Sukhothai - Glory of Sukhothai

The Walking Buddha The Sukhothai walking Buddha potrayed in the round marks the peak of Sukhothai artistry. The walking Buddha had been depicted in murals in Sri Lanka and India but never in sculpture. It was first depicted in sculpture in Thailand. The style is graceful and languid, with an expression of bliss and an enigmatic smile. The smooth flowing lines and the flexed posture of the idealized figure is also quite remarkable.

The Sukhothai Buddha The Sukhothai Buddha image, particularly when cast in bronze, is regarded as the most beautiful in all Thai art. Depicted mostly in the Bhumisparsa mudra, the images are not meant to be realistic. Rather, they emphasize the Buddha's supernatural qualities. Characteristics of Sukhothai Buddhas include an oval face, hooked nose, arched eyebrows, small curls on the head, a serene smiling expression, broad shoulders and slim waist. The head is crowned by a tall flame motif representing the flame of knowledge. Steve Van Beek wrote "Sukhothai sculpture suggests a figure in the process of dematerializing, half way between solid and vapour. He doesn't walk so much as float. He doesn't sit, he levitates, and belies his masculine nature which should be hard and inflexible. Even his diaphanous robes...potray a Buddha who has already shed the trappings of this world."

The Sukhothai Viharn Though no Sukhothai-period viharn exists today in their pure form, this Sukhothai viharn at Muang Boran has been reconstructed from the evidence of records. As seen in the photograph, the windows have narrow openings. Such windows were of Khmer origin and contributed to the darkness of the interior. The two rows of columns are to draw the worshipper's eyes towards the main Buddha image. Columns surmounted lotus-bud decorations were common in Sukhothai structures.

King Ramkhamhaeng King Ramkhamhaeng was one of the greatest kings of Sukhothai. His name means "Rama the Brave". At the time of his accession to the throne, the Sukhothai Kingdom was quite small, consisting only of the city and the surrounding areas but by the end of his reign, his kingdom stretched from Luang Prabang in the east to the southern peninsula. He is often potrayed as an absolute monarch but one who ruled with justice and magnanimity. He built up an alliance with King Mengrai of Lanna and King Ngam Muang of Phayao. They agreed not to transgress, but instead to protect each others' borders against common enemies. King Ramkhamhaeng was also credited with the invention of the Thai script, which he achieved by systematizing the Khmer alphabet with Thai words.

The Ramkhamhaeng Inscription

"This Muang Sukhothai is good. In the water, there is fish. In the fields, there is rice. The lord of the realm does not levy toll on his subjects for travelling the roads; The lead their cattle to trade or ride their horses to sell; whoever wants to trade in elephants does so; whoever wants to trade in horses does so; whoever wants to trade in silver and gold does so. When any commoner or man of rank dies, his estate-his elephants, wives, children, granaries, rice, retainers and groves of areca and betel-is left in its entirety to his son.........When the King sees someone's rice, he does not covet it; When he sees someone's wealth, he does not get angry.........He has hung a bell in the opening of the gate over there: if anyone has a grievance which sickens his belly and gripes his heart, and he wants to make known to his ruler and lord, it is easy; he goes and strikes the bell which the King has hung there; King Ramkhamhaeng, the ruler of the kingdom, hears the call; he goes and questions the man, examines the case, and decides it justly for him. So the people of Muang Sukhothai praise him"

The above lines are from a famous stone inscription found in Sukhothai by King Mongkut when he was still a monk. It was written in the new script which King Ramkhamhaeng had devised and was considered the first piece of Thai literature. It bears the date 1292 on it and was probably the work of King Ramkhamhaeng. It was found in the Sukhothai Royal Palace (Non Prasat) opposite Wat Mahathat. However some experts now doubt its authenticity and believe that the stone inscription was probably made by King Mongkut himself. Nevertheless, its provides a useful window into the lives of the people in Sukhothai. It is currently being housed in the National Museum of Bangkok and a copy is housed in the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum in Sukhothai.

Loy Krathong

The festival of Loy Krathong which originated in Sukhothai takes place on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month when common floods span the Kingdom. It is held in honour of Mae KongKa(the goddess of water) for providing water, essential in Thai life whether for work in the fields, transport or simply drinking. Small lotus blossom boats made out of banana leaves filled with the traditional offerings of incense sticks, flowers and a candle are released into canals and waterways. The modern day krathong owes its existence to a royal lady named Nang Noppramas who designed a krathong and presented it to the king during an early Loy Krathong celebration in Sukhothai. Every year, Sukhothai is the site of a major gala event celebrating the Loy Krathong festival, which includes parades and full-dress reenactions of the Loy Krathong legend.