Since the
Ayutthaya
Period onward this is in Buddhist temples
often
depicted in murals, regularly behind the principal
Buddha statue of the main chapel and
is part of the
trilok
or
Three Worlds,
i.e.
the three realms
in Buddhist cosmology, namely heaven, earth and hell.
Since the
Ayutthaya
Period onward, this is often
portrayed
as a number of symmetrically erected columns, usually
fifteen in number and of decreasing height, with the
largest in the middle and representing
Mount Meru,
centre of
the universe in Buddhist cosmology with at its pinnacle
Tavatimsa
heaven, the abode of
the god
Indra
and the 33 gods.
The other fourteen columns, seven on either side,
symbolize its seven chains of surrounding mountains.
Each of the columns is topped with
a
kind of
prasat
noi
(fig.),
i.e. an angelic palace
represented
as a
triple-arched edifice known as a
sumwimaan
(fig.),
i.e. an abode of a god.
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