Analysis of Beliefs and Religions in the Dvaravati Era in the Ancient City of Sri Thep, Petchaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

Archaeological evidence has been discovered to date that informs the development of people living in the former Thailand from prehistoric times to historical times. However, human development from prehistoric times into historical times is not the same in each place, where most of the ancient cities of the Dvaravati period were located on the plains along the banks of important rivers. Those areas are usually in easy contact with other communities; for example, in the Lopburi-Pasak River basin, there was an ancient city called "Sri Thep" and the people of the ancient city of Sri Thep had a traditional belief cult with clear evidence that a spiritually stable culture was the human skeleton buried in earthen hills and many other objects. On the religious side, the ancient city of Sri Thep used to be the center of both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Based on the evidence, large Buddhist scriptures (Dhamma Chakra) inscribed in Balinese and Sanskrit and Amitabha Buddha statues were discovered. The statue respects both Buddha statues and Dhamma Chakra pillars, and a replica stupa, which is the motto of Theravada Buddhism, and Bodhisattva, which are idols in Mahayana traditions in both Hinduism, where stone sculptures of Vishnu and Krishna have been found. From the information studied, it can be concluded that “the ancient city of Sri Thep” has a cult, belief, and religion that has evolved into the main respect of the community in the area up to the present.