• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.43-75
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• 2011

The article focuses on the impact and Acceptance of Hindu culture in Modern Southeast Asian Buddhism. The purpose of this study is to examine critically the influential epic Ramayana on Siam culture, Thai Ramayana version 'Ramakien', reveal instances of Buddhist Modification. The Ramayana by the great sage Valmiki is considered by Indians to be the first great literary work to be produced in India. The influence of this work is to be seen not only through centuries but even in other countries, such as Thailand where there are modified modern versions. In this paper, I have three objectives : (1) I may discuss the epic Ramayana of India gave birth to the Ramakien of Thailand. In modern times Valmiki's epic was made to fit the spiritual trends current in the new Chakri dynasty, which were themselves based on Brahmanic tradition and Theravada buddhism. With regarding to the structure of the Traibhumi cosmography, and the relationship between merit and power implied by this cosmography ranks all beings from demons to deities in a hierarchy of merit which accrues according to karma the actions of past lives. (2) I analyze how to have attempted to dissect the Hindi and Thai version of the Ramayana. The Hindu concept of kingship is also depicted in the life of Rama. The Hindus see in Rama the norm of a true Hindu life characterized by the Caste and Dharma. In Thai transformed version, it does not preach Hindu values of personal or social life. The Ramakien emphasized that the Buddhism were higher than all other laws, and that the King is regarded as the incarnation of Phra Ram, and thus is also the narration of the righteous buddhist ruler. (3) I discuss how cultural or social contexts can influence the structure of the royal Wat. The whole epic was painted by the order of Rama I in the galleries of the Wat Phra Keo. In other words, it is the very centre of the dynastic cult enshrining the Emerald Buddha, the most iconic expression of the Ramakien tradition were officially amalgamated. Rama I was continued the process of elaborating and stabilizing the complex religious pattern, with Buddhism at the pinnacle. My finding will support the idea that the Ramakien is particularly appealing to the Thai people because it presents the image of an ideal king, Rama, who symbolizes the force of virtue or dharma while Thotsakan represents the force of evil. Eventually the force of good prevails. Being Buddhists, the Thai poets bring into the story the Buddhist philosophy(especially, the law of cause and effect, karma). This paper examines the role of the Hindu epic Ramayana in the historical and cultural contact between Hindu India and Buddhist Southeast Asia. It should now be possible to evaluate what elements of Hindu culture were transmitted into Thai through the Rama story.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-110
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• 2021

The Ramayana is a very popular epic in Southeast Asia. It is the story of King Rama who must save his kidnapped wife, Sita. After Sita was abducted by the Demon King Ravana (Tosakanth) and taken to Lanka, Rama and his brother rescued her with the help of the monkey warriors, especially with the help of the Monkey King Hanuman. Along the way, the epic teaches Hindu life lessons. Today The Ramayana is told and retold through literature, theatre, orally, in movies, and is referenced in many other forms of popular culture. Nowadays, in Thailand, Ravana and Hanuman deconstruct the role of divine and become folk deities that also find their places in calendar art, advertising and stamps, etc. And in Vietnam, Ravana and Hanuman have become the two figures that can't be absent from Southern Vietnam Khmer ceremonies. In this article, our aim is to show how Ravana and Hanuman became symbols of popular culture (case studies in Thailand and Vietnam). The data provided in this article is drawn from field surveys with reliable reference resources.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.181-203
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• 2023

Cultures often adopt the good versus evil dichotomy within their narratives of religious texts, aural anecdotes, and cultural mythologies. The Ramayana narrates a divine story that transcends time of the battle between the forces of good and evil, between Prince Rama and Ravana. Numerously adapted through time, the Ramayana is today told through moving visuals and has been adapted by Mani Ratnam through Raavanan (2010). Raavanan is adapted to the premise of hero versus villain using the good versus evil premise as Dev Prakash (Rama) searches to rescue his wife Raagini (Sita), who is abducted by Veeraiya (Ravana). The film, however, departs from the Ramayana as Raavanan is told through the perspective of Veeraiya. In the film, Veeraiya is portrayed as a flawed anti-hero who battles against injustice instead of being the antagonist. He seeks revenge for his sister and stands up against the oppression of his tribe. In this battle, he questions ideological understandings of justice and morality that have been conventionally interpellated within society. This paper discusses how Mani Ratnam, through the film Raavanan, contests hegemony, ideology, and class differences within modern cinema and society alongside the more significant question surrounding India's sociocultural conditions.

• Journal of the speleological society of Korea
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• no.7
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• pp.29-36
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• 1998

It is written in the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana, that Rama - deadly fatigued from the chase after the kidnappers of his wife, Sita, in the forests of the Vindhya Range - took refuge in a cave. Breathing in the balsamic cave air and gulping the crystal clear stream water, he and his companions regenerated very quickly and could soon resume their chase, successful in the end.(omitted)

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.729-730
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• 2015

In India, astronomy has been studied from the beginning of civilization. The word amateur means involvement in work for pleasure rather than as a profesion. So, amateur astronomers, in many places, prefer to be called non-professional astronomers. In India, the history of amateur astronomy is quite bright. From the Puranic age astronomy was studied for peoples' daily life. In Ramayana, Mahabharata, there is a lot of evidence of astronomical knowledge. Veda is the main source for studying the history of Indian astronomy. Today astronomy education, consciousness of astronomy education, sky observation, etc. are dependent on non-professional astronomers. Vigyan Prasar, an Indian Govt. organization, is trying to popularize astronomy throughout the country.

• (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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• no.39
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• pp.637-667
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• 2019

I have researched in the field the religious and performance culture of Indonesia through the musical iconography of Borobudur. There are many kinds of musical instruments which belong to India or Indonesia, performers being either court or folk musicians. Contemporary south-east Asian Indonesia has a broad religious heritage. Most of the population is Muslim, but the culture and customs are rooted in Indian Ramayana. I discovered, for example, the same percussion instruments played on a person's knees. I also came across similar string instruments with long and elliptical resonance casks on the iconography of the Incense Burner and Byam temple stone pagoda of Beakje dynasty in Korea and in Borobudur in Indonesia. The two musical instruments can not be found in other countries, such as Silla, Koguryŏ, China or the silk road area, but only Indonesia or India. This suggests that Beakje Buddhism is from the southern regions rather than China. I also discovered the same dancing motion with the court performers on the iconography of Borobudur, and the same musical instrument and performance in the Gamelan in today's Indonesian performance. Despite a disjuncture between the people and their past, the Shailendra Buddhism is alive in people's life and culture in the present day. So we can discover some familiarities between Indonesia's Gamelan and the percussional performance in Korean Buddhist rituals.