59-05-032 Proceeding

112 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BENEDICTION IN THAI AND SANSKRIT LITERATURE Thawatchai Dulyasucharit Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University Abstract : A benediction is a kind of literary conventions in both Sanskrit andThai literature. It is located at the beginning of the stories. The aim of the research is to study the unique characters of benediction inThai Literature of the Ayutthaya Period and Sanskrit literary convention, focusing on their differences and similarities. It was found that there are many similarities between Thai and Sanskrit benediction. The unique features of Thai benediction are as follows. A benediction in Thai literature is optional. It commences by praising the gods, the Buddha, the Three Jewels in Buddhism, the king, or others whom the poets respect to. It may address splendor of the palaces, welfare and abundance of the kingdom.The meters used for a benediction are varied, with various lengths. In some works, the beginningword of a benediction is “ศรี”, which is derived fromSanskrit “śrī”, (auspicious). The unique features of Sanskrit benediction are as follows. A benediction in Sanskrit literature is optional. It is necessary of the play to begin with benediction, called “nāndī”. It commences by praising the gods, the Buddha, or others whom the poets respect to. The meters used for a benediction are varied, with various lengths.The concordance of a benediction in Sanskrit and Thai literature may be influenced by the former via various channels, directly or indirectly. Keywords : benediction, literary convention, Thai literature, Sanskrit literatures I. Introduction It is normal forThai people to pay respect to their teachers before beginning any arts, such as boxing, other martial arts, or art of healing, and so on. This is so true with the pupils before and after the study in the schools in the present time. In each arts, the ceremonies for paying homage (calledWaikhru) to the teachers are held on the fixed date annualy. In the art of writing, this tradition has existed, as it appears in the beginning of the text. In Thai, it is called Pranam Bot (ประณาม บท), Pranam Pot (ประณามพจน์), Asirawat (อาศิรวาท), etc. These words are derived from Sanskrit compounds: praṇāma pada, praṇāma vacana, āśīrvāda (āśis vāda). Whatever it is called, it means a passage for paying homage to deities or others whom the poets respect. The two former words are not contained in the Royal Institute’s Thai Dictionary, but found here and there in articles or textbooks on Thai poetry. [1][2][3], and just recently found in a Thai literary dictionary by the Royal Institute [4]. This kind of text also presents in the beginning part of Sanskrit literatures and is called by various words: āśis, maṅgala, nāndi, etc. These loosely correspond to the Pali words: ganthārambha, ārambhakathā or panāmmagāthā, which can be found in the Pali texts. [5] The form of benediction in Thai literature can be traced back to the Sukhothai period (1238-1377) in the Traiphum Phraruang (A book of the Three Worlds) by King Lithai, but this