The Buddha Sculptures of Tham Phra (Buddha Cave): Implications for Understanding the Complex Religious Atmosphere of Western Thailand During the Early Second Millennium CE

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The Buddha Sculptures of Tham Phra (Buddha Cave):
Implications for Understanding the Complex Religious Atmosphere
of Western Thailand during the Early Second Millennium CE
(In “Early Theravādin Cambodia: Perspectives in Art and Archaeology”, ed. Ashley Thompson, NUS
Press, 2022, pp. 145-185)
Samerchai Poolsuwan
Faculty of Sociology & Anthropology
Thammasat University
Phrachan Rd., Bangkok 10200
Thailand
(samerchai@hotmail.comX

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<h1> Introduction
Situated about 30 metres above ground level on the eastern slope of a low mountain range -- lying
approximately on the northwest-southeast axis in Don-sai sub-district, Pak-tho district, Ratchaburi
province, western Thailand (N: 13.367; E: 99.800) -- is Tham Phra (Buddha Cave), a sacred landmark
after which the mountain has also obtained its name [Map 4.1]. Now easily reached by car, the cave is
located only a few kilometres on a side road from the main Phetchakasem highway. Enshrined in a
wooden pavilion situated in the cave’s hall are Buddha sculptures of various sizes and ages. For
generations, they have been much venerated, thus watched over, by local people in the area. Identified
ethnically as “Khmer-Lao” (mixture of Khmer and Lao), these locals speak a Lao dialect into which a
considerable number of Khmer loanwords have also been incorporated. The ancestors of the group were
prisoners of war, forced to move from Cambodia to inhabit the Ratchaburi area during the Thonburi
period (second half of the 18th century).
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Tham-Phra shrine would have already been in existence at the
arrival of these newcomers, thus leaving its older history unknown to them.
The shrine comprises a group of old wooden sculptures, currently 14 in number, which is a focus of
this study, together with several original sandstone sculptures of the seated Buddha dating from the
Ayutthaya period (c. 15th – 17th centuries). Other Buddha images made of brass and wood were added to
this cave-shrine at much later times. Located in front of the wooden pavilion is a seated sculpture of the
bejeweled Buddha made in situ of brick and stucco. Although having been much renovated in later times,
the image still maintains some of its original stucco motifs, particularly on the back of the Buddha’s
crown and on his richly decorated pedestal, which are definitely of the 17th century Ayutthaya style [Fig.
4.1]. They provide solid proof for the cave’s function as a Buddhist shrine at least since that time.
Although of different sizes and styles, the majority of Tham Phra’s wooden sculptures of focus here
form a coherent group by sharing some common characteristics: a particular style of lotus pedestal, the
unique facial characteristics of several images, and the flat unfinished back side -- implying that they
were intended to be viewed mainly frontally. The shared characteristics suggest that most, if not all, of the

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images were contemporaneous and probably carved by the same group of sculptors for enshrinement with
their back set against a blind wall of the cave. A similar degree of weathering observed on the lower part
of the sculptures suggests their previous placement in a damp place, probably on the cave’s earthen or
brick floor, for a considerable period of time. Each of these images, ranging from slightly less than half to
about twice life-size, was carved of a single block of teak wood, a material easily made available in the
vicinity of the site. Accumulation in a single place of a considerable number of sizeable Buddha
sculptures, made of locally available material and sharing some outstanding common characteristics,
favours interpretation of the images’ production by a single local workshop for the Tham Phra shrine.
The wooden sculptures can be stylistically classified in four groups: (1) a set of four sculptures of the
bejeweled māravijaya Buddha showing strong affiliation with the original-Pāla prototype of northeastern
India and its derivatives widely discovered in Southeast Asia (Group I); (2) a pair of standing figures of
the bejeweled Buddha, both hands raised in abhaya mudrā, in close association with the 12th-century
Khmer Angkor-Wat style (Group II); (3) a set of four standing Buddha figures, both hands raised in
abhaya mudrā, with their style probably inspired by both Khmer and Pagan arts (Group III); and, (4) a set
of four seated figures of the māravijaya Buddha, showing mixed Khmer and Pagan characteristics (Group
IV).
Being puzzled by the unconventional combination of their styles -- related to various ancient Buddhist
arts during the late first and early second millennia -- one might question the authenticity of these
enigmatic images. The exact history of the wooden sculptures, now dominating Tham Phra’s shrine as its
central objects of worship, is practically unknown. The shrine itself is an ancient one, with its existence at
least since the 17th century already proven. In later history, the wooden sculptures of Tham Phra were
mentioned in Samut Rātchaburī (a book describing Ratchaburi), published in 1925,
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as being of ancient
age; they had been much venerated, so kept undisturbed, by local people. The document certainly
confirms that Tham Phra’s wooden images were not a modern forgery and had been enshrined there since
long before the 1900s.

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Whether the images might be a product of a later period, i.e. long after the early centuries of the
second millennium but certainly predating the 1900s, is another matter of concern. One can reasonably
doubt the possibility of anyone in old Siam, before advances in the modern disciplines of archaeology and
art history, getting simultaneous access to the much older sculptural prototypes of various schools of
Buddhist art in order to faithfully reproduce or combine them in such a fashion as to be found among the
Tham Phra wooden images. Included in the cave-shrine are also a number of traditional Ayutthaya-period
Buddha sculptures of styles truly distant from the set of wooden sculptures of concern. Comprising
several sandstone sculptures, one of a colossal size, and the in-situ constructed brick-and-stucco
bejeweled image already mentioned, they confirm that the Ayutthaya sculptors of Tham Phra adopted
conventional styles of their period, from the 15th to 17th century, for creation of the sacred sculpture of the
group; it is, thus, unlikely that they were responsible for creation of the wooden images in question.
On these logical bases, Tham Phra’s wooden sculptures could be genuinely old, with their date and
styles broadly contemporaneous. Provided in this study is a detailed stylistic analysis of this significant
group of wooden images. The complex cultural and religious milieus of western Thailand in which their
existence was brought about, probably during the third quarter of the 12th century, are also discussed.
<h1> Tham-Phra Buddha Sculptures
Siam’s Fine Arts Department announced its first list of the country’s registered archaeological sites,
categorised by province, in 1935. Representing Ratchaburi in the list
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-- along with the other three
significant sites of the province: Wat Mahāthāt,
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Tham Ruesi (Hermit Cave)
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and Phong Tuek
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-- was
Tham Phra. According to local informants, Luang Wichitwāthakān, the first Director General of the
Department, visited the site, probably shortly after his appointment in 1934. Guided to the cave by local
people, he was astonished by the wooden Buddha sculptures of the shrine which he believed to be of great

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antiquity and archaeological significance. However, neither descriptive details nor photographs of the site
and its Buddha images were provided in the Department’s records of that time.
A later photograph of the Tham Phra shrine, taken sometime during the mid-20th century [Fig. 4.2],
shows several Buddha images assembled together in a tiered-roof pavilion made of wood, with only some
of the currently known wooden sculptures of our focus included. The other wooden sculptures of the
group, as well as several Ayutthaya-style sandstone sculptures, could have been placed elsewhere in the
cave at that time. The bejeweled Buddha sculpture of the late Ayutthaya style seen on the pavilion’s front
still maintained much of its original form and decoration, to be considerably altered in subsequent
renovations. According to local informants, the wooden pavilion was constructed for the cave’s shrine
during the 1950s by Luangpho Son, a senior monk said to come from Cambodia. This monk also
established a monastery, now named Wat Tham Phra Manimongkhon, to be associated with the cave; this
was shortly before his renovation of the cave’s shrine and restoration of its damaged Buddha sculptures,
including the wooden ones. Before his time, Tham Phra was a solitary place in the jungle. In one instance
at the site, a nun who was in retreat there for meditation was killed by a tiger. Emphasised in Samut
Rātchaburī was also the difficult access to the site during the rainy season.
Shown in the photograph, taken soon after the completion of the wooden pavilion, are six of the
seated images and the same number of the standing ones of the wooden group, together with some
Ayutthaya-period sandstone sculptures of the Buddha. The standing image to the far left of the
composition has disappeared and one of a pair of the bejeweled Buddha sculptures in standing pose, now
placed in the pavilion, is not shown in this old photographic illustration. This makes Tham Phra’s wooden
images in standing posture to number at least seven during the mid-20th century. All the old images of the
Tham Phra shrine have been, during past decades, repaired and repeatedly coated with synthetic gold
paint, thus creating the modern-looking appearance of the group now seen.

