Indian Columbus

What is the most spectacular temple in Bangkok city in Thailand? It is difficult to answer. The city has innumerable marvels and surprises. Although I would love to write about all those temples, God has only allowed me to visit very few. Let me discuss one such spectacular temple in this article-  Wat Arun,  commonly known as  the Temple of Dawn  in English. Thailand and Bangkok Thailand , officially called the Kingdom of Thailand, is a small South East Asian country located near Myanmar and Cambodia. It was formerly known as  Siam . Though Thailand is officially a constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government and a hereditary monarch is the head of state, it is actually under the control of a military junta. Thailand has been heavily influenced by the culture of India for several centuries. It is evident from the Indianised names of the kingdoms, cities, and even the Kings. Ramayana, the epic from India, is very popular in...

As per Hinduism, Lord Indra is the leader of Devas (a kind of divine beings). He is the master of heaven. He controls thunder and lightning and thus decides when, where, and how much it should rain. (He is not the leader of the Gods, as wrongly interpreted by the Westerners). Irrespective of his strength and status, Indians would visualize him only as weak and feeble, thanks to his portrayal in Indian movies. As Indra is not found as the main deity in any shrine or temple, there is no way that Indians would visualize him differently or in a better way. If they come to Bangkok and visit Indra's temple, they will never accept the icon as Indra. The icon depicts him as very powerful and strong. Yes, Indra is considered an important deity in Bangkok city in Thailand. Thailand and Bangkok Thailand  officially called the Kingdom of Thailand, is a small South East Asian country near Myanmar and Cambodia. It was formerly known as  Siam . Though Thailand is officially a constitutio...

Sometimes, those who could not prosper in their own country unbelievably do so well in foreign lands. Perhaps this is meant not only for humans but also for the Gods. Lord Brahma, one of the trinity deities of Hinduism, has no temple or dedicated shrine in India (2-3 exceptions are there, which are not so popular). However, in Bangkok, finding a structure without a small or big shrine for Brahma is difficult. As per the mythology, Lord Shiva cursed Brahma not to have his own temple. It looks like Shiva's curse lost its effectiveness in Thailand. Thailand and Bangkok Thailand  officially called the Kingdom of Thailand, is a small South East Asian country located near Myanmar and Cambodia. It was formerly known as  Siam . Though Thailand is officially a constitutional monarchy, whereby the prime minister is the head of Government, and a hereditary monarch is the head of state, it is actually under the control of a military junta. Thailand has been heavily influenced by...

Lord Vishnu, in the reclining posture, is a typical iconography in South India. There are a few such icons that are very large. The icon in Tirumaiyam temple is about 15 feet long; Malayapatti has 11 feet long icon; Tiruvanantapuram has 18 feet long icon, whereas the famous Ranganatha of Sri Rangam is 20 feet long. The rock-cut reclining image of Ranganatha in Singavaram is much larger; it is 25 feet long. The largest reclining Vishnu is in Saranga village in the Dehnkana district in Orissa. It's an immense open-air rock relief measuring 51 feet in length. To my knowledge, the Vishnu of Saranga is the largest reclining icon of Vishnu. In this article, I am going to talk about the reclining Buddha image, which is larger than the largest reclining image of Vishnu. This image is found in Wat Pho Temple in Bangkok, Thailand. Measuring  46 meters in length and 15 meters in height , this is almost three times longer than the longest reclining Vishnu. (Still, this is not the largest recl...