'Siam' is an ancient labyrinth of that which is exotic, that which is chivalrous and that which is romantic, all expressed through the three dimensional world of Kingdoms, Kings and Queens as well as great spiritual teachers, court advisors and wise old bards who strove to bring heaven to earth.

 

'Siam' was originally known as 'Syama' a name which followers of the ancient Vedas of India will find familiar as its a word from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'dark' and more specific its a name which describes the dark complexion of Lord Sri Krsna.

 

'Siam' which is known today as 'Thailand' lies upon the borders of Cambodia where we find the great spiritual complex of Angkor Wat and here we find a twelfth century inscription describing the Siamese as 'syam' whose meaning is 'dark coloured people' while throughout Europe the Sea farers described their journey as 'the road to syam'.

 

 

Siam was once ruled by a powerful King whose name was 'Chakravati' a name which is formed of 'cakra' whose meaning is 'wheel' and 'varta' whose meaning is 'turn' words from the language of Sanskrit which describe one whose prowess was such the wheels ( cakra ) of his chariot could roam and turn ( varta ) freely without obstruction.

 

'Chakravati' is a great King who goes back in time some 1300 years and upon the lands of Siam he possessed the Kingdom of 'Lavapuri' words which are formed from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is 'the city ( puri ) of Lava' a city named after the son of Rama and the Ramayana, the great epic of India.

 

One day an ancient sage named 'Suthep' approached the King on behalf of the Buddhists and requested that his daughter becomes the Queen of their Kingdom which the Queen subsequently named 'Haribhunjaya' words from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is the victorious ( jaya ) land ( bhumi ) of visnu ( hari ).

 

 

'Camadevi' was the name of the Queen and a name which is formed from the language of Sanskrit whose meaning is the goddess ( devi ) of love ( kama ) and shortly after being coronated she gave birth to twins, one of which would become her successor, the King.

 

Camadevi is still being worshipped today by the people of Thailand as many visit her statue and make their offerings in the hope of receiving her blessings and as well as being a great Queen she is also seen as being a symbol of female emancipation.

 

Camadevi was succeeded by Kings who possessed names such as 'Rudanta' 'Samsara' 'Padumaraj' 'Kusadeva' 'Dasaraj' 'Yuvaraj' 'Vasudeva' and 'Ganga' names which flow from the ancient language of Sanskrit and the Vedic culture of India which once pervaded the lands of Siam and the Indo/chinese peninsula.

 

 

Siam possessed the capital city of 'Ayutthaya' a name which is from 'Ayodhya' the great capital city of Lord Rama and the Ramayana and it is said that the first King of this capital was named 'Ramathibodi' words from the language of Sanskrit meaning Rama ( ram ) the over ( adhi ) lord ( pati ) a name which has become a Thai royal title.

 

Siam was infused with the culture of the Ramayana which is known within these lands as 'Ramakian' whose meaning is 'the glory of Rama' and for centuries the lands of Siam and Thailand have expressed the Ramayana in the form of dance, music, art and architecture.

 

The current ruling dynasty of Thailand is known as the Chakri dynasty, its emblem being the chakra of Lord Visnu and the trident of Lord Siva and from the 18th century onwards all the kings have been named Rama, ten kings from Rama the 1st to Rama the 10th.

 

We also have the current capital of Thailand which according to the actual natives of Thailand is known by the name of 'Krung Thep' and even this name is incomplete as the full version of this name requires three lines of writing and is translated as follows.

 

'The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of Ayutthaya, of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous royal palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn'.

 

This is the capital of Siam, the capital of Thailand, a name which is full of Vedic nomenclature as in Indra and Visvakarma the heavenly architect, Ayodhaya the great city of Rama, and Buddha who is an incarnation of Visnu, a fitting name for the capital of a once magical country whose roots are Vedic India.

 

 

And throughout the lands of Siam we find many place names which are Sanskrit as seen in 'Singburi' meaning lion ( simha ) city ( puri ) as seen in 'Saraburi' the city ( puri ) of wealth ( sara ) as seen in 'Ratchaburi' the city ( puri ) of kings ( raja ) as seen in 'Suphanburi' the city ( puri ) of gold ( suvarna ) as seen in 'Buriram' the city ( puri ) of Rama.