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<h2> Group I Sculptures
Tham Phra’s Group I includes sculptures of varying sizes: a colossal one which is 1.85 metres high
[sculpture 1.1; Fig. 4.3]; two medium-sized sulptures of about 1 metre in height [sculptures 1.2 & 1.3;
Figs. 4.4 & 4.5]; and the smallest one with a height of about 80 centimeters [sculpture 1.4; Fig. 4.6]. They
show stylistic similarities with the Pāla prototype from northeastern India and the Bengal area, dating
from the 8th to 12th centuries, and also with its derivatives found in Upper Burma at Pagan, Lower
Burma and Haripunjaya in northern Thailand, all broadly dating from the early second millennium.
The Buddha of this group has angled eyebrows joining over a sharp small nose, with its tip slightly
pointing down. The eyes, mildly slanting and protruding, are half-closed and downcast. He has an oval-
shaped face, broad forehead, prominent cheekbones, projecting chin and elongated earlobes. The mouth,
showing a gentle smile, has a much fuller lower lip than the upper one. These characteristics yield a facial
appearance of the Buddha basically similar to the early Pagan type during the late 11th and early 12th
centuries. Comparable early Pagan examples can be seen among stone sculptures of the Buddha in high
relief from the Patho-hta-mya, Ananda, Myinkaba Kubyauk-gyi and Nagayon temples, Pagan.
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A major
difference between the Tham Phra and Pagan examples concerns the more V-shaped mouth observed in
the latter group of sculptures.
The Buddha is seated in a typical vajrāsana pose on a tall pedestal shaped as a blooming lotus flower.
The pointed upwards and downwards lotus petals are alternatively arranged in two laminated rows.
Contained in each of them is an incised line running parallel to the external outline; its top part is curved
on both sides to form a V-shape in-between them. A row of stamens, protruding from the upwards row of
lotus petals, adorns the pedestal’s upper rim. Decorating along the recessed waist of some pedestals is
either a V-shaped protruding ring (sculpture 1.1) or a set of rings of different sizes and elevations
[sculptures 1.2 and 1.3]; in the latter type, the most prominent ring located along the waist’s mid-line is
flanked symmetrically above and below with the lesser ones. This type of pedestal, with the exception of
its waist decoration, conforms to the typical style widely adopted in the Buddhist arts of South and

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Southeast Asia during the late first and early second millennia. Decorating along the recessed waist of a
lotus pedestal with a protruding ring is a characteristic also observed in some Khmer bronzes of the late
12th and early 13th centuries
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and in the Haripunjaya votive tablets probably dating from the early 13th
century.
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Sculpture 1.1’s pedestal shows another modification of the style. Its upper part contains three
laminated rows of upwards-pointed lotus petals; there is no incised line running parallel to the external
outline of each petal [Fig. 4.7]. The lower part of sculpture 1.4’s pedestal has been partially cut off,
probably due to wood decay.
The Buddha wears a pointed crown of the Indian-Pāla or Burmese-Pagan type, broadly dating from
the late first to early second millennia CE. His earrings in diamond rosette form also conform to the
mentioned prototypes. The Buddha’s crown comprises a diadem supporting five wide decorative triangles
which are symmetrically arranged, three in front and two behind. The diadem, with a diamond rosette at
its centre, is richly decorated with repetitive motifs of the type frequently seen on Khmer bronze sculpture
of the bejeweled Buddha from the 12th and 13th centuries.
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Bordering the richly decorated triangular
parts of the Buddha’s crown is a row of repetitive bud-like motifs which can find its exact parallel, in the
same decorative context, on the early-12th-century Pagan stone sculpture of the bejeweled māravijaya
Buddha now at the Ananda Temple [Fig. 4.8]. Tied to the Buddha’s crown at its back are ribbon knots
with their upper parts protruding symmetrically behind the Buddha’s temples and their lower parts falling
naturally over the shoulders. These ribbon knots are not fully shown, however, on sculpture 1.4. The
Buddhas of 1.2 and 1.4 wear a necklace with its central band decorated with repetitive motifs of the same
type as that found on the Buddha’s diadem. Dangling from the lower rim of the necklace is a row of
curved conical-pendants, which is comparable to both the early-12th-century Khmer and the
contemporary Pagan prototypes. Cruder decoration is observed on the Buddha’s necklaces of 1.1 and 1.3.
Unlike the Pāla and Pagan examples, where a crowned Buddha in the māravijaya pose usually wears
the monastic garment covering the left shoulder and leaving the right shoulder bare, Tham Phra’s
crowned Buddha wears the monastic garment with both shoulders completely covered. Lying on the

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plinth between the Buddha’s crossed legs are the overlapping hems of his garments stylized in a V-shaped
form. The upper rim of the Buddha’s lower garment, usually suggested by the depression outlined around
the Buddha’s waist below a slightly bulging lower abdomen in the Pāla and Pagan prototypes, is here in
the Tham Phra examples clearly raised without the natural feature of the Buddha’s bulging abdomen
presented. The Buddha’s stiffer body and the drapery form of his monastic garment, as described, yield
the similarity of the Tham Phra sculptures to other groups of the māravijaya Buddha wearing a pointed
crown of the Pāla type found in Haripunjaya, northern Thailand,
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and the Mon country, Lower Burma
[Fig. 4.9]; they are tentatively dated from early centuries of the second millennium.
<h2> Group II Sculptures
Tham Phra’s Group II comprises two crowned images in standing posture, with both hands raised in
abhaya mudrā [sculptures 2.1 & 2.2; Figs. 4.10 & 4.11]. Both images are approximately of the same size,
about 1.60 metres in height including the pedestal. They show characteristics clearly inherited from the
Khmer Angkor Wat style, during the first half of the 12th century. The Buddha wears a crown with a
broad diadem splaying around its tall conical top part, protecting the Buddha’s uṣṇīṣa. The upper part of
the diadem is decorated with tidily arranged motifs, each shaped as a slender vertical column with pointed
tip. A band constituting the lower part of the diadem is decorated with three large medallions, one at the
centre and the other two symmetrically located above the Buddha’s temples.
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The Buddha wears bud-like
earrings and a necklace with pendants [2.1], or pendant-like motifs [2.2], dangling from its lower rim.
However, neither armlets nor bracelets, commonly seen in Khmer sculptures of the bejeweled Buddha,
are worn by the Buddhas of the group.
Different facial characteristics are apparent between sculptures 2.1 and 2.2. In conformity with the
12th-century Khmer style, the Buddha of 2.1 has angled eyebrows joining over the small sharp nose;
almond-shaped eyes are wide open, each with the above and below incised line. Sculpture 2.2’s facial

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characteristics are less conventional according to the typical Khmer style, that is the Buddha has more
arched eyebrows with half-closed eyes. Cruder decoration is also observed on the diadem and necklace of
2.2 in comparison with 2.1. Some common characteristics found to be shared between Group I and Group
II sculptures -- i.e. the Buddha’s gently smiling face, prominent cheekbones, full lower lip and pointed
chin -- suggest that both groups could be products of the same workshop, albeit intended to represent
different artistic styles.
The Buddhas of 2.1 and 2.2 wear the monastic robe in the covering mode. Adorning the belt and the
central pleat of the lower garment are repetitive motifs serially connected together to form a row. The
lower hems of the outer and inner garments are stylized to be curvilinear with the pointed lower end
located between the Buddha’s legs. All these characteristics conform to the classic Khmer pattern of the
12th and 13th centuries. Comparable to them are several Khmer bronzes – representing the standing
Buddha, probably produced in the Lopburi area, an outpost of the Khmer empire -- dating from the first
half of the 12th century.
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The Buddha hands, with elongated and equal-length fingers, were separately
carved and then attached to 2.1 and 2.2. More compatible with the late-Ayutthaya than the older Khmer
style, they could be a later replacement for the originals, probably lost or damaged; the replacement could
have taken place during the 17th century, when the shrine was refurbished and one seated bejeweled
Buddha, already described, was sculpted -- in situ for the shrine, out of brick and stucco -- in conformity
with the style of the period.
The lotus pedestals of 2.1 and 2.2 are basically of the same type as those of Group I. Decorating
horizontally along the recessed waist of each is a set of protruding rings of different sizes and elevations;
the most prominent one located along the waist’s mid-line is flanked symmetrically above and below with
the series of the lesser ones [Fig. 4.12]. The pointed lotus petals observed on the pedestals, with each
containing an incised line running parallel to its external outline, is of the type only rarely encountered in
the realm of Khmer art during the Angkor period. More frequently found in the Khmer counterpart is a
different type in which a lotus petal is outlined into trefoil shape. It may be likely that sculptures 2.1 and

