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Thai Buddha amulet

Blessed item

  • 12 min read
  • 5 chapters

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The term "amulet" in this sense first appeared during the Rattanakosin period under King Rama IV, and it came to include votive tablets (originally from India) as part of the category of amulets.

History

The origins of Thai Buddhist amulets trace back to votive tablets, which existed long before the modern notion of amulets. Buddhism entered present-day Thailand during the Dvaravati period, bringing the Indian tradition of creating votive tablets. In Dvaravati art, these tablets were created to perpetuate Buddhism, associated with doctrines such as the Five Disappearances (pañcāntaradhāna).

During the Srivijaya period, influenced by Mahayana Buddhism, votive tablets were created to dedicate merit to the deceased and accumulate merit toward becoming a bodhisattva. In the Ayutthaya period, tablets were increasingly used for auspiciousness, sanctity, and protection, with warriors carrying them into battle instead of talismans like phrajiat, takrut, or herbal charms.

In the early Rattanakosin period, protective amulets became highly popular. These votive tablets intended for supernatural protection and blessings came to be collectively called phra khrueang (amulets). They were also used to raise funds for temple operations; monks would give amulets as "gifts" in exchange for donations.

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