Mount Meru, also known as Sumeru, Sineru, or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes. The mountain is also mentioned in some scriptures of non-Indian based religions such as Taoism, which was influenced by the arrival of Buddhism in China. There is no clear identification of Mount Meru with a particular geophysical location but it is always located in the Himalayan or Aravalli ranges. But it is located in the middle of the four great continents of the cosmo.
The Sukhothai Kingdom was a post-classical Siamese kingdom (maṇḍala) in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thailand. It evolved from a trading hub to a city-state in 1127 and emerged into the kingdom by Si Inthrathit in 1238. Sukhothai existed as an independent polity until 1438 when it fell under the influence of the neighboring Ayutthaya after the death of Borommapan.
Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. It houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is venerated as the country's palladium.
Nakhon Sawan is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat). It lies in lower northern Thailand, neighbouring the provinces of Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Lopburi, Sing Buri, Chai Nat, Uthai Thani, and Tak.
Sukhothai is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat); it lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phrae, Uttaradit, Phitsanulok, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, and Lampang. Sukhothai can be translated as 'dawn of happiness'.
Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in north central Thailand. It is near the city of Sukhothai, capital of Sukhothai Province.
Chaiyaphum is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat), located in central northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, Lopburi, and Phetchabun.
Ubon Ratchathani, often shortened to Ubon (อุบลฯ), is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces lies in lower northeastern Thailand also called Isan. Ubon is about 630 km (390 mi) from Bangkok. Neighboring provinces are Sisaket, Yasothon, and Amnat Charoen. To the north and east it borders Salavan and Champasak of Laos, to the south Preah Vihear of Cambodia.
Lopburi is a province in the central region of Thailand. The province is divided into 11 administrative districts, and Mueang Lopburi district is the capital. With over 750,000 people, the province is Thailand's 36th largest area and 32nd most populous. There are eight neighboring provinces, Phetchabun, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Saraburi, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Sing Buri, and Nakhon Sawan.
Mukdahan is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (changwat) and lies in upper northeastern Thailand, also called Isan. Neighboring provinces are Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Roi Et, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon, and Nakhon Phanom. To the east it borders the Mekong River, across which lies Savannakhet province of Laos to which it is joined by the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
In various Asian religious traditions, the Nagas are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. Furthermore, Nagas are also known as dragons and water spirits. A female naga is called a Nagi, or a Nagini. Their descendants are known as Nagavanshi. According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years. They are principally depicted in three forms: as entirely human with snakes on the heads and necks, as common serpents, or as half-human, half-snake beings in Hinduism and Buddhism.
The Pa Sak River is a river in central Thailand. The river originates in the Phetchabun Mountains, Dan Sai District, Loei Province, and passes through Phetchabun Province as the backbone of the province. It then passes through the eastern part of Lopburi Province and Saraburi Province, until it joins the Lopburi River northeast of Ayutthaya Island, before it runs into the Chao Phraya River southeast of Ayutthaya near Phet Fortress. It has a length of 513 km (319 mi) and drains a watershed of 16,291 km2 (6,290 sq mi). The annual discharge is 2.4 km3 (0.58 cu mi).
A kinnara is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are described as part human and part bird, and have a strong association with music and love. Believed to come from the Himalayas, they often watch over the well-being of humans in times of trouble or danger. An ancient Indian string instrument is known as the Kinnari vina.
Maha Thammaracha I, born as Li Thai, was a king of the Sukhothai Kingdom, and the first Buddhist philosopher to write in the Thai language. He reigned from roughly 1347 until his death in 1368. Li Thai was the son of Loe Thai and the grandson of Ram Khamhaeng the Great.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya Historical Park, Thailand, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, outside Ayutthaya island. It is one of Ayutthaya's best known temples and a major tourist attraction.
The lands situated in the present-day Phitsanulok Province of Thailand have been inhabited since the Stone Age, although the neolithic inhabitants of the region are not likely to have been the ancestors of the modern Thai people who reside there today. The earliest historical records relating to what is now Phitsanulok Province indicates that at a time prior to or during the 11th century, the present-day city of Phitsanulok was but a small strategic Khmer outpost known as Song Khwae. During the next century, in 1188, Nakhon Thai, located near the center of the present Phitsanulok Province, was established as the capital city of the Singhanavati Kingdom, an early city-state of Thailand. Later, during Thailand's Sukhothai Period, the city of Phitsanulok emerged as a major city in the east of the Sukhothai Kingdom, and the great temples of Wat Chula Manee, Wat Aranyik and Wat Chedi Yod Thong were constructed. In 1357, the renowned Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat was erected, and the Ayutthaya Period witnessed the construction of several of the province's other chief temples. Phitsanulok served for 25 years as the capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. In 1555, King Naresuan the Great was born in the city of Phitsanulok. Naresuan played a significant role in the history of Thailand, as he expanded the kingdom to its greatest territorial extent, by conquering sizable portions of modern-day Burma and Cambodia. In recent times, Phitsanulok Province has become an important agricultural center, part of the Bread Basket of Thailand, providing rice and other crops to consumers in Thailand and throughout the world. Extensive agricultural development over the last hundred years or so has spawned a modern infrastructure in the urban areas of the province, bringing with it an array of modern roads, universities, hospitals and other conveniences. Over the years, the Nan River and its tributaries have played a substantial role in the history and development of the region by providing a route for transportation, fertile soil for agriculture, and water for irrigation. The river waters have also served as a route for enemy invaders, and have been the source of periodic widespread flooding throughout the province.
A wat is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Phu Soi Dao National Park named after 2,120 metres (6,960 ft) high Phu Soi Dao mountain, is a protected area at the southern end of the Luang Prabang Range in the Thai/Lao border area, on the Thai side of the range. It is located in Ban Khok and Nam Pat Districts of Uttaradit Province and Chat Trakan District of Phitsanulok Province. The park was established as Thailand's 109th national park in 2008.
The Phi Pan Nam Range, also Pee Pan Nam, is a 400 km (249 mi) long system of mountain ranges in the eastern half of the Thai highlands. The range lies mostly in Thailand, although a small section in the northeast is within Sainyabuli and Bokeo provinces of Laos.
Wat Pa Sak is a wat in Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Located just outside the city's old walls, the temple derives its name from the 300 teaks planted on the site around the time of its foundation. Wat Pa Sak's origins date back to the 13th or 14th centuries.
