Sree Andaman Narayanan Temple Project Introduction

TEMPLE ORIGINS - THE LORD'S RECENT HISTORY - SREE ANDAMAN NARAYANAN - LOCATION - NEW DEVASTANAM PLANS - CONTACT INFORMATION

According to Thai archaeological findings the city of Takua Pa in Southern Thailand’s Phangnga province was the center of Hindu faith in ancient Southern Thailand ( 7th to 9th century). Later this city was also crucial to the propagation of Buddhism in the area ( 12th to 13th century).

The community in Takua Pa, which was then as is now, an agriculture based society, were highly influenced by Tamil Hindu traders of Southern India. Amongst the hills of Takua Pa the community had built several temples in the Pallava Hindu architectural style. At the center of this complex of temples was a Narayanan Temple. A majestic deity of Lord Narayanan who stood over 8 feet tall at the central shrine of this temple was built on the summit of Narai hill (Narai is Thai for Narayanan), at the base of which flows the Takua Pa river. Excavations done by Thailand’s archaeological department unearthed base structures of the temple, which consisted of earthen bricks and rocks. Artifacts such as pottery and ornaments were also found on the site. Not far from the summit a piece of stone with ancient Tamil writings was discovered.

Ancient Takua Pa must have been a rich and prosperous city as folklore talk of rivalry with the Kingdom of Burma for its control. Folklore, tells of one of these wars with the Burmese, when they sacked Takua Pa. According to the story, the Burmese King wanted to take the Narayanan deity on Narai hill back to Burma. He had a raft built and had moved the statue to the river at the base of the hill. However on the day they wanted cast-off, the river tides rose mysteriously beaching the large Narayanan deity with his accompanying deites Bhumidevi and that of Sage Narada on the banks of the Takua Pa river at the foot of Narai hill. This incident dissuaded the Burmese from moving the deities and they (the three deities) remained at the base of the hill for many more centuries under the watchful care of the locals.

With the discovery of massive deposits of tin in Phangnga province in the 19th century, the district began to boom with prospectors looking for tin off the shores of Phangnga and inland. Following the tributaries of the many rivers that crisscross the district, tin miners began to move further upriver into the heart of Phangnga province. As they kept moving deeper inland up the Takua Pa river, the locals feared for the safety to the deities of Lord Narayanan and His entourage.

To keep the miners from damaging the statues, the community decided to move the highly revered deities across the river from Narai Hill to its opposite bank where the terrain is more friendly compared to the steep Narai Hill. They moved the statue about 200 meters away from the bank and leaned them on a banyan tree and continued their worship.

As the years went by, the tree started to grow around the statues and began to cover them. It was not until a new menace threatened the safety of the statues that the community decided to move them to a safer location. This time the threat came from looters who were breaking parts of the statue to be sold to collectors of ancient artifacts.

They then moved Lord Narayanan and the two others to the Narai Utthayan Park in Takua Pa town, sometime in the early 60s and continued their reverance until the archaeological department of Thailand took an interest in the preservation of the statues. From the park, they then moved to Nakhon Si Thammarat museum before finally settling in the Phuket Museum where the statues are currently.

According to the Phuket museum officials, once the temple of Lord Andaman Narayanan is built, the museum will move the original deities to a museum maintained building adjacent to the new temple.

The pictures below are of Lord Narayanan and His entourage overgrown by a large banyan, taken before the statues were moved to Narai Utthayan Park in the center of Takua Pa town are as follows:

According to records from the Phuket museum, Lord Andaman Narayanan deity was carved out of a type of sandstone. From the top of His crown to the feet the statue stands at 2.53 meters or 8.3 feet tall. At its widest Lord Narayanan is 104 meter or about 3.5 feet wide. The deity is said to be carved in the Pallava sculpture style of South Indian and thought to be done by carvers during the 'See Vichai' period in Thai history around the Thai Buddhist year of 1400, which is about 1,100 years ago (current Thai year is 2552). His Thai name is Awaninarainan.

Lord Narayanan is a form of Lord Vishnu as the Preserver. The belief in the Hindu Trimurthi in Thailand is prevalent. As such, Lord Brahman represents the Creator, Lord Vishnu is the Preserver where as Lord Shiva is the Destroyer. These three Supreme Beings are part of Supreme Godhead in the Hindu theology. As Takua Pa is a mainly agricultural and trading society, Vishnu worship was then, as it is now, prominent. Even with the advent of Buddhism in the area around 800 years ago, Hindu elements of worship and philosophy remained in the culture as the two mainstream religions amalgamated. Presently the replicas of Lord Sree Andaman Narayanan are worshipped in two locations in Takua Pa. One is at Takua Pa town's Utthayan Narai Park and the other is at Wat Leh, not far away from Narai Hill.

