhamhaeng the Great Through the medium it modeled on the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pai through the ancient Indian alphabets of Sanskrit and Pali through the medium of the ancient Khmer characters.
The Ramakien's tales are similar to those of the Ramayana but transferred to Ayutthaya 's topography and culture, where Phra Narai's avatar (Vishnu's Thai incarnation) is reborn as Phra Ram.
Although Ayuthaya had been razed to the ground, neither did the Thais' religious fervor suffer nor was there any damage done to Rama's legacy. On the contrary, the Thais believe that the "Chakri" (or Vishnu Chakra-" Wheel) "dynasty has given them an unbroken succession of Rama incarnates, so that their divine blessings may rule them over them.
While the City was burned to the ground by the Burmese army, many of its stone temples and Buddhist monasteries survived. The structural design of the temples and monuments in Ayutthaya is a mesmerizing mix of Khmer (formerly Cambodian) style influenced by Hindu and early Sukhothai style. Within some of the tall Prangs (reliquary towers that look like South Indian temple Gopurams) closely resembling the ruins of Angkor Wat can be seen the Khmer influences.
Wat Phu Khao Thong, monastery of the Golden Mount founded by King Ramesuan on the outskirts of Ayutthaya, Wat Lokayasutha with the largest reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, royal temple next to the ancient Grand Palace, once the most majestic temple of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Mahathat, one of the most famous monasteries of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, and the most famous monasteries of Ayutthaya.
The Kings who ordered the construction of temples and sculptures followed the custom of embedding precious gems or gold in the sculptures and in the structures' foundation stone. When the city was ruined, looters and vandals went down to the statues that beheaded the Buddhas to reach the precious stones. Looters also sold the heads of the Buddha to US and European private collectors and museums.
In the Ayutthaya Historical Park, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, the old city ruins are preserved.