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2.2 were not genuine products of an imperial Khmer workshop, but rather its less strict imitation done by
local craftsmen in western Thailand.
<h2> Group III Sculptures
Tham Phra’s Group III constitutes four standing sculptures of the Buddha with both hands performing
abhaya mudrā [sculptures 3.1-3.4; Figs. 4.13-4.16]. The Buddha’s hands, with fingers of natural lengths,
were crudely executed and could possibly be a later replacement made during the 1950s restoration of the
shrine. The images are of approximately the same size as those of Group II. All share similarities with
Group II in terms of the type of pedestal [Fig. 4.17] and the Khmer-style decorations on the Buddha’s belt
and the central pleat of his lower garment. Also conforming to the Khmer type are the curvilinear rims of
the Buddha’s outer and inner garments, with the pointed lower end located between the Buddha’s legs.
The group shows facial characteristics of the Buddha which are common to the Tham Phra wooden
sculptures in general: angled eyebrows joining over the sharp small nose, with its tip slightly pointing
down; protruding eyes, half-closed and downcast; prominent cheekbones and chin; and smiling face with
a much fuller lower lip. The Buddha’s hair curls are knob-like and tidily arranged in rows parallel to the
hairline. The latter, bordering the forehead, is slightly concave at the middle. No clear sign of the uṣṇīṣa
protruding from the top of the skull can be observed. Instead, there is a series of concentric rings
supporting the Buddha’s large radiance, shaped either as a lotus bud [sculptures 3.1 and 3.2] or as an
asymmetric obtuse cone with its flat anterior façade slightly projecting forwards [sculptures 3.3 and 3.4].
The latter type of the Buddha’s radiance could have been derived from the older Pagan prototype, dating
from the mid-11th to the early-12th century. The relatively large lotus-bud shaped radiance of the Buddha,
adopted in some images of the group, could have found its immediate root in the old “Mon” Buddhist art,
evidenced in both western Thailand and Lower Burma. Examples can be seen on a Dvāravatī relief of the
leg-pendant seated Buddha from Tham Ruesi, Ratchaburi, dating from the late-1st millennium CE [Fig.
4.18], and a relief plaque depicting the Buddha in standing pose from the Shwezayan pagoda, Thaton,

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broadly dating from the early 2nd millennium [Fig. 4.19].
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On the other hand, the presence of concentric
rings supporting the Buddha’s radiance seems to be a local characteristic unique to the Tham Phra
Buddha sculptures. Probably its closest relative is a tiara or decorative concentric ring(s) protecting the
Buddha’s uṣṇīṣa and supporting his radiance occasionally encountered in Khmer sculptures of the
Buddha during the late-12th and 13th centuries.
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<h2> Group IV Sculptures
Group IV contains four images [sculpture 4.1-4.4; Figs. 4.20-4.23), each approximately 1 metre high.
They represent the māravijaya Buddha seated in vajrāsana on a tall lotus pedestal. Sculptures 4.1-4.3
share common facial characteristics with the majority of the Tham Phra wooden images. Sculpture 4.3
lacks the decorative rings on the pedestal’s waist. The lotus petals and stamens are not shown on the
pedestal of 4.2. The Buddhas of 4.3 and 4.4 wear earrings of the Khmer type. Located above the
Buddha’s shaved head, adorned with hair curls, is a series of concentric rings or bands supporting his
large radiance, shaped either as a lotus bud (4.1 and probably the partly damaged 4.4 as well) or a
slightly-obtuse cone with its tip inclining forwards (4.2 and 4.3). The sculptures of this group could be
recognised as early examples of the “Sihing” type, where the māravijaya Buddha is seated in vajrāsana,
to become prevalent in various parts of Thailand from the 14th or 15th century onwards.
The monastic robe worn on the Buddha’s stiff body leaves the right shoulder bare. The elevated upper
rim of the lower garment is clearly shown around the waist. The overlapping hems of the garments
protrude in the V-shaped form between the crossed legs. There is no sign of a piece of fabric worn on the
Buddha’s left shoulder, neither in the form of the saṃghāṭī, normally encountered in the Khmer
prototypes, nor of the outer garment’s hem, normally seen in the Pāla prototypes. This type of drapery,
without a piece of fabric on the left shoulder of the Buddha, is one of the ancient characteristics observed
in various schools of Buddhist art in Southeast Asia during the first and early second millennia CE:

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Dvāravatī in central and northeastern Thailand, Mon in Lower Burma, Pyu in Upper Burma, and
Haripunjaya in northern Thailand.
Sculpture 4.4 shows some unusual characteristics not shared with others of the same group, suggesting
its intrusive status and probably slightly later date. The Buddha’s nose and mouth are not as well-shaped
as other members of the group. He wears the saṃghāṭī on his left shoulder. The lotus pedestal [Fig. 4.23]
has upper and lower parts in complete mirror image of each other; the decorative ring(s) between them
and the row of stamens adorning the pedestal’s upper rim are absent. The lotus petals are more elongated
without an incised-line decoration contained in each. Similar elongated lotus petals can be seen adorning
the pedestal of some Khmer Buddha sculptures of the 12th and 13th centuries.
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The Buddha’s uṣṇīṣa is
slightly suggested by a surrounding row of hair curls located immediately below a series of concentric
rings supporting the Buddha’s large radiance.
<h1> Broader Geographical and Historical Settings
Located along the middle terrace zone and old alluvial fan bordering the lower central plain of
Thailand
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on its western fringe were early human settlements of the urban type, dating from the second
half of the first millennium CE. From north to south, the main archaeological sites representing these
comprise U-Thong, Kamphaeng Saen,
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Phong Tuek,
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Nakhon Pathom and Khu Bua (see also Map 4.1).
They normally shared the following characteristics: (1) a typical town plan with earthen works and moat
which were not strictly geometric in pattern; (2) a probably common faith in Buddhism which, based on
evidence of Pāli usage, could have been somehow related with “old Theravāda” (or “Hinayāna”)
belief(s);
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(3) the adoption of old Mon language in inscriptions; and, (4) the introduction of styles and
iconographies of the Buddhist art from various sources in South Asia (north and south India, and probably
Sri Lanka as well), only to be combined and perceived in the local context of aesthetics and meaning. All
these characteristics coincided well under the broad general term of “Dvāravatī”,
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named for an early

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Indianized culture of Southeast Asia prevailing on the elevated border of central and parts of northeastern
Thailand during the first millennium CE.
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Early urban settlement along the elevated border of central Thailand during the first millennium was
geographically strategic in the sense of avoiding the marshy area, seasonally flooded, that occupied the
major part of the lower central plain during marine transgressions of the period.
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At the same time, this
provided easy access of the communities in the area to maritime contacts with the outside world. The
contacts allowed exchange of goods and spread of Indic cultures and religions into the area, a
phenomenon found to be prevalent along the entire coastline of mainland Southeast Asia during the
millennium.
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Interconnection among these early urban settlements in the western zone of central
Thailand was facilitated by their close geographic proximity as well as some inland routes frequently
running along the elevated border of the lower central plain. Ancient passes across the Tenessarim
mountain range, to the west of the area, also opened access of these Dvāravatī-phase communities to
contacts with their contemporaneous counterparts in the so-called “Mon land” of Lower Burma.
These “western-zone” Dvāravatī communities would have given rise, either directly or indirectly, to
several polities subsequently developed in the area during the early second millennium, i.e., Suphanburi,
Śambūkapaṭṭana,
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Ratchaburi and Phetchaburi. As suggested by epigraphic and archaeological records
discovered in the area, these second-phase urban communities experienced the political and cultural
expansion of the Khmer empire, heavily dominated by the religious faiths of Hinduism and Mahāyāna
Buddhism and centred at Angkor from the early ninth to early fourteenth centuries. Found in Lopburi, to
the northeast of the area, is an inscription dated 1022 recording an edict of Sūryavarman I, the king of
Angkor at that time, for ascetics and Mahāyāna Sthavira monks (supposed to live in Lopburi) to offer the
meritorious fruit of their meditation (tapas) to him.
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This probably corresponded with the early phase of
Khmer domination over the northern part of central Thailand, where Lopburi is located.
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The Khmer
expansion extended to cover the whole area of central Thailand during the last quarter of the following
century.

