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10 August 2007
How to pray
Some voice of whom praying them
- 'I worship the Jatukam deity in the way I worship the Lord Buddha and Arahants'
-' The Jatukam deity is always gives my blessings and protects me followers from danger'
-'It’s a miracle.I knew that the amulet was created for me'
-“The Jatukam deity won’t help bad people. His worshippers have to at least practise the five Buddhist precepts. And the deity won’t help us if we ask for things that we can’t afford or things that aren’t moral. I hope to buy a small house for my family and I believe the Jatukam deity will help me,”
More information
The talismans are made in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya by laymen and Buddhist monks.
According to historians, old Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part of Srivijaya, a coastal kingdom incorporating Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, mainland Indochina and western Borneo that flourished from around 500 CE until the late 11th century.
History also tells us that the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism held sway in Srivijaya, and that its ruler considered himself a bodhisattva.
Legend has it that King Chandrabhanu, who was also known as Pangpagan, was a black-skinned warrior who courageously battled evil. This is why amulets of Pangpagan and Rahu (a black deity who inspires terror) are included in the group of Jatukam talismans.
The classic Jatukam is depicted seated, with his right leg slightly lifted; sometimes he has a seven-headed serpent behind him.
The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes, and flanked by serpents. Rahu can be recognised as a demon’s head.
Other symbols on Jatukam talismans include the sun and the moon, the animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 12 cities.
Not everyone agrees, however, that the Jatukam deity’s true identity is the Chandrabhanu bodhisattava. Some locals believe that the Jatukam is the guardian of the Maha That (the remains of Lord Buddha) in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Maha That Temple, built around 854 CE.
According to ancient beliefs, Maha That was the sacred centre of both the city and the universe.
Two statues of the deity, with names engraved at their bases, stand at the entrance of the Maha That pagoda: Tao Jatukam at the west gate and Tao Ramathep at the east gate, while the head of Jatukam decorates the top of the new city pole.
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