What is the relation between Ayutthaya of Thailand and Ayodhya of India?

An ancient temple in Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya city, established in the year 1350, was once the capital of a huge empire. As soon as you step into the city of Ayutthaya, located 70 kilometers from Thailand’s capital Bangkok, you will see its huge ruins. 

And also the name of the city Ayutthaya attracted attention which almost sounded like Ayodhya of India. Just as Ayodhya is situated on the banks of the Saryu River, similarly the Ayutthaya city of Thailand, about 3500 kilometers away, is surrounded by three rivers.

Indian-origin Professor Surat Horachayakul is the founding director of Indian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

He says, “It is not a coincidence that the names of Ayodhya and Ayutthaya are similar. New names have been formed here by adapting Sanskrit words into Thai. Ancient Indian civilization has had a great influence on Southeast Asia.

Professor Surat’s family lived in the North Western Frontier Province but his family had come to Thailand before partition. He is a third generation Thai citizen of Indian origin.

He explains, “In Thailand, the king was considered an incarnation of Vishnu. Therefore, various kings of Thailand are known as Rama-1, Rama-2, Rama-10 etc. Sanskrit, Pali all languages ​​have influence on Thailand

Ayutthaya court and Mughal envoy

 

According to UNESCO, the royal court of Ayutthaya was visited by envoys from many countries, including envoys from the Mughal court, Japanese and Chinese empires, and envoys from France.

Dr. Uday Bhanu Singh is an expert on South-East Asia affairs and has been associated with MP-IDSA.

He says, “This year, diplomatic relations between Thailand and India will complete 77 years. But cultural and religious relations between the two have existed for centuries. There is a city named Ayutthaya in Thailand which was founded in 1350.

“Thailand is a Buddhist-dominated country, but the royal family here has adopted many customs related to Hinduism.”

Senior historian DP Singhal writes that ‘Indian culture has left a greater mark in Thailand than the culture of countries like China. The version of the Ramayana is called Ramakien in Thailand.

Ramayan and Ramakien

In fact, centuries ago, people traveled to Thailand from South India by sea and Ramayana also reached here. It went through several versions and was rewritten by Thai King Rama I.

Ramakien is still staged in Thailand, which has the status of Thai Ramayana. It has many similarities with Ramayana. However, there are many differences according to local culture and Buddhism.

It is said that the character named Thoskaan in Ramakien is the same as Ravana in Ramayana. Here thos means ten. In Ramakien, Phra Ram is the same as Lord Ram.

Talking about India-Thai relations, according to the website of the Royal Thai Consulate General, King Rama V of Thailand came to India by sea in 1872 via Singapore and Yangon.

After reaching Calcutta on 13 January 1872, he also went to Barrackpore, Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow by train.

History of Ayutthaya

Between the 14th and 18th centuries, today’s Ayutthaya was the capital of the prosperous kingdom of Siam, which was also a major diplomatic and trading center of the world. In 1767, Burma attacked this city in such a way that the entire city was destroyed.

This city was not resettled but a new capital named Bangkok was made. The formal name of Bangkok is not actually Bangkok and for a long time, Ayutthaya is still included in its formal name. And around the city.

During the one day spent here, I got a chance to visit historical temples. The remains of pagodas and monasteries here showed how tall the buildings must have been. Statues of Buddha without torso, buildings without roof.

You will get to see one of the world’s largest reclining (resting posture) Buddhas here. There are many huge statues of Buddha here but many of them do not have heads. It is said that when the city was destroyed.

But there is one statue whose head got separated from the torso. But even after centuries, that torso is completely stuck between the roots of the tree and has become a famous tourist destination for foreign tourists. you stand here.

In the buildings here you will find a mixture of artistic styles of India, China, Japan and Europe of the 17th and 18th centuries. And the imprint of India in culture.

Author SN Desai has written about this in detail in his book titled Hinduism in Thai Life.

He writes, “The city of Ayutthaya in Thailand is a witness to the influence of Lord Rama, although there is no archaeological evidence regarding Rama in Thailand. But through folk art, Ram and Ramayana have been reaching people for centuries.

Talking about Ayutthaya, just like that time, even today you will see elephants everywhere. The difference is that instead of soldiers, tourists equipped with cameras will now be shown on it.