Mahatlek
(Th.)
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Royal page - The Department of the Royal Pages was lead by the department head who was invariably a royal relative. There were
four directors (jang wang) immediately under. These four had the title of Chao Mun, with a Sakdina of 1000, and were addressed
colloquially as Phra Nai. The four were: Sanphet Phakdi, Si Sorarak/Si Saowarak, Samu Jairat, and Wai Woranat.
[Reference: The story of Khun Chang, Khun Phaen - Chap 13.]
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Mahayana Buddhism
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"Great Vehicle" or "Great Means of Progression", the name of an important sect of Buddhism that arose in northern India after the
Buddha's death. It used the Sanskrit language, gave more importance to ideas of divinity and ritual introduced from Brahmanism
and invented new doctrine freely. The most characteristic feature of the Mahayana is the worship of many Bodhisattvas and TAras,
the female counterpart of Bodhisattva. The adherents of this sect used the term Hinayana ("Smaller Vehicle" or "Inferior Vehicle") to
describe Theravada Buddhism or "Doctrine of the Elders." The Theravada uses Pali as its sacred language and tries to adhere as
closely as possible to the teachings of the Buddha preserved in that language.
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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Malai luk kaeo
(Th.)
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A series of superimposed Torus mouldings placed below the anda. (See also Anda)
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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Malai thao
(Th.)
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See Malai luk kaeo.
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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Manthakini
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One of the seven great lakes of half-mythical Himaphan - the Buddhist fairyland and in which grow the red-blue rose and white
lotuses.
[Ref: The Wheel of the Law - Alabaster Henry (1871) - page 296.]
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Mara
(P., Skt. )
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[Man (Th.)] : King of the demons, the Evil One, the Tempter; the personification of material desires and obstacles.
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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Mandapa
(P., Ski.)
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See Mondop.
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Men
(Th.)
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See Meru.
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Meru
(Skt.)
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A huge pavilion of teak-wood, on which the urn is to be placed and which symbolizes Mount Meru; its pillars, framework and roof
are covered with gold and silver leaves and inlaid with glass-work. (Th. : Men).
[Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethnics - James Hastings (2003) - page 487]
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Mondop
(Th.)
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[Thai pronunciation of mandapa (P., Ski.)]: For the Thais, it is a building with a square structure and a stepped pyramidal roof, built
to house the objects of special veneration i.e. a Buddha image or footprint.
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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Mongkut
(Th.)
|
An architectural structure comprised of tiers of disks which rise in descending order of size to a pointed finial. Used to cap
important temple buildings, notably the prasat. The tiers symbolize the 33 Buddhist levels of perfection, a concept borrowed from
the Hindu 33 levels of heaven represented in the prang. The term also describes the crown worn by Thai Kings.
[The Arts of Thailand - Steve Van Beek, Luca Invernizzi - page 242]
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Mount Meru
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Mount Meru is the centre of each system, round it are seven alternate belts of ocean and mountain ; then an eighth (the great)
ocean, at the four cardinal points of which are the four great human worlds or continents (Siamese, Thawip ; Sanscrit, Dvipas), one
inhabited by men, the other three by half-human beings. Each great continent has around it five hundred islands. The system is
bounded by the walls of the world, the crystal mountain Chakkrawan. On the annular mountains, and on and above Meru, are the
six lower heavens, inhabited by Dewas, or ordinary angels, whose pleasures are of a sensual nature, and who are blessed with an
immense number of wives. Above them are nine tiers of heavens, which are subdivided into sixteen heavens, wherein dwell the
Brahma angels (Siamese, Phrom), superior angels, whose pleasures are simply intellectual or meditative, but who are yet mundane,
in that they have bodies or forms. Above them are the four highest heavens of the spiritual, or formless Brahma angels. The Dewa
heavens are attainable by virtue and charity, but the Brahma heavens are entered only by those who have devoted themselves to the
abstract meditation called by Buddhists Dhyana (Siamese, Chan).
[The Weel of The Law - Henry Alabaster (1871) - Trubner & Co, London - page 293.]
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Muk
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Porch, a built-out roofed doorway or entrance to a building usually at the front or back of the building. Sometimes this part is not
provided with an entrance and fixed on the four sides of the monument but is still called "muk" by art history scholars because it is
more projected than "sum" or "sum charanam" (See also Sum charanam).
[Ref: An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand - Sonthiwan Intralib (1991).]
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