Before I first came to Thailand, I spent about 2-3 months in India. A country I personally found fascinating in its richness of culture. So, when I arrived in Thailand I wasn’t really surprised to see Hindu influences in all walks of Thai life. From places of worship to people’s homes. An example of this is the epic Indian story The Ramayana which the Thai people adapted to become The Ramakian. Today I want to show you the Gods that Thai people believe are associated with each day of the week.
Sunday: Phra Athit (also Aditaya or Suriya), the Sun, the god of light, is seated on his chariot of seven skyhorses driven by his rider, Phra Arun. If you have visited Wat Arun in Bangkok you might already know that the translation for this temple is Temple of Dawn.
Monday: Phra Chan (or Chandra), the Moon, is a male deity who rides a chariot drawn by ten horses. His nature is suave and gentle.
Tuesday: Phra Angkhan (Angaraka) rides a water buffalo. He is Mars, the god of war, hard-work and conflict.
Wednesday: Budha is an Indian equivalent of Mercury and Woden. He rides an elephant. He is the deity of wisdom, communication and books.
Thursday: Pharutsabodi (Brihaspati) is the heavenly seer who carries a slate and rides a deer. He corresponds to Jupiter, tutor of the gods. Thursday, his day, is dedicated to teachers. At school, we always have a special ceremony for teachers at the beginning of each academic year. It is called Wai Khru. The date might vary between schools but it is always held on a Thursday.
Friday: Sukra, the god who presides over Friday, rides a bull. He is considered one of the heavenly seers as well as a tutor of the gods. He is the diety of wealth and fine art.
Saturday: Phra Sao (Sani), equivalent to Saturn, with bow and trident in his hands, is considered the god of difficulty. The people who are born under the influence of Saturn are believed to fall easily into grief, despair, and difficulties. He is seated on his vehicle, a tiger.
(I took all of the above pictures in the “Garden of Gods” section of Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan Province.)
If you already know some Thai, you probably would have noticed that there is a conection between the Thai days, the names of the gods and the names of the associated planets. Take a look at the chart below:
Further Information:
You can learn the days of the weeks and hear how they are pronounced at our sister site:
http://www.learningthai.com/days.html
http://www.learningthai.com/flashcards/days_001.html
yes, it was interesting to find out when my kids had a science lesson on the planets that the days of the week are named after them.
it is surprising to find out though that the Moon is a male deity. it seems to be female in most cultures (whereas the sun is male).
however, there is a girl I know whose name is Aditaya, spelled the same as the sun. can a girl be named for a male deity, or gender doesn’t really matter?
Pictures are very clear, thank you for this visit. I just want to add that the connection between day’s name and planets is the same in french language. Also both thai and french language (I suppose english too) have the same kind of connexion between months and zodiac’s signs.