Manimekhala ( pi, Maṇīmekhalā) is a goddess in the Hindu-Buddhist mythology. She is regarded as a guardian of the seas, namely the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

as part of the mythology of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. She was placed by Cātummahārājika to protect virtuous beings from shipwreck. She appears in several Buddhist stories including the

Mahanipata Jataka The ''Mahanipata Jataka'' (), sometimes translated as ''the Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha'', are a set of stories from the Jataka tales (Khuddaka Nikāya) describing the ten final lives of the Bodisattva who would finally be born as Si ...

(Mahajanaka

Jataka The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

), in which she rescues Prince Mahajanaka from a shipwreck. Anne Elizabeth Monius. Imagining a place for Buddhism: literary culture and religious community in Tamil-speaking South India. Oxford University Press US, 2001, pages 111-112

Etymology

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

, ' refers to a girdle or belt of jewels. In Southeast Asia, she is known by various indigenized appellations, including as Mani Maykhala () in Burmese, as Moni Mekhala () or Neang Mekhala () in Khmer; as Mani Mekkhala () in

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

In Mainland Southeast Asia

Archaeological evidence of Manimekhala in the form of reliefs has been found in Zothoke,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(near Bilin), dating to the first millennium AD. Manimekhala is seen in

wat A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」（w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...

paintings across

Mainland Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

depicting scenes from the

Mahajanaka The ''Mahanipata Jataka'' (), sometimes translated as ''the Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha'', are a set of stories from the Jataka tales (Khuddaka Nikāya) describing the ten final lives of the Bodisattva who would finally be born as Sid ...

. In Thailand and Cambodia, she is considered a goddess of lightning and the seas.

Manimekhala and Ramasura

The story of Manimekhala and Ramasura is mentioned many times in the classical literature of Cambodia and Thailand. It depicts Manimekhala along with Ramasura (usually considered a depiction of

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the ''Chiranjeevis'' (Immortals), who will appear ...

) and

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

. According to legend, the phenomena of

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

and

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

is produced from the flashing of Manimekhala's crystal ball and the sound of Ramasura's axe as he pursues her through the skies.

In Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, she is considered to be the sea goddess. In the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

epic poem, the

Manimekalai ''Maṇimēkalai'' ( ta, மணிமேகலை, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil-Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably around the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a s ...

, she puts the eponymous heroine to sleep and takes her to the island Maṇipallavam ( Nainatheevu). In the mythic cycle of the god Devol, when the latter approaches Sri Lanka and his ship founders, it is Manimekhalai, on the instructions of the god Śakra, who conjures up a stone boat to save him.

Dance

In the classical dance traditions of Thailand and Cambodia, sacred dramatic dances depict the story of Manimekhala and Ramasura.

Cambodia

'' Robam Moni Mekhala'' ( km, របាំមុនីមេខលា, also known as ''Robam Mekhala-Reamesor'') is a

Khmer classical dance The Royal Ballet of Cambodia ( km, របាំព្រះរាជទ្រព្យ) is a dance company of Cambodia, famous for its luxury of costumes, accessories, gold and silver, accompanied by a beautiful soft dance. It is a dance th ...

that portrays the story of Moni Mekhala and Reamesor. It is part of the ''buong suong'' dance suite that is among the most sacred of Khmer classical dances, serving a ceremonial purpose to invoke rain upon the land.

Thailand

In Thailand, the Mekkhala–Ramasun dance was performed as a ''boek rong'' ('prelude dance') introduction before main performances of ''

lakhon nai Lakhon nai ( th, ละครใน, ) is a Thai performing art originating in the royal court of Thailand (formerly Siam). It features slow choreography accompanied by a piphat ensemble. The repertoire of lakhon nai consists of only four epics; t ...

'' or ''

khon Khon ( th, โขน, ) is a dance drama genre from Thailand. Khon has been performed since the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It is traditionally performed solely in the royal court by men in masks accompanied by narrators and a traditional piphat ensemb ...

'' dances.

In modern usage

*The popular Burmese pop singer

Maykhala May Kha Lar ( my, မေခလာ, ; also spelled Maykhalar) is a Burmese singer who was one of the most popular Burmese pop vocalists in the 1980s. Her stage name is derived from Manimekhala, a Buddhist goddess. She is known for her Burmese ...

derives her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

from Manimekhala. *Her name was contributed by Thailand for tropical cyclone names occurring as Tropical Storm Mekkhala in 2002, 2008, 2015, and 2020. Also, one award given to the television industry in Thailand since 1980 is called the Mekkhala Award.

References

External links

The Goddess and the Ogre - A Cambodian Legend
{{Authority control Sea and river goddesses Buddhist folklore Thunder goddesses Cambodian legends Burmese folklore Cambodian folklore Laotian folklore Thai folklore Indian folklore Indian legends