Māravijaya attitude or ''mara vichai'' ( th, ปางมารวิชัย, ;
Khmer: ព្រះពុទ្ធផ្ចាញ់មារ, ''preah pud (buddha) p'chanh mea'') is an
attitude of Buddha in Thai art of which the seated Buddha is putting his hand in the relax posture towards to the ground, loosely holding his knee. The other hand is on his lap. His eyes, sometimes closed, look down to the ground. The gesture of the hand reaching the ground is called ''
bhumisparshamudra'', which also refers to the attitude as well. The gesture refers to the episode which the Buddha calling the
earth to witness.
In
Khmer art, this attitude of Buddha is called ''preah pud (buddha) p'chanh mea'' which means the sacred buddha defeating the enemy (māra).
The attitude refers to the episode that he was reaching the
enlightenment and being disturbed by
maras. Learning that the maras asked him to give up, he touched the ground and called the
Phra Mae Thorani
Vasundharā or Dharaṇī is a chthonic goddess from Buddhist mythology of Theravada in Southeast Asia. Similar earth deities include Pṛthivī, Kṣiti, and Dharaṇī, Vasudhara bodhisattva in Vajrayana and Bhoomi devi and Prithvi in hind ...
to help him fight with the maras.
Thoranee called tonnes of water and flooded away the maras. The episode results in the name ''Mara Vichai'' which means the "Victory (vichai) over the Mara". Other Thai names are ''Chana Mara'' (ชนะมาร; victory over the Mara) and ''Sadoung Mara'' (สะดุ้งมาร; striking fear into the Mara)
The ''Maravijaya'' seated Buddha is considered the most-built attitude for principle Buddha in of Burmese, Khmer, Lao and Thai
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 ...
s.
Notable examples
As mentioned, the ''Maravijaya'' Buddha is the most commonly-built Buddha, some of the notable
Buddharupa
Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as Buddharūpa (literally, "Form of the Awakened One") in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in ...
s in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
that are built depicting the ''Maravijaya'' are;
*
Great Buddha of Thailand
The Great Buddha of Thailand, also known as The Big Buddha, The Big Buddha of Thailand, Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin, and Mahaminh Sakayamunee Visejchaicharn ( th, พระพุทธมหานวมินทรศากยมุนีศรี ...
*
Phuket Big Buddha
Phuket Big Buddha, or The Great Buddha of Phuket, is a seated Maravija Buddha statue in Phuket, Thailand. The official name is Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakiri ( th, พระพุทธมิ่งมงคลเอกนาคคีรี; ), ...
*
Golden Buddha of
Wat Traimit
The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwanna Patimakon ( th, พระพุทธมหาสุวรรณปฏิมากร; sa, Buddhamahāsuvarṇapaṭimākara), commonly known in Thai as Phra Sukhothai Traimit ( th, ...
*Phra Achana in
Sukhothai Historical Park
Sukhothai Historical Park ( th, อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์สุโขทัยPronunciation) covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th cent ...
Gallery
File:Preah Pithu25.JPG, Double row of sculpted Buddhas in sanctuary chamber of temple "X" of Preah Pithu
Preah Pithu ( km, ប្រាសាទព្រះពិធូរ, ) is a group of five temples at Angkor, Cambodia.
In fact they were in all probability not designed as a group. Despite their ruined state, the remains have good decorative carv ...
, Angkor
Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...
, Cambodia.
File:Phra Buddha Shinnasee (I).jpg, in Phitsanulok province
File:Phra Putta Trilokachet.jpg, at Wat Suthat
Wat Suthat Thepwararam ( th, วัดสุทัศนเทพวราราม, ) is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok (23 in Thailand). Construction was begun ...
, Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
File:Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin Sakayamuni Sri Wisetchaichan 2.jpg, Great Buddha of Thailand
The Great Buddha of Thailand, also known as The Big Buddha, The Big Buddha of Thailand, Phra Buddha Maha Nawamin, and Mahaminh Sakayamunee Visejchaicharn ( th, พระพุทธมหานวมินทรศากยมุนีศรี ...
File:Big Buddha - Phuket, Thailand.JPG, Phuket Big Buddha
Phuket Big Buddha, or The Great Buddha of Phuket, is a seated Maravija Buddha statue in Phuket, Thailand. The official name is Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakiri ( th, พระพุทธมิ่งมงคลเอกนาคคีรี; ), ...
File:Laos - Luang Prabang 105 - Buddha statue at Wat Xieng Thong (6582771709).jpg, at Wat Xieng Thong
Wat Xieng Thong ( lo, ວັດຊຽງທອງ; "Temple of the Golden City") is a Buddhist temple (vat or wat) on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Phrabang, Laos.Lall, Vikram. ''The Golden Lands: Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, ...
, Luang Prabang
Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r) ...
, Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
File:Wat Traimitr Golden Buddha.png, Golden Buddha of Wat Traimit
The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwanna Patimakon ( th, พระพุทธมหาสุวรรณปฏิมากร; sa, Buddhamahāsuvarṇapaṭimākara), commonly known in Thai as Phra Sukhothai Traimit ( th, ...
References
Thai Buddha Attitudes translations*translated from
:th:ปางมารวิชัย on
Thai Wikipedia
The Thai Wikipedia ( th, วิกิพีเดียภาษาไทย) is the Thai language edition of Wikipedia. It was started on 25 December 2003. As of , it has articles and registered users. As of March 2022, Wikipedia (all lang ...
External links
*{{commons inline, Bhumisparshamudra
Buddhist art
Buddhist iconography
Laotian art
Thai Buddhist art and architecture
Buddhism in Laos
Cultural depictions of Gautama Buddha