Ayodhya And Ayutthaya: Separated Yet Connected

NEW DELHI (ANI) – Ayodhya in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand are separated by about 3,500 kilometers in two different countries, but it is Lord Ram which binds these two nations and its people together. Lord Ram is central to the people of both the countries.

The kingdom of Siam (Thailand) was established in the first half of the 13th century. Ayutthaya, around 70 kilometers north of Bangkok, became the most important city and capital of the kingdom of Siam.

The word Ayutthaya has its roots in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram. Ayutthaya indicates the influence of Hinduism in the region and is associated with ‘Ramakien’, the Thai version of The Ramayana.

King Ramathibodi is said to be the first king of the kingdom of Ayutthaya and had named this city. The name of King Ramathibodi also shows the influence of the Ramayana. It is said that Royal rituals were based on Hindu Vedic scriptures and the Royal household adopted the religious-political ideology that had been embodied by Lord Rama as mentioned in the Ramayana.

King Rama I, the founder of the reigning Chakri dynasty of Siam, when he ascended to the throne in 1782, he took the name of Ramathibodi just like the founder of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Since then, all the Kings of Thailand carry the name Rama.

The Ramayana was brought to Southeast Asia by the Buddhist missionaries. A Thai version is said to have been written during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Later King Rama I compiled the first version of the Ramakien that is recognized today.

The similarities do not stop here. As India celebrates Kartik Poornima and Dev Deepawali in Ayodhya, Thailand also marks Loy Krathong, known as Thailand’s festival of lights. In prominent places, idols of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, and Indra, among others, are installed, where people pay their devotion.

The historic city of Ayutthaya flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest urban areas and a center of global diplomacy and commerce. The city was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city. The city was never rebuilt and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site.

The Ayutthaya school of art showcases the creativity of the Ayutthaya civilization as well as its ability to assimilate a multitude of several foreign influences. All buildings were elegantly decorated which consisted of an eclectic mixture of traditional styles surviving from Sukhothai, inherited from Angkor, and borrowed from the art styles of Japan, China, and India among others.

For some years, it was called Thailand, it is genetically Hindu and later with time, elements of Buddhism kept coming into Hinduism and it got mixed. There is a Brahma Vishu and Shankar which is about 1,000 years old. Another temple, is a 3,000-year-old Hindu temple, which was believed to be built by then Indian kings. It is well documented, the King of Thailand is called Ram – Ram I, Ram II, Ram III and now Ram X, who is ruling the country. Ram Rajya is what both countries want.

When the Burmese army burned the city of Ayutthaya to the ground, many of its stone temples and Buddhist monasteries survived. The structural design of the temples and monuments in Ayutthaya are a mesmerizing mixture of Hindu influence and the Sukhothai style that closely resemble the ruins of Angkor Wat.