Naaken
is
a single word that means both
phaya
chang and
phaya
ngu,
i.e.
‘elephant
king’
and
‘snake
king’, or
alternatively
phaya
naak, i.e. ‘naga
king’,
and is used to refer to
a mythical
creature described as a snake with the head of an elephant, and
swhich
is
also known as
chang patjay naaken.
It represents
Vishnuphong, i.e. a rainmaking
White Elephant
(fig.)
that occurs in the
Wetsandornchadok,
for one.
Here it is in
the form of a balustrade on the
wihaan
of
Wat Nong Nok Chum (fig.)
in
Kamphaeng Phet.
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