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Dated 1191, the Preah Khan inscription of King Jayavarman VII provides a list of twenty three towns,
probably integrated into the imperial Khmer network, in which the king had sent images named
Jayabuddhamahānātha for enshrinement; a special ceremony was held annually at Angkor for assemblage
of these sacred images, temporarily transposed to the capital for the event.
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Among these towns, six have
been identified for their locations in the northern and western zones of central Thailand: Lavodayapura
(Lopburi), Svarṇapura (Suphanburi),
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Śambūkapaṭṭana, Jayarājapurī (Ratchaburi), Srī Jayasiṃhapurī
(Muang Sing in Kanchanaburi), and Srī Jayavajrapurī (Phetchaburi). Khmer style monuments dating from
Jayavarman VII’s reign are evident in some of these towns -- i.e. Phra Prang Sam Yot in Lopburi, Prasat
Muang Sing on the Khwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi province; Wat Kampaeng Lang in Phetchaburi
province, and the old foundation and the Buddha arcade on top of the enclosing laterite wall of Wat
Mahathat Ratchaburi. Also, an undated inscription from Phimeanakas in Angkor provides information
that one of Jayavarman VII’s sons was sent to rule Lavodayapura (Lopburi).
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Closer geographically to
the Khmer’s centre of power in lowland Cambodia, the eastern part of central Thailand, where
Prachinburi is located, would have long been integrated into the Khmer domain before Jayavarman VII’s
reign, as confirmed by archaeological evidence related with Khmer influence found in situ in the area,
dating from the late first millennium CE onwards.
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Combining these pieces of evidence together brings
about a more complete picture of the Khmer dominion in central Thailand for its gradual expansion from
the eastern part of the area to cover the northern part at least since the first half of the 11th century, and
then finally to the western part during the last quarter of the following century.
Remote control of Khmer power from the capital at Angkor over parts of central Thailand could have
demanded substantial military and diplomatic efforts on the part of the Khmer kings; it, thus, would have
been far from consistent and stable. According to Chinese sources, there was a diplomatic mission sent
from Lopburi to China in 1155, separate from a mission from Angkor at the same time.
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Since sending
an envoy to the China court conventionally implied independence of the state, this could suggest a period
of Lopburi’s liberation, a brief one of course, after the city had been subordinate to Angkor for most of

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the preceding century and a half. It probably corresponded with weakness of Angkor, during the period
from Sūryavarman II’s death in 1150 to the beginning of Jayavarman VII’s reign in 1181, when the
kingdom had experienced insurgencies and several wars with Champa.
33
Khmer sovereignty was resumed
at Lopburi during the last quarter of the 12th century, following consolidation of the Khmer empire by
Jayavarman VII who sent one of his sons to rule there.
34
Also recorded in Chinese sources is a brief series of diplomatic missions sent to the Sung court during
the years 1200-1205 from the state named Chen-li-fu,
35
most likely located near a seaport on the western
fringe of central Thailand. Its centre could have been either Ratchaburi or Nakhon Chaisi, or even
Suphanburi.
36
The polities on the western fringe of central Thailand, thus, would have enjoyed a certain
degree of autonomy even during the peak of Jayavarman VII’s domination. They probably had
accumulated wealth and power, to the level of being able to challenge Angkor, by controlling trade
routes, both overseas up the Mae Klong and Tha Chin rivers to more inland principalities and inland
across the Tenessarim mountain range to areas around the Gulf of Martaban.
37
Abundant Chinese
ceramics, dating from the Sung and Yuan dynasties, recently discovered sunk in the bed of the Mae
Klong River, in Ratchaburi province, certainly attest to involvement of this riverine route in a network of
maritime trade, at least with China, during the early centuries of the second millennium CE.
38
Also supported by archaeological evidence is the east-west connection between urban communities in
the western part of central Thailand and their contemporaneous counterparts in areas around the Gulf of
Martaban in Lower Burma during the first and early-second millennia. The main route providing this
interconnection could have been the “Three Pagodas Pass”, up the Mae Klong and then the Khwae Noi
Rivers from Ratchaburi. Archaeological discoveries during recent years in the areas of Lower Burma
around the Gulf of Martaban have yielded much evidence of urban settlements dating from the first
millennium CE.
39
Major sites include, for example, Kyaikkatha, Winka, Zothoke and Thaton, all located
along the eastern coast of the Gulf. Evidence found includes religious brick and laterite structures
(monasteries and stupas), artefacts, inscriptions and walled cities. A number of characteristics and types

16
of artefacts have been found to have been shared between urban communities in Lower Burma and those
in central and northeastern Thailand, suggesting their cultural intercourse during the first millennium.
These include usage of old Mon language in inscriptions, a particular type of coin not found among Pyu
sites in Upper Burma,
40
distribution of certain types of Buddhist votive tablets,
41
and probably the
tradition of erecting carved sima stones.
42
Parallel to the Khmer expansion in central Thailand during the early centuries of the second
millennium, contemporaneous Lower Burma, inhabited by the ethnically Mon people, also experienced
extension of political power of the first Burmese Kingdom, centred at Pagan in the Central Dry Zone.
Easy communication between Pagan and the Mon communities of Lower Burma could be facilitated
along the Irrawaddy River.
According to some later chronicles, King Anawratha of Pagan (c. 1044-1078) conquered the Mon
territory of Lower Burma, with its capital located at Thaton, in the mid-11th century.
43
The presence of
Anawratha’s authority in Lower Burma is archaeologically confirmed by Buddhist votive tablets, with his
signed inscription on their back, found at numerous sites in the area.
44
Left at Mergui in Lower Burma is
an inscription of Anawratha’s son, Sawlu, who reigned at Pagan for a short period after his father’s
reign.
45
His successor, Kyanzittha, also left two Mon inscriptions in Thaton and his votive tablets at
numerous places in Lower Burma.
46
Listed in the Dhammayazika inscription of 1196-8 are vassal states
that came under Pagan during Narapatisithu’s reign, some located as far south as Tavoy and Thandok
(near Mergui) in Lower Burma and Ligor (Nakhon Srithammarat) in southern Thailand.
47
Although, evidence of Pagan’s dominance over Lower Burma is ample as stated above, its controlling
power over the area would have been far from consistent. Proof of this is the attack of Pagan by a rebel
troop led by the Pegu ruler in the late-11th century, resulting in the death of Sawlu.
48
The rebel troop was
soon driven back to Lower Burma by Sawlu’s successor, Kyanzittha. Again, several political upheavals
occurred in Lower Burma during the mid-12th century, associated with a few acts of rebellion and a

17
Sinhalese raid that captured two Gulf of Martaban seaports, Bassein and Martaban, and one inland site,
Ukkama, thought to be located about 20 miles north of Yangon.
49
In terms of religious faith, western Thailand and its interconnecting areas west and northwest of the
Tenessarim Range in Central and Lower Burma would have been, at least since the mid-first millennium
CE, a repository of beliefs in Pāli based Buddhism.
50
Collectively and deliberately perceived here as
belonging to “old Theravāda”, they shared in common Pāli usage and probably the majority of their
textual references. The term is to be distinguished from the Theravāda-Mahāvihāra orthodoxy reformed in
Sri Lanka during the third quarter of the 12th century and prevailing in Southeast Asia from the 14th
century onwards.
51
The continuum of old Theravāda in western Thailand and its Burma counterparts
preexisted expansion of Khmer power in the former area, most thoroughly during Jayavarman VII’s reign
in the late-12th and early-13th centuries, and conquest of Pagan over the latter area during the mid-11th
century. The Khmer and Pagan expansions, however, would have affected the religious atmospheres of
their corresponding areas differentially.
Implantation of the Khmer Vajrayāna Buddhism in an area where old Theravāda had long been firmly
established and where earlier Khmer influence was minimal, i.e. the western zone compared with the
other parts of central Thailand, would have been more or less by force under Jayavarman VII. The
diffusion of this particular form of Buddhist faith and its related artistic style ceased abruptly beyond
Jayavarman VII’s political sphere, as there has been so far no evidence suggesting its presence in Lower
Burma, another stronghold of old Theravāda, also connected with western Thailand since long before
Jayavarman VII’s reign. Since Khmer power waxed and waned in western Thailand, even during the peak
of Jayavarman VII’s power, it is probable that old Theravāda had survived in the area, although its
associated art and iconography would have been much influenced by that of Jayavarman VII’s reign.
Another source of Khmer artistic inspiration in the Buddhist art of central Thailand during the 12th
century could have come from Phimai in northeastern Thailand, where another form of Khmer Vajrayāna
Buddhism flourished.
52
The surviving “Hinayāna” beliefs (perceived here as included in the array of “old

