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The Ramayana is painted in Thai monasteries. It is illustrated as bas- reliefs at Wat Po, a temple that stands on the tongue of land guarded by two canals. It is the nucleus from which modern Bangkok grew. Here repose the ashes of the first king of ruling Chakri dynasty. If Thailand has an omphalos, it is here. And the Ramakien consecrates it, which is the Thai pronunciation of Ramakirti. Painting dance-drama and sculpture are dominated by the Ramakien. In the ...
Mudras or postures of the hands have been central to the iconography and ritual of the esoteric Mantrayana and Vajrayana denominations of the Tantras. They accompany the mantras in rites, so that the verbal plane of the mantras and physical plane of the mudras harmonise to interiorise the cosmic and spiritual forces. They lend efficacy and transcendance to the processes of realisation or Sadhana. The visualisation of the Divine in one's innermost being entails ...