Logo

Thailand is known to the world outside as a Buddhist country. Yet it is also true that there is an undercurrent of Hinduism among a widely distributed section of the population. While Buddhism in the land is inspired by the north-western neighbour, Mayanmar, perhaps a stronger influence from her eastern neighbour, Campuchea, by political and cultural conquests, is of no less importance. It is thus that the principal Hindu Trinity, and by degrees, the subsidiaries became established as the serious objects of worship and sculptural figurization. The present treatise has endeavoured to bring to the fore the extant examples of the Hindu deities and their iconography with the help of illustrations and study of comparative material from prototypes. This has been achieved in eight chapters of illustrated descriptions aided by a Glossary and a couple of maps.

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Hinduism in Thailand. 2. Hindu deities in mon-Dvaravati times. 3. Hindu deities under the Srivijaya Kingdom. 4. Hindu deities in Lopburi times. 5. Hindu deities in Sukhothai era and its style. 6. Hindu deities in Lanna art. 7. Hindu deities in Ayutthaya times. 8. Hindu deities in Rattanakosin (Bangkok) times. Glossary. Select bibliography. Index.