18
Theravāda”), a continuum of the Dvāravatī Buddhist faiths in central Thailand well extended into the
period of Khmer domination, between the 11th and 13th centuries, has been broadly termed by Hiram
Woodward the “Ariya sect”, after the name used in the 15th century Kalyani Inscription of King
Dhammaceti of Pegu for the pre-Sinhalese Theravāda monasticism existing in Burma since long before
the mid-11th century.
53
Probably the oldest definite evidence confirming existence of the Ariya Buddhism in central Thailand
during the period of concern is an important inscription, dated 1168, found in the 1950s at Dong Mae
Nang Muang, Nakhon Sawan province, on the northern fringe of central Thailand.
54
This is a site where
Dvāravatī tradition was maintained until a late period and contact with Haripunjaya is evident.
55
On a
stone slab, it essentially records, using Pāli on one side and Khmer on the other, an order of
mahārājādhirāja (the Great King-of-Kings) named Asokamahārājā for the ruler of Dhanyapura to provide
donations to the holy relics. As suggested by Cœdès and others, this mahārājādhirāja could have been the
king of Lopburi, at that time enjoying temporary independence from Angkor, after the death of
Sūryavarman II.
56
Either he himself or his predecessor on the throne at Lopburi would have been
responsible for sending a tribute mission to China in 1155. While Khmer influence is evident at least in
linguistic form in the inscription, the use of Pāli could have somehow been affiliated with old Theravāda
in the political sphere of Lopburi during the mid-12th century. Woodward has identified some
iconographic characteristics of the Buddhist art found in central Thailand which had come under Khmer
influence to be associated with his “Ariya” Buddhism.
57
These comprise, for example, Buddha images in
the earth-touching pose, images with pointed crowns related to the Pāla prototype, Buddhas holding a
hand in front of the chest, and groups of three Buddhas.
The religious landscape of the areas to the west and northwest of the Tenessarim range, i.e. Lower and
Central Burma, seemed to be far less heterogeneous than that already described for central Thailand, to
the east of the same mountain range. Archaeological evidence and later chronicles suggest that Pāli-based
Buddhism, probably belonging to the “old Theravāda” array, existed in Lower Burma during the first and

19
early-second millennia.
58
It is also beyond doubt that the Pagan kingdom was a stronghold of this Pāli-
based Buddhism since its inception in the mid-11th century. According to later chronicles, Pagan
originally received Theravāda Buddhism from the Mons of Lower Burma, during the reign of Anawratha
in the mid-11th century.
59
Soon after in the same century, it established a diplomatic relationship with Sri
Lanka, through which the introduction of Sinhalese Buddhism into the kingdom was expected.
60
It is
noteworthy that the incident preceded the Buddhist reform in Sri Lanka during the third quarter of the 12th
century, which resulted in hegemony of the strict Mahāvihāra orthodoxy on the island. Subsequent
contacts between Pagan and Sri Lanka were also numerous, until the end of its dynastic period in the late-
13th century.
61
The Buddhist art of Pagan, from the mid-11th to the late-13th century, was characterised by stylistic
and iconographic affiliations with older and contemporaneous Pāla prototypes from northeastern India
and the Bengal area, strongly subject to Mahāyāna influence. This is partly explicable by close
geographic proximity, allowing easy contacts, between Upper Burma and the Bengal. The other main
reason for establishment of this relationship could be related to Pagan’s perception of the supremacy of
Bodh-gaya, the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment, located in the Pāla realm of northeastern India. This
is attested by the generous sponsorship of restorations of Bodh-gaya’s main sanctuary provided by several
Pagan kings.
However, adoption of Pāla Buddhist iconography at Pagan was truly selective, with modifications for
compatibility with Pāli texts in the Theravāda realm observed in most cases.
62
The Pāla-related Buddhist
iconography and artistic style of Pagan were, therefore, largely Theravāda in essence, regardless of their
original affixation to the northern Indian Mahāyānism. Pagan could have since then been substantially
responsible for dissemination of the Theravāda-based iconography and art style, under strong Pāla
influence, to become widespread within its religious network in Southeast Asia during the early second
millennium. One obvious example could be the bejeweled Buddha wearing a pointed crown found in
Haripunjaya, northern Thailand, and the Mon country in Lower Burma, both with strong Theravāda

20
affiliations. Other related examples, also subject on the other hand to Khmer artistic influence,
63
found
largely in central Thailand and probably produced there, could be considered in the same context.
<h1> Discussion
Tham Phra’s wooden sculptures could have been a local product of 12th-century western Thailand,
before extension of Jayavarman VII’s political power into the area during the last quarter of the century.
None of the indisputable characteristics of the yet to come Bayon-style of Jayavarman VII’s reign is
evidenced in this group of images. The wooden sculptures are stylised in accordance with forms observed
in various schools of Buddhist art, whether older than or contemporaneous with the proposed date, i.e.
Pāla from northeastern India and the Bengal area most likely through Pagan, Khmer probably from
Lopburi, and Mon from Lower Burma and Haripunjaya.
The wide acceptance in Southeast Asia, since the first millennium, of the Pāli based Buddhism, so-
called “old Theravāda” (which also included Woodward’s “Ariya”), would have given rise to a network
of cultural relationships among different Buddhist centres sharing the religious faith(s), extending well
into the early centuries of the second millennium. It could have resulted in the combination of artistic
styles observed among the wooden sculptures of focus. Although the original Buddhist art of the Pāla
School, in which the iconography of the Buddha wearing a pointed crown was originated, was affixed to
the Mahāyāna belief and cults of northeastern India, its Southeast Asian derivatives, particularly those
derived from the Pagan prototypes, could have been essentially Theravāda in affiliation.
The meanings of this Buddha imagery could have been amply varied in the world of Buddhist art.
64
However, they shared in common a value that could somehow cut across Buddhist sects on emphasising
the supremacy of the Buddha, here symbolised by his manifestation as the Universal King. Occasionally
depicted in the Pagan-period murals of the 13th century was the Buddha of this imagery; seated in the
māravijaya pose, he is normally flanked symmetrically by devotees, sometime dressed in exotic costume

21
[Fig. 4.24]. Few instances of the case, found in temples no. 101 at Sale (about 30 miles south of Pagan, in
the Chauk township of the Magwe Division) [Fig. 4.25] and temple no. 13 at Sarle (at the border between
Chauk and Yenan-Chaung township in the Magwe Division) [Fig. 4.26] dating from the period, are with
original epigraphic records confirming their representation of the Buddha’s encounter with a King named
Maha Kappina (temple 101, Sale) or Maha Kappain (temple 13, Sarle) which in one place is spelt as
“Kapain”.
65
Although the story is not further detailed in these mural inscriptions, the iconography of the
bejeweled Buddha and the king’s name appearing in this case could naturally link it to a narrative
originating in the old Sanskrit source, the Kapphiṇa-avadāna included in the Avadānaśataka series.
66
Although it could have been of Sarvāsativāda origin, the story has been proven to be known later in the
Mahāyana context of northern India during the Pāla dynasty.
67
It could have been transferred to Pagan
from there, together with the Buddhist iconography of the bejeweled Buddha and others of the Pāla type.
The Buddha of the story disguised himself as the incomparable universal monarch to tame Kapphiṇa,
an arrogant king of the southern country (Dakṣiṇāpatha)
68
. For its Sanskrit origin, the depicted story
stands out in Pagan murals, i.e. amidst an abundance of Buddhist narratives based on Pāli canonical and
commentarial sources. The phenomenon could, thus, suggest integration of this Buddha imagery and its
associated narrative, probably mainly to illuminate the Buddha’s supremacy, into the Theravāda norm of
Pagan. Although a secondary Pāli source of the story, which could have served as an immediate reference
for the murals, is not yet known, it is worth noting that absorption of original Sanskrit narratives into later
Pāli-based literature might not be unusual at all in the old Theravāda context of Southeast Asia. Another
prominent example is the integration of a story extracted from the Aśokāvadāna, also of the Sanskrit
avadāna series, into Pāli literature said to be composed in Burma, the Lokapaññatti. Dealing with an
episode of King Aśoka in a previous existence as a child donating a handful of dust for alms to the
Buddha Gotama, the story was also given material form amidst other narratives based primarily on the
Pāli commentarial sources in the murals of temple 585 at Pagan, dating from the 13th century [Fig.
4.27].
69

