59-05-032 Proceeding

116 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress to all gods or the kings, some Thai poets described the splendour of the city, usually in Rai forms, such as in Lilit Yuan Phai, Lilit Phra Lo, and briefly in KhlongThawatThotsamat. This convention was succeeded in the later periods, such as in Nirat Narin, Nirat Phraya Trang, etc. There are some common themes in the Sanskrit benedictory verses. Most works composed by Hindu poets consist of prays to deities, invoking for protection him and his reader. The deities in the benediction are Brahma, Narayana, Shiva, Girija or Parvati, Gauri, Ganesha (God of elephant face), gods of stars, god of Earth, god of Moon, etc., the kings, as well as the teachers of those disciplines. Those beings are expressed by their names, their incarnations, or epithets. In some works, like Kāmasūtra by Vātsyāyana, the benediction is dedicated to dharma (virtue), artha (wealth), and kāma (enjoyment), the three (among four) aims of Hindu life, and to the masters who have expounded the principles of the disciplines. [12]. Certainly, in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature, the Buddha is invoked in the benediction, with the three jewels. Among them, Nāgānanda, a combination of faith inHinduismand Buddhism in the play, has the benediction for the Buddha, while the other traditions of Hinduism is found thorough the five acts. ManyThai works have the benediction commencedwith the word “ศรี” (si), corresponding to Sanskrit “śrī,” (auspicious), as in Khlong Thawa Thotsamat, Lilit Yuan Phai, Lilit Phra Lo, Chindamani, Khlong Chaloem Phrakiat Somdetphranarai, and Ongkan Damnam (shares the benediction with Ongkan Lui Pleung). [1] While there are a few Sanskrit works beginning the benediction with “śrī or śriyah,” as in Kiratārjunīya. IV. Conclusions From the study, the researcher comes to conclude that Sanskrit benediction and Thai benediction in the Ayutthaya period are very close to each other. ThoughThai texts use words for a benediction which are different from Sanskrit, but they are loanwords with little changed forms: pranam (Sanskrit: praṇāma), and asirawat (Sanskrit: āśīrvāda). There is a word “ศรี” (derived from śrī in Sanskrit) used in many works. Moreover, there are plenty of Sanskrit loanwords in Thai benediction. It is normal for Thai literature to adopt the Hindu deities with Sanskrit names in the benediction, such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sarasvati, etc., including the Buddha. The concordance of the benediction in Sanskrit and Thai literature may be influenced by the former via various channels, directly or indirectly. Acknowledgement The researcher wishes to acknowledge Sudaporn Khiewngamdee and Autcharaporn Tatwisai for useful information and valuable sources for this research. Also, he would like to acknowledge Dr. Ruethaithip Wisedsri for good advice during the research has been conducted.