 

'Nakhon Si Thammarat' was once the capital of Southern Thailand and its name means the city ( nagara ) of the auspicious ( sri ) dharma king ( dharmaraj ) and we have 'Nakhon Ratchasima' the city ( nagara ) of the lion ( simha ) king ( raj ) and we have 'Samut Prakan' the ocean ( samudra ) fortress ( prakara ).

 

'Chaiyaphum' is a province of Thailand whose meaning is the land ( bhumi ) of victory ( jaya ) and we have 'Narathiwat' the residence ( vat ) of wise ( dhi ) men ( nara ) we have 'Phitsanulok' the land ( loka ) of Visnu and we have 'Surathani' the divine ( sura ) city ( sthan ) and out of all the 76 provinces of Thailand at least 50 bear Sanskrit names.

 

 

Ancients who lived upon these lands built temples which have existed over 1000 years such as the 'Phanom Rung' which is dedicated to Siva and Mount Kailash and built by the 'Khmers' a dynasty from the lands of Vedic India who are famous for building Angkor Wat.

 

Another ancient temple we find is the 'War Sri Sawai' a temple which has also been constructed by this same dynasty who was known as the 'Khmers' and the three prominent towers of this ancient temple are the representations of Brahma, Siva and Visnu.

 

Another temple is the 'Prasat Preah Vihear' whose Sanskrit name means the beloved ( priya ) temple ( prasad ) of the celestial abode ( vihara ) a world heritage site which was built over a thousand years ago by the same Khmer dynasty and sitting some 200 feet above Sea level its similar to Angkor Wat in that its designed around Mount Meru and the abode of the gods.

 

 

Siam is a country whose national emblem is 'Garuda' the great bird carrier of Visnu and Siam is a country where over 50% of their language is formed from Sanskrit and Pali, while their Thai script is Old Khmer which is modelled after the brahmic script of the Indic family.

 

Siam is a country whose monetary coins have been inscribed with various Vedic symbols such as the conch shells, such as the dharma wheels, swastikas and cakras, such as the trisula and the srivatsa, such as the image of the great airavata and such as words from the language of Sanskrit.

 

Siam is also the daughter of Vedic India as seen in her Kings and Queens, as seen in the names of her ancient Kingdoms, as seen in her relationship to Rama and their culture of Ramayana, as seen in the names of over 50 of her 76 provinces, as seen in her ancient temples and who knows, we may even see it within the name of 'Siam' and its relationship to 'Syama' the name of Krsna who possesses a 'dark' complexion.

 

 

"There is an obstinate prejudice thanks to which India is constantly represented as having lived, as it were, hermetically sealed up in its age-old civilization, apart from the rest of Asia. Nothing could be more exaggerated. During the first eight centuries of our era, so far as religion and art are concerned, central Asia was a sort of Indian colony. It is often forgotten that in the early Middle Ages there existed a "Greater India," a vast Indian empire. A man coming from the Ganges or the Deccan to Southeast Asia felt as much at home there as in his own native land. In those days the Indian Ocean really deserved its name." The Civilizations of the East - By Rene Grousset Vol. II

 

“Looking at the cultures of the peoples of Asia in general and south east Asia in particular, the awareness grows upon us that what we see in Burma or Siam or Indonesia is but an extension of Indian culture – they could be legitimately called a Greater India.”  Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767-1835) German Indologist, Prussian minister of education, a brilliant linguist and the founder of the science of general linguistics.

 

"The culture of India has been one of the world's most powerful civilizing forces. Countries of the Far East, including China, Korea, Japan, Tibet and Mongolia owe much of what is best in their own cultures to the inspiration of ideas imported from India. The West, too, has its own debts." "But the members of that circle of civilizations beyond Burma scattered around the Gulf of Siam and the Java Sea, virtually owe their very existence to the creative influence of Indian ideas... No conquest or invasion, no forced conversion imposed them. They were adopted because people saw that they were good and that they could use them." Philip S. Rawson  -  The Art of South East Asia.