22
The māravijaya Buddha wearing a pointed crown of the Pāla type found among the Tham Phra
wooden sculptures, which shows clear stylistic associations with the Pagan prototype on one hand and
with those from the Mon countries in Lower Burma and Haripunjaya on the other, suggests existence of a
network of relationships among these Buddhist centres during the course of the 12th century. This type of
Buddha wearing a pointed crown is among the major characteristics suggested by Hiram Woodward to
demonstrate the survival of the old Hinayāna belief(s) in Southeast Asia during the early second
millennium.
70
Western Thailand during the 11th and 12th centuries had seen the rise of several polities, developed in
situ probably from their late Dvāravatī progenitors, that would have actively engaged in maritime trading
with China and inland exchanges with the Mon communities in Lower Burma. A series of envoys sent to
China from Deng-lui-mei, a state thought to be located in western Thailand, during a period from the late-
10th to late-11th century suggests the presence of an autonomous state in the area at that time.
71
Another
series of tribute missions sent to China from the state named Chen-li-fu, located near a seaport in western
Thailand, in the years 1200-1205, confirms Chen-li-fu’s relative independence even at the zenith of
Jayavarman VII’s domination in central Thailand.
It is beyond doubt that, under such circumstances, the principalities in western Thailand could have
maintained their old Theravāda beliefs more or less continuously, with its supremacy soon resumed after
the cessation of the Khmer domination under Jayavarman VII. Probably attesting this was also the
establishment of the main brick-sanctuary of Mahathat Ratchaburi, most likely during the course of the
14th century, to dominate the older laterite complex of Jayavarman VII’s Mahāyāna temple.
72
It is important to note that old Theravāda belief(s) had been maintained as well in the northern sphere
of central Thailand during the early centuries of the second millennium, although it was here constrained
to a certain degree under strong Khmer influence. Major evidence is the Dong Mae Nang Muang
inscription, dated 1168, in which both Pāli and Khmer languages were used to describe the religious
affairs of the king, most likely from Lopburi. Usage of Pāli language in the inscription could suggest

23
revival of old Theravāda in Lopburi’s dominion during this period, probably corresponding with
temporary cessation of Khmer power after the death of Sūryavarman II, in 1150. Before that time,
Lopburi had been an outpost of the Khmer empire for almost a century and a half, during which its
religious belief(s) and artistic style would have been heavily dominated by the imperial Khmer ideology
and art form.
Religious contact between Lopburi and western Thailand during the 12th century could have resulted
in the creation of the two standing bejeweled Buddha sculptures found at Tham Phra; they show a strong
influence of the Khmer Angkor Wat style. To be compatible with the religious atmosphere of western
Thailand, dominated by the old Theravāda belief(s) until the advent of Jayavarman VII’s power in the
area, this could have happened during the period of Lopburi’s temporary independence from Khmer
sovereignty and of the Theravāda revival suggested by the Dong Mae Nang Muang inscription, i.e. the
third quarter of the 12th century. Observed in this pair of Khmer-styled sculptures are several local
characteristics, also shared with other sculptures of the Tham Phra group, suggesting that the pair was
locally produced. They were probably among the earliest sculptures of the Khmer type ever produced in
western Thailand, however, as an imitation rather than a genuine product of the imperial Khmer
workshop.
The Dvāravatī characteristics observed on some of the Tham Phra Buddha sculptures demonstrate a
stylistic continuum in the Buddhist art of western Thailand until well into the early centuries of the
second millennium, probably coinciding with persistence of old Dvāravatī Theravāda belief(s) in the area.
As a counter-response to Khmer influence, some local characteristics observed in the group, that is a
series of concentric rings supporting the Buddha’s radiance located on the top of his skull and the
protruding central ring adorning the recessed waist of the Buddha’s lotus pedestal, could have served as
prototypes for comparable characteristics evident in Khmer Buddhist art during the late-12th and early-
13th centuries; the latter set of Khmer characteristics comprises a tiara protecting the Buddha’s uṣṇīṣa and
supporting his radiance and a decorative ring on the recessed waist of the Buddha’s pedestal.

24
As this study has so far suggested, the historical and archaeological landscapes of central Thailand
during the early centuries of the second millennium were complicated. The area comprised several parts –
the eastern, northern and western zones, bordering the marshy lower central plain – each characterised by
its own political and cultural dynamics, albeit being culturally tied with each other. The imperial Khmer
network into which polities in the area were integrated had protracted and contracted in a truly dynamic
fashion. Being a part of the wider Theravāda network, incorporating as well other parts of Thailand and
both Upper and Lower Burma, central Thailand experienced disturbances with the expansions of Khmer
Hinduism and Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Compared with other parts of central Thailand, i.e. the northern and eastern zones, the western zone
had remained on the margins of Khmer domination until advancement of Jayavarman VII’s power in the
last quarter of the 12th century. The wooden sculptures of Tham Phra provide us a clue for understanding
the religious and cultural atmospheres of western Thailand during the decades immediately preceding his
reign. On the one hand, Khmer cultural influence, probably diffusing from the Lopburi area rather than
directly from Angkor, was not at all alien to the area and probably started to have its earliest artistic
manifestation materialised in situ; on the other, the area had not yet been truly dominated by Khmer
sovereignty. The continuous existence of the old Theravāda belief(s) in the area since long before that
time would have brought western Thailand into a wider Theravāda network of Southeast Asia, into which
Pagan in Upper Burma and the Mon communities in both Lower Burma and Haripunjaya were also
integrated.
<h1> Acknowledgements
In preparing this manuscript, the author has benefitted from comments by Hiram Woodward, Ashley
Thompson, Don Stadtner, Nandana Chutiwongs, Nicolas Revire and the anonymous reviewers. Saya
Minbu Aung Kyaing assisted the author on reading inscriptions of the Pagan-period murals. Issarachai

25
Buranaaj helped in providing the map used in the article. The work is supported by the Thailand Research
Fund (TRF) (Grant RTA 5880010).

26
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Woodward, Hiram W., Jr. Studies in the Art of Central Siam, 950-1350 A.D., vol. 2, Ph.D. dissertation,
Yale University, 1975.
Woodward, Hiram W., Jr. The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand. Bangkok: River Books, 1997.
Woodward, Hiram W., Jr. “Some Buddha Images and the Cultural Developments of the Late Angkorian

31
Period”. Artibus Asiae, 42, no. 2/3 (1980): 155-74.
Woodward, Hiram W., Jr. The Art and Architecture of Thailand. Leiden: Brill, 2003.
Wyatt, David K. “Relics, Oaths and Politics in Thirteenth-Century Siam”. Journal of Southeast Asian
Studies, 32, no. 1 (2001): 3-66.

32
Map Legend
4.1. The location of Tham Phra in relation to ancient communities around the Gulf of Thailand during the
late-first and early-second millennia CE (Based on maps and information provided in Trongjai Hutangura,
“Reconsidering the Palaeo-shoreline in the Lower Central Plain of Thailand”, and
https://maps.google.com). Map courtesy of Issarachai Buranaaj.
Figure Legends
4.1. Original stucco decoration of the 17th-century style on the bejeweled Buddha sculpture in Tham
Phra. Photograph by author.
4.2. The mid-20th century photograph of the Tham Phra shrine, showing Buddha images assembled in a
wooden pavilion (duplicated from the miniature photo made as an amulet by the Tham Phra monastery
during the 1950s, property of the author).
4.3. Sculpture 1.1 (centre of back row), a bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type.
Photograph by author.
4.4. Sculpture 1.2, a bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type. Photograph by author.
4.5. Sculpture 1.3, a bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type. Photograph by author.
4.6. Sculpture 1.4, a bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type. Photograph by author.
4.7. Lotus pedestal of sculpture 1.1. Photograph by author.
4.8. Bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type, Anada-gu-hpaya-gyi temple, Pagan.
Photograph by author.
4.9. Bejeweled māravijaya Buddha of the Pāla-related type, Shwezayan Pagoda Museum, Thaton.
Photograph courtesy of Donald M. Stadtner.
4.10. Sculpture 2.1, a bejeweled standing Buddha of the Khmer-related type. Photograph by author.
4.11. Sculpture 2.2, a bejeweled standing Buddha of the Khmer-related type. Photograph by author.
4.12. Lotus pedestal of sculpture 2.2. Photograph by author.

