The Ramakian (รามเกียรติ์, "Glory of Rama", sometimes also spelled Ramakien) is Thailand's national epic, derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana.
A number of versions of the epic were lost in the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Three versions currently exist, one of which was prepared in 1797 under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. His son, Rama II, rewrote some parts of his father's version for khon drama. The work has had an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama (both the khon and nang dramas being derived from it).
While the main story is identical to that of the Ramayana, many other aspects were transposed into a Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography, and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. Although Thailand is considered a Theravada Buddhist society, the Hindu mythology latent in the Ramakian serves to provide Thai legends with a creation myth, as well as representations of various spirits which complement beliefs derived from Thai animism.
A painted representation of the Ramakian is displayed at Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew, and many of the statues there depict characters from it.
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The Ramayana, holy revered text of Hindus, is believed by many archaeologists and historians to be a collection of stories from Hindu mythology concentrating on the work of the gods in the lives of men, and was first written down, as legend states, in the forests of India by Valmiki[1] in the fourth century BC.[2] There are several holy sites in India that point to the reality of Rama's existence, including his birthplace, his palace, and the route of his journey to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the Ramayana came to Southeast Asia by means of Tamil Indian traders and scholars who traded with the Khmer kingdoms (such as Funan and Angkor) and Srivijaya, with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties.
In the late first millennium, the epic was adopted by the Thai people. The oldest recordings of the early Sukhothai kingdom, dating from the thirteenth century, include stories from the Ramayana legends. The history of the legends was told in the shade theater (Thai: หนัง, Nang), a shadow-puppet show in a style adopted from Indonesia, in which the characters were portrayed by leather dolls manipulated to cast shadows on a nearby screen while the spectators watched from the other side.
The Thai version of the legends were first written down in the eighteenth century, during the Ayutthaya kingdom, following the demise of the Sukhothai government. Most editions, however, were lost when the city of Ayutthaya was destroyed by armies from Burma (modern Myanmar) in the year 1767.
The version recognized today was compiled in the kingdom of Siam under the supervision of King Rama I (1736–1809), the founder of the Chakri dynasty, which still maintains the throne of Thailand. Between the years of 1797 and 1807, Rama I supervised the writing of the well-known edition and even wrote parts of it. It was also under the reign of Rama I that construction began on the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok, which includes the grounds of the Wat Pra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The walls of the Wat Pra Kaew are lavishly decorated with paintings representing stories from the Ramakian.
Rama II (1766–1824) further adapted his father's edition of the Ramakian for the khon drama, a form of theater performed by non-speaking Thai dancers with elaborate costumes and masks. Narrations from the Ramakian were read by a chorus to one side of the stage. This version differs slightly from the one compiled by Rama I, giving an expanded role to Hanuman, the god-king of the apes, and adding a happy ending.
Since its introduction to the Thai people, the Ramakian has become a firm component of the culture. The Ramakian of Rama I is considered one of the masterpieces of Thai literature. It is still read, and is taught in the country's schools.
In 1989, Satyavrat Shastri translated the Ramakien into a Sanskrit epic poem (mahakavya) named Ramakirtimahakavyam, in 25 sargas (cantos) and about 1200 stanzas in 14 metres. This work won 11 national and international awards.[3]
The tales of the Ramakian are similar to those of the Ramayana, though transferred to the topography and culture of Ayutthaya, where the Avatar of Pra Narai (the Thai incarnation of Vishnu, who's also known as Narayan) is reborn as Pra Ram.
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