Origin of Man in Southeast Asia

Transcription

1 Origin of Man in Southeast Asia Volume 3 Indianization and the Temples of the Mainland Part 3: Pre-Modern Thailand, Laos and Burma Joachim Schliesinger

2 Origin of Man in Southeast Asia Volume 3 Indianization and the Temples of the Mainland Part 3: Pre-Modern Thailand, Laos and Burma

3 Copyright 2015 Joachim Schliesinger. Origin of Man in Southeast Asia 3 Indianization and the Temples of the Mainland; Part 3: Pre-Modern Thailand, Laos and Burma (Phnom Penh, 2015) All rights reserved.

4 Contents Introduction 1 Traces of ancient cultures in southern Thailand (1 st 10 th century AD) 3 Temples and art of Dvaravati kingdom 40 Early Khmer temples in modern Thailand (7 th 10 th century AD) 85 Traces of ancient cultures in modern Laos 124 Temples and art of the Pyu citystates 143 Temples and art of early Pagan (9 th 11 th century) 162 Appendix: List of Main Temples at Pagan 195

5 Traces of ancient cultures in southern Thailand (1 st 10 th century AD) The last centuries BC and the first centuries AD saw an expansion of the world's maritime trading routes, linking Europe and India, India and Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia and China via the seas. Communities located at the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand in Southeast Asia became part of the maritime network. They grew into port cities, or trading stations, that facilitated the exchange of local and foreign goods and cultures between India, China, the Middle East and the Roman Empire. Early Land and Sea Routes Chinese chronicles mention in the 1 st Early historic sites in the peninsula 3

6 Takua Pa, situated on the west coast of the peninsula, has been a busy harbor for trade between the territory on the Malay Peninsula dominated by the kingdom of Srivijaya and the early South Indian Tamil kingdoms of the Cholas and Pallavas during different times in history. It was later renamed to Takua Pa due to the rich ores found near the town: takua is the Thai word for lead, even though tin was the most important ore found there. There was a Hindu temple constructed in the 8 th century and dedicated to Vishnu. An important mercantile organization at that time, called Kodumbalur Manigramam, built a water tank for this temple. They left an inscription in Tamil and named the tank Avani Naaranam, the name of one of the Pallava Emperors of Tamil Nadu. Vishnu statue, Takua Pa (8th - 9th century) Three statues have been found at Wat Narai Nikayaram with legendary characters: Phra Narai, Phra Lak and Nang Sida. These statues show the spread of Hindu culture in the region. Location Ban Thung Tuk archaeological site, Takua Pa district, Phangna province 18

7 and his disciples by using a golden Thona. This golden Thona eventually sent to the king of the ancient city of Nakhon Chai Si or Nakhon Pathom, where it was placed inside a stone stupa in the year 590 AD. The king of Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) wanted the golden Thona, so he sent a prominent monk to ask the golden Thona from the king of Nakhon Chai Sri. The king agreed in exchange of one Thona of holy relics of Buddha and built a new stupa to keep the holy relics, which is Phra Prathon Chedi. Phra Prathon Chedi, Nakhon Pathom In the year 656 AD, the king of Lavo (or Lop Buri) ruled Nakhon Chai Sri and rebuilt the Phra Prathon Chedi. Phra Pathom Chedi, Nakhon Pathom province (circa 6 th century AD) Phra Pathom Chedi (or Phra Pathommachedi) is also located in Phra Pathom Chedi 43

8 Baw Baw Gyi Pagoda, Sri Ksetra Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath, Utter Pradesh, India (500 AD) Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath, Utter Pradesh, India (500 AD) Paya Gyi Chedi, Sri Ksetra 159

9 Origin of Man in Southeast Asia 3 Indianization and the Temples of the Mainland; Part 3: Pre-Modern Thailand, Laos and Burma is a work about the process of Indianization and the many temples still standing or excavated, which were built by the peoples of the early states in mainland Southeast Asia from the beginning until the end of the 1 st millennium AD. This third part includes those temples of the early city-states in the northern peninsula (or today s southern Thailand), the Mon Dvaravati realm in modern Thailand and Laos, the Pyu cities in Upper Burma and the Burman principality of early Pagan. This first part gives account about the Indianization of the region and the various temples built by the peoples of Funan, Champa and Chenla. The second part describes the ancient temple ruins of the early Angkorain states, such as Mahendraparvata, Hariharalaya, Lingapura and Yasodharapura. Every part is illustrated with plenty of images.