33
4.13. Sculpture 3.1, a standing Buddha image with a series of concentric rings supporting the Buddha’s
radiance, shaped as a lotus bud. Photograph by author.
4.14. Sculpture 3.2, a standing Buddha image with a series of concentric rings supporting the Buddha’s
radiance, shaped as a lotus bud. Photograph by author.
4.15. Sculpture 3.3, a standing Buddha image with a series of concentric rings supporting the Buddha’s
radiance, of a shape similar to the Pagan style. Photograph by author.
4.16. Sculpture 3.4, a standing Buddha image with a series of concentric rings supporting the Buddha’s
radiance, of a shape similar to the Pagan style. Photograph by author.
4. 17. Lotus pedestals of sculpture 3.1 (left) and 3.2 (right). Photograph by author.
4.18. Buddha’s big radiance shaped as a lotus bud, Dvāravatī relief sculpture of the Buddha in leg-
pendant seated pose, Tham Ruesi, Ratchaburi. Photograph by author.
4.19. Buddha’s big radiance shaped as a lotus bud, Mon relief sculpture of the Buddha in standing pose,
Shwezayan Pagoda Museum, Thaton, possibly early-second millennium CE. Photograph courtesy of
Donald M. Stadtner.
4.20. Sculpture 4.1, a māravijaya Buddha. Photograph by author.
4.21. Sculpture 4.2, a māravijaya Buddha. Photograph by author.
4.22. Sculpture 4.3, a māravijaya Buddha. Photograph by author.
4.23. Sculpture 4.4, a māravijaya Buddha. Photograph by author.
4.24. A 13th-century mural scene at Pagan depicting the māravijaya Buddha wearing a pointed crown of
the Pāla prototype; he is attended by devotees dressed in exotic costume suggesting their foreign origin
(Pagan monument 1077, photograph by author).
4.25. Being of the Pagan style and dating from the 13th century, the mural scene depicts a māravijaya
Buddha wearing a pointed crown of the Pāla prototype; an ink gloss, not totally legible, associates the
scene with the Buddha and the “Mahā Kappina” king (Sale monument 101, inscription read by Saya
Minbu Aung Kyaing, photograph by author).
4.26. Of the 13th century Pagan style, the mural depicts a māravijaya Buddha wearing a pointed crown of
the Pāla prototype; it bears two ink-glosses: one located below the Buddha describing his episode of
admonishing King Kappain, and the other explaining a seated devotee, located above it, to be the very

34
king, however with his name spelt as “Kapain” (Sarle monument 13, inscription read by Saya Minbu
Aung Kyaing, photograph by author).
4.27. A 13th century inscribed mural from Pagan illustrating a child, King Aśoka in his previous
existence, donating a handful of dust for alms to the Buddha Gotama, probably based on the Lokapaññatti
account (Pagan monument 585, inscription read by Saya Minbu Aung Kyaing, photograph by author).

35
Map 4.1
Figure 4.1

36
Figure 4.2

37
Figure 4.3

38
Figure 4.4

39
Figure 4.5

40
Figure 4.6

41
Figure 4.7

42
Figure 4.8

43
Figure 4.9

44
Figure 4.10

45
Figure 4.11

46
Figure 4.12

47
Figure 4.13

48
Figure 4.14

49
Figure 4.15

50
Figure 4.16

51
Figure 4.17

52
Figure 4.18

53
Figure 4.19

54
Figure 4.20

55
Figure 4.21

56
Figure 4.22

57
Figure 4.23

58
Figure 4.24

59
Figure 4.25

60
Figure 4.26

61
Figure 4.27

62
Endnotes
1
Chao Phraya Thipākorawong, Phrarātcha-pongsāwadān Krung Rattanakosin, Ratchakān Thī Nung [The
Royal Chronicle of Bangkok, First Reign], (Bangkok: Rong-phim Bamrungnukunkit, 1903), 21-22.
2
Phrayā Kathāthornbodī, Samut Rātchaburī [A Book Describing Ratchaburi], published for the occasion
of the 1925 CE Exhibition “Sayāmratthaphiphitthaphan” (Bangkok: Rongphim Nangsuethai, 1925), 161-
3.
3
Rātchakijjānubeksā [Royal Siam Government Gazette], 52, sec. 75, Mar. 8, 1935, 3696.
4
Presiding over this “Temple of the Great Relic” is a brick tower of the Khmer-related type, probably
erected during the course of the 14th century (for dating the Mahāthāt-Rātchaburī’ tower no earlier than
the 14th century, see: Hiram W. Woodward, Jr., Studies in the Art of Central Siam, 950-1350 A.D., vol. 2,
Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1975, 21-23). A recent excavation at the site, however, has revealed
older complicated foundations of a Khmer Mahāyāna temple dating from Jayavarman VII’s reign, in the
late-12th or early-13th century.
5
The Dvāravatī cave site where a relief of the leg-pendant seated Buddha in preaching gesture is located.
6
The Phong Tuek sub-district where this Dvāravatī archaeological site is located is now under the
administration of Kanchanaburi province.
7
Gordon H. Luce, Old Burma-Early Pagan, vol. 3 (New York: J.J. Augustin Publisher, 1969), 278-317.
8
See the Khmer examples in Hiram W. Woodward, Jr., The Art and Architecture of Thailand (Leiden:
Brill, 2003), plate 80b; Piriya Krairiksh, Rāk Ngao Haeng Sinlapa Thai [The Roots of Thai Art]
(Bangkok: River Books, 2010), plates 2.250 and 2.252; Heidi Tan, ed., Enlightened Ways: The Many
Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand (Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2012), 94.
9
See Piriya, Rāk Ngao, plate 2.395.

63
10
For example, the decorative pattern is seen on the belt and the lower garment’s central pleat of the
bejeweled standing Buddha published in Louise Allison Cort and Paul Jett, eds., Gods of Angkor: Bronzes
from the National Museum of Cambodia (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2010), 56-57.
11
See illustrations of some typical Haripunjaya seated sculptures of the Buddha wearing a pointed crown
in Carol Stratton, Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand (Chicago: Buppha Press, 2004), figures 5.70-
5.72.
12
A Khmer example with three medallions adorning the Buddha’s diadem can be seen in Piriya, Rāk
Ngao, plate 2.239.
13
See Cort and Jett, eds., Gods of Angkor, 56-57.
14
For dating the Shwezayan example see: Luce, Old Burma, vol. 1, 140-41; Hiram W. Woodward, Jr.,
“Some Buddha Images and the Cultural Developments of the Late Angkorian Period,” Artibus Asiae, 42,
no. 2/3 (1980): 155-74.
15
See examples in Woodward, Art and Architecture, plates 74b, 76, 84 and 86a,b.
16
See an example in Piriya, Rāk Ngao, plat 2.380.
17
The term “lower central plain of Thailand” refers, in a geological sense, to the flooded area, a part of
the paleo-gulf of Thailand, during the Holocene Maximum Transgression around 6,500-6,400 BCE
(Trongjai Hutangkura, “Reconsidering the Palaeo-shoreline in the Lower Central Plain of Thailand”, in
Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds., Nicolas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Bangkok:
The Siam Society, 2014), 32-67). It had been a wetland zone not suitable for human occupation until
around the mid-second millennium CE.
18
See a recent account on this archaeological site in Matthew D. Gallon, “Monuments and Identity at the
Dvāravatī Town of Kamphaeng Saen”, in Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds., Nicolas
Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 2014), 330-51.

64
19
For a recent archaeological study on Phong Tuek see Wesley Clarke, “The Skeletons of Phong Tuek:
Human Remains in Dvāravatī Ritual Contexts”, in Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds.,
Nicolas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 2014), 311-29.
20
Peter Skilling, “The Advent of Theravada Buddhism to Mainland South-east Asia”, Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies, 20, no. 1 (1997): 83-107; the term “old Theravāda” is
coined here to account for the form(s) of Pāli-based Buddhism in existence prior to the major Buddhist
unification in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Parakramabahu I in the second half of the 12th century;
based on the Mahāvihāra tradition, the reform set a new standard for ‘Theravāda’ orthodoxy in Sri Lanka,
to be subsequently widespread in Southeast Asia from the 14th century onwards (Samerchai Poolsuwan,
“Buddhist Murals Illustrating Unusual Features in Temple 36 at Sale and Their Cultural Implications”,
Journal of Burma Studies, 19, no. 1 (2015): 145-97).
21
See discussions on various aspects of the Dvāravatī culture in: Peter Skilling, “Dvāravatī: Recent
Revelations and Research”, in Dedications to Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana Krom
Luang Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra on Her 80th Birthday, ed., Chris Baker (Bangkok: The Siam Society,
2003), 87-112; Nicolas Revire, “Glimpses of Buddhist Practices and Rituals in Dvāravatī and its
Neighboring Cultures” in Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds., Nicolas Revire and Stephen
A. Murphy (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 2014), 240-71.
22
See Woodward, Art and Architecture, Chapter 2.
23
Trongjai, “Reconsidering the Palaeo-shoreline in the Lower Central Plain of Thailand”.
24
See reviews in: Donald M. Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”, JSS, 96 (2008), 193-215; John Guy,
ed., Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia (New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2014).
25
The name first appeared in the Preah Khan inscription of king Jayavarman VII. Its location has been
identified as Kosinarai in Ban Pong district, Ratchaburi province (Woodward, Art and Architecture, 211).