Lord Narayanan is the center of worship in Wat Leh, which is just a few kilometers from Narai Hill. The abbot of this wat (Thai temple), Achan Charan, (pictured above) was instrumental to the preservation of the original Lord Andaman Narayanan. His wat holds some of the orginal relics from Narai Hill, such as the body of Goddes Bhumidevi statue whose head was broken and is now in the Phuket museum.

Parts of the orginal statues of Lord Narayanan and Sage Narada on display in Wat Leh. On the left is Lord Andaman Narayanan's sudarshana chakra, a disc shaped weapon. On the right is the hand of Sage Narada.

Lord Narayanan is often pictured with two consorts. One is Goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) and the other is Goddess Bhumidevi (Mother Earth). In Thailand the worship of Bhumidevi as the main consort of Lord Narayanan is prevalent. Goddess Bhumidevi kneels to the left of Lord Andaman Narayanan. The statue pictured here is a replica in Wat Leh.

Sage Narada is know as Lord Narayanan’s most ardent devotee. He often travels between Vaikuntha (heaven) and Earth singing the praises of Lord Narayanan. His greeting is “Narayana, Narayana.” His role in Hindu myth of the Trimurthis is often to make mischief or create trouble that would instigate the appearance of Lord Narayanan on Earth. Sage Narada kneels to the right of Lord Andaman Narayanan. The statue pictured here is a replica i Wat Leh. In Phuket museum the original statue is defaced.



Phangnga province of Southern Thailand is famous for its rocky limestone outcroppings both off shore and inland. The natural beauty of this region includes forest and marine national parks, hotsprings, fresh agricultural produce and its quiet and serene settings.

Set amongst the verdant agricultural lands, forests and rolling hills of Phangnga province is Narai hill. At the base of the hill flows the Takua Pa river. On the summit of this hill was the location of the original Lord Andaman Narayanan Temple temple. After the temple was demolished the deities eventually made their way to the opposite bank Takua Pa river from Narai Hill. About 200 meters from the sandy river bank is the site where the deities were placed and later overgrown by trees. After the deities were moved to the park, the land remained empty until plans to restore Narai Hill and the site where the deities were worshipped under the trees to their past spiritual glory were developed by the local community.

Currently the excavated site on Narai Hill remains preserved with the ancient stone foundations of the old temple while plans are underway to develop the site where the the deites were worshipped under the trees into a traditional Tamil style Hindu temple complex.

Temporarily a simple structure that encloses a metal deity of Lord Narayanan, placed where the orginal Lord Andaman Narayanan deity was extracted from the trees, exists.

Ever since the erection of the Lord Sree Andaman Narayanan temple on Narai Hill, more than a thousand years ago, the worship of Lord Narayana has never ceased in Takua Pa. Despite the temple being destroyed and the deities scavenged by ruthless artifact hunters, the community of the area have always worshipped Lord Narayanan and maintained Narai Hill and the new temple site as holy sites, keeping at bay other developments and doing their best to protect the deities.

This millennia old commitment to Lord Narayanan is now blossoming into a new temple project in area. The local community inspired by the past glory of Takua Pa and its spiritual culture have embarked on a project to rejuvenate both Narai Hill and new temple site into the pilgrimage place as it must have been in the past. There are plans to build two traditional Tamil style Hindu temples in the area, one to Lord Ganesha and another to Lord Narayanan, which will accommodate traditional Hindu and traditional Thai styles of worship. To this end the community have formed the Sree Andaman Narayanan Devastanam Foundation to spearhead this project.

The Sree Andaman Narayanan Devastanam Foundation was formed on the 16th of June 2008. The Foundation is currently headed by Mr. Somkiat Ratanarungsiwat and has 15 active members.

Accomplishments of the Sree Andaman Narayanan Devastanam Foundation:

1. Registration of the Foundation

2. Excavations on the site was arranged by the foundation and done by the Phuket museum to trace the history of Lord Sree Andaman Narayanan. The original temple foundation was discovered along with other artifacts and deities such as Lord Ganesha and Shivalingams.

3. Arrangements were made for the governor of Phangnga to speak on two occasions to the community about Narai Hill and its ancient heritage and the need to protect it for future generations. His message was delivered through print and television news media.

4. Opening of a new access road to the new temple site.

5. Completion of soil test for construction of the new temple.

6. The construction of a temporary structure in place of the future temple. The structure houses a temporary metal deity of Lord Narayanan, who was placed at the spot where the future Lord Sree Andaman Narayanan will be established. A traditional Hindu ceremoney according to Hindu scriptures was arranged and performed by priest from Malaysia to place the metal deity of Lord Narayanan which was witnessed by local community leaders and representatives from Malaysia Hindu Sangam.

7. Architectural drawing for the Lord Ganesha and Lord Sree Andaman Narayanan Temples have been drawn.

8. Land ownership necessary for the preservation of the holy sites and the building of the temple complex and necessary facilities have been secured.

9. A local brahmin priest has been employed to maintain the current temporary temple and deity.