Phra Mae Thorani

Translations of Phra Mae Thorani
Pali	Vasudhara
Burmese	Wathondare (ဝသုန္ဒရေ) Wathondara (ဝသုန္ဒရာ)
Khmer	Preah Thorani
Pwo Karen	Soung Th' Rui^[1]
Thai	Phra Mae Thorani (พระแม่ธรณี) Mae Phra Thorani (แม่พระธรณี) Nang Thorani (นางธรณี)
Glossary of Buddhism

Phra Mae Thorani bronze statuette. Bangkok National Museum

Main article: Vasudhara

Phra Mae Thorani (Thai: พระแม่ธรณี) is an chthonic goddess from Buddhist mythology in Southeast Asia.

The earth deity's name changes in different countries, but is generally a form of a word for "earth," i.e. Pṛthivī, Kṣiti, Dharaṇī, Vasundharā, and so on. In Cambodia the earth deity is known simply by her title: nān ganhān (pronounced "neang kongheng") from nān, "lady," and gānhān, a Khmer word for "princess." In the Thai regions she is known as Nang Thoranee or Mae Thoranee: "lady earth" or "mother earth." In Burma and Arakan she is Vasundhara (transliterated variously as Wathundari, Wathundaye, Vasundari, and so on). Sometimes she is given the epithet Sundarī, "beautiful one," or Vanitā, "dear one." I use the name Vasundharā in this dissertation for consistency, but the reader should keep in mind that this particular form of the earth deity's name is unknown in Thailand or Cambodia.
— A Study of the History and Cult of the Buddhist Earth Deity in Mainland Southeast Asia^[2]

Etymology

Her name is derived from the words Thorani, the Thai pronunciation of Pali dhāraṇī "ground, earth",^[3] the honorific phra and the word mae "mother".

Iconography and symbology

Painting in a Laotian wat. Buddha during the battle with Mara pointing towards the earth, summoning Phra Mae Thorani to come to his assistance.

Wat Phnom mural: Phra Mae Thorani placing herself between the demons and Gautama Buddha.

Images of Phra Mae Thorani are common in shrines and Buddhist temples of Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. According to Buddhist myths, Phra Mae Thorani is personified as a young woman wringing the cool waters of detachment out of her hair to drown Mara, the demon sent to tempt Gautama Buddha as he meditated under the Bodhi Tree.

The Bodhisattva was sitting in meditation on his throne under the Bodhi Tree, Mara, the Evil One, was jealous and wanted to stop him from reaching enlightenment. Accompanied by his warriors, wild animals and his daughters, he tried to drive the Bodhisattva from his throne. All the gods were terrified and ran away, leaving the Bodhisattva alone to face Mara's challenge. The Bodhisattva stretched down his right hand and touched the earth, summoning her to be his witness. The earth deity in the form of a beautiful woman rose up from underneath the throne, and affirmed the Bodhisattva's right to occupy the vajriisana. She twisted her long hair, and torrents of water collected there from the innumerable donative libations of the Buddha over the ages created a flood. The flood washed away Mara and his army, and the Bodhisattva was freed to reach enlightenment.
— A Study of the History and Cult of the Buddhist Earth Deity in Mainland Southeast Asia^[4]

In temple murals, Phra Mae Thorani is often depicted with the Buddha in the mudra known as calling the earth to witness. The waters flowing forth from her long hair wash away the armies of Mara and symbolize the water of the bodhisattva's perfection of generosity (dana parami).

Calling the earth to witness

In the iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and Thailand, "touching the earth" mudra refers to the Buddha's pointing towards the earth to summon the Earth Goddess to come to his assistance in obtaining enlightenment by witnessing to his past good deeds.^[5]

Phra Mae Thorani fountain, Bangkok

Buddhist water libation

Photograph of a libation ceremony in 1900.

In Buddhism in Burma, the water ceremony (yay zet cha), which involves the ceremonial pouring of water from a glass into a vase, drop by drop, concludes most Buddhist ceremonies including donation celebrations and feasts. This ceremonial libation is done to share the accrued merit with all other living beings in all 31 planes of existence.^[6] While the water is poured, a confession of faith, called the hsu taung imaya dhammanu, is recited and led by the monks.^[7] Then, the merit is distributed by the donors, called ahmya wei, by saying Ahmya ahmya ahmya yu daw mu gya ba gon law three times, with the audience responding thadu, Pali for "well done." The earth goddess, known in Burmese as Wathondara (ဝသုန္ဒရာ) or Wathondare (ဝသုန္ဒရေ), is invoked to witness these meritorious deeds.^[7] Afterward, the libated water is poured on soil outside, to return the water to the goddess.

Modern use as a symbol

Phra Mae Thorani is featured in the logo of:

The Bangkok Metropolitan Waterworks Authority.
The Democrat Party (Thailand) to emphasise the importance of earth and water for Thailand, together with the Pali proverb sachamwe amatta wacha (สจฺจํเว อมตา วาจา) "truth is indeed the undying word," to symbolise the values of the Party.^[8]

Notes

References

↑ Gravers, Mikael (2012). "Waiting for a righteous ruler: The Karen royal imaginary in Thailand and Burma". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. National University of Singapore. 43 (2). doi:10.1017/S0022463412000094.
↑ Guthrie, p. 2.
↑ Turner 2006, p. 385.
↑ Guthrie 2004, p. 1.
↑ Cooler 2009.
↑ Spiro, Melford E. (1996). Burmese supernaturalism. Transaction Publishers. pp. 44–47. ISBN 978-1-56000-882-8.
1 2 Spiro, Melford E. (1982). Buddhism and society: a great tradition and its Burmese vicissitudes. University of California Press. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-0-520-04672-6.
↑ Guthrie 2004, p. 175.

Bibliography

Cate, Sandra (2003). Making Merit, Making Art: A Thai Temple in Wimbledon. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2357-3.
Cooler, Dr. Richard M. (2009). "The Enlightened Buddha" (Illustrated study guide). The art and culture of Burma, Chapter III The Pagan period : Burma's classic age - 11th To 14th centuries, Part 4 D. Sculpture, 2. A thematic discussion of iconography and meaning. SEAsite, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
Guthrie, Elizabeth (2004), "A Study of the History and Cult of the Buddhist Earth Deity in Mainland Southeast Asia", Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD in Religious Studies at the University of Canterbury, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, p. 2
Holt, John (2009). Spirits of the Place: Buddhism and Lao Religious Culture. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3327-5.
Marshall (2005). Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-7563-7.
Mishra, P. K. (1 January 1999). Studies in Hindu and Buddhist Art. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-368-7.
Roveda, Vittorio (2005). Images of the Gods: Khmer Mythology in Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. River Books. ISBN 978-974-9863-03-9.
Stratton, Carol (2004). Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand. Serindia Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-932476-09-5.
Swearer, Donald K. (1 January 1995). The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-2165-0.
Terwiel, B. J. (1994). Monks and magic: an analysis of religious ceremonies in central Thailand. White Lotus.
Turner, Sir Ralph Lilley; Dorothy Rivers Turner (2006) [1962]. A comparative dictionary of the Indo-Aryan languages. (Accompanied by three supplementary volumes: indexes, compiled by Dorothy Rivers Turner: 1969. – Phonetic analysis: 1971. – Addenda et corrigenda: 1985. ed.). London: Oxford University Press.

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