65
26
Paul Mus, “George Cœdės: Recueil des Inscriptions du Siam, 2e partie. Inscriptions de Dvāravatī, de
Çrīvijaya et de Lăvo”, BEFEO, 29, no. 1 (1929): 446-50.
27
Woodward, Art and Architecture, 140.
28
George Cœdės, “La stèle du Práh Khằn d'Ankor”, BEFEO, 41, no. 1 (1941): 255-302.
29
Could have been Noen Thang Phra in Sam Chuk district, Suphanburi province (Woodward, Art and
Architecture, 211)
30
George Cœdės, Inscriptions du Cambodge, vol. 2 (Hanoi and Paris: EFEO, 1942), 161.
31
See a discussion in Woodward, Art and Architecture, 140-1.
32
David K. Wyatt, “Relics, Oaths and Politics in Thirteenth-Century Siam”, Journal of Southeast Asian
Studies, 32, no. 1 (2001): 3-66.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid.
35
Ibid.
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid.
38
See a discussion on ancient Chinese ceramics found in the Mae Klong river in Piriya, Rāk Ngao, 147-
56.
39
Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”; Elizabeth Moore and San Win, “The Gold Coast:
Suvannabhumi? Lower Myanmar Walled Sites of the First Millennium A.D.”, Asian Perspectives, 46, no.
1 (2007): 202-32; Elizabeth Moore, “Sampanago: City of Serpents” and Muttama (Martaban)”, in Before
Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds., Nicolas Revire and Stephen A. Murphy (Bangkok: The Siam
Society, 2014), 216-37.
40
Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”.

66
41
For the shared types of Buddhist votive tablets found in both Lower Burma and western Thailand see
Donald M. Stadtner, “Demystifying Mists: the Case for the Mon”, a paper presented at the conference
Discovery of Ramanya Desa : History, Identity, Culture, Language and Performing Arts, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok, 10-13 Oct. 2007.
42
Piriya Krairiksh, “Semas with Scenes from the Mahānipāta-Jātakas in the National Museum of Khon
Kaen”, in Art and Archaeology in Thailand (Bangkok: Fine Arts Department, 1974), 35-100; for a
different view, see Stephen A. Murphy, “Sema Stones in Lower Myanmar and Northeast Thailand: A
Comparison”, in Before Siam: Essays in Art and Archaeology, eds., Nicolas Revire and Stephen A.
Murphy (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 2014), 353-71.
43
See a discussion in Luce, Old Burma, vol. 1, chapter II.
44
Ibid.; Than Tun, “Buddhism in Burma, AD 1000-1300”, Journal of the Burma Research Society, 61
(1978): 1-266; Tilman Frasch, “Coastal Peripheries During the Pagan Period”, in The Maritime Frontier
of Burma: Exploring Political, Cultural and Commercial Interaction in the Indian Ocean World, eds., Jos
Gommans and Jacques Leider (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002), 59-78; Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower
Burma”.
45
Frasch, “Coastal Peripheries During the Pagan Period”.
46
Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”.
47
U Tin Htway, “The First Burmese Royal Inscription”, in Vorträge des 18. Deutschen
Orientalistentages, ed., Wolfgang Voigt (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1974) (cited in Frasch, “Coastal
peripheries During the Pagan Period”).
48
Frasch, “Coastal peripheries During the Pagan Period”.
49
Ibid.
50
Nihar-Ranjan Ray, “Early Traces of Buddhism in Burma”, Journal of the Greater India Society, 6, no.
1 (Jan. 1939): 1-52; Gordon H. Luce, “The Advent of Buddhism to Burma”, in Buddhist Studies in

67
Honour of I. B. Horner, eds., L. Cousins, A. Kunst and K. R. Norman (Boston: P. Reidel Publishing
Company, 1974), 119-38; Janice Stargardt, “The Oldest Known Pāli Text, 5th-6th Century: Results of the
Cambridge Symposium on the Pyu Golden Pāli Text from Śrī Kṣetra, 18-19 Apr. 1995”, Journal of the
Pali Text Society, 21 (1995): 199-213; Skilling, “The advent of Theravāda Buddhism to Mainland South-
east Asia”; a stone inscription recording paṭiccasamuppāda from the Pāli Mahāvagga is also known from
Pegu (Ibid.; Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”).
51
Poolsuwan, “Buddhist Murals”.
52
Woodward, Art and Architecture, 146-59.
53
Hiram W. Woodward, Jr., The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand (Bangkok: River Books, 1997), 115-6;
Woodward, Art and Architecture, 166-71.
54
George Cœdės, “Nouvelles données épigraphiques sur l’histoire de I’Indochine centrale”, Journal
Asiatique, 246 (1958): 125-42.
55
Woodward, Art and Architecture, 145.
56
Wyatt, “Relics oaths and politics in Thirteenth-Century Siam”; Woodward, Art and Architecture, 163-
5.
57
Woodward, Sacred Sculpture, 115-6; Woodward, Art and Architecture, 166-71.
58
Luce, Old Burma, vol. 1, chapter II; there is also a stone inscription recording paṭiccasamuppāda from
the Pāli Mahāvagga, probably dating from the mid-first millennium CE, found in Pegu (Skilling, “The
Advent of Theravāda Buddhism to Mainland South-east Asia”; Stadtner, “The Mon of Lower Burma”).
59
See a discussion in Luce, Old Burma, vol. 1, chapter II.
60
Ibid.
61
W. M. Sirisena, Sri Lanka and South-East Asia (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978), 58-81; Tilman Frasch, “A
Buddhist Network in the Bay of Bengal: Relations Between Bodhgaya, Burma and Sri Lanka, c. 300-
1300”, in From the Mediterranean to the China Sea: Miscellaneous Notes, eds., Claude Guillot, Denys

68
Lombard and Rodenrich Ptak (Weisbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1998), 69-92; Tilman Frasch, “The
Buddhist Connection: Sinhalese-Burmese Intercourse in the Middle Ages”, in Explorations in the History
of South Asia: Essays in Honour of Dietmar Rothermund, eds., Georg Berkemer, Tilman Frasch,
Hermanh Kulke and Jurgen Lütt (Delhi: Manohar, 2001), 85-97.
62
Samerchai Poolsuwan, “After Enlightenment: Scenes of the Buddha’s Retreat in the Thirteenth Century
Murals at Pagan”, Artibus Asiae, 72, no. 2 (2012): 377-97; Samerchai Poolsuwan, “The Buddha’s
Biography: Its Development in the Pagan Murals VS the Later Vernacular Literature, in the Theravādin
Buddhist context of Southeast Asia”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 27, no. 2 (2017): 255-94.
63
See examples in: Woodward, Sacred Sculpture, figs. 133-5; Woodward, Art and Architecture, plates
82 and 83; Piriya, Rāk Ngao, plates 2.377-2.380, 2.383-2.384.
64
For a review of the iconographies of the bejeweled Buddha and probably their associated meanings in
Indian and Kashmir Buddhist arts see Claudine Bautze-Picron, The Bejewelled Buddha: From India to
Burma (Delhi: Sanctum Books, 2010); for the Burmese and Mon examples see the following: Luce, Old
Burma, vol. 1, chapter X; Pamela Gutman, “A Burmese Origin for the Sukhothai Walking Buddha”, in
Burma: Art and Archaeology, eds., Alexandra Green and T. Richard Blurton (London: The British
Museum, 2002), 35-43.
65
Inscription readings provided to the author by Saya Minbu Aung Kyaing, Former Deputy Direction
General, Department of Archaeology, Myanmar.
66
P. L. Vaidya (ed.), Avadāna-śataka (Dabhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and
Research in Sanskrit Learning).
67
Peter Skilling, “Pieces in the Puzzle: Sanskrit Literature in Pre-Modern Siam”, in Buddhism and
Buddhist Literature of South-East Asia: Selected Papers, ed., Claudio Cicuzza (Bangkok and Lumbini:
Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation, Lumbini International, Research Institute, 2009), 27-45.

69
68
P. L. Vaidya (ed.), Avadāna-śataka (Dabhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and
Research in Sanskrit Learning).
69
Poolsuwan, “Buddha’s Biography”.
70
Woodward, Sacred Sculpture, 115-6.
71
Piriya, Rāk Ngao, 139.
72
See note 4.