สาขาวรรณกรรมพื้
นบ้
าน
มรดกภู
มิ
ปั
ญญาทางวั
ฒนธรรม
68
The legend of Phra Boromma That Nakhon Sri
Thammarat
or the legend of the Buddha’s Relics
of Nakhon Sr i Thammarat i s very impor tant
folk l i terature of the people of Nakhon Sr i
Thammarat and the southern Thai people. It is also
known in various names such as “Tamnan Phra
That Mueang Nakhon Sri Thammarat”, “Tamnan
Phra Boromma That Mueang Nakhon”, “Tamnan
Phra Boromma That Mueang Nakhon Chabap Klon
Suat”, “Phra Nipphan Sot”, and “Phra Nipphan Sut”,
for example. The version known as Phra Nipphan Sot or
Phra Nipphan Sut, in particular, is very popular, with
many different sub-versions, and is found in almost
all provinces in southern Thailand. It is also related
to the “Tamnan Mueang Nakhon Sri Thammarat”
(the legend of the city of Nakhon Sri Thammarat).
Although each version of the Tamnan Phra
Boromma That Nakhon Sr i Thammarat offers
di fferent detai ls and kinds of completeness,
all of them share the same theme. They are historical
records of the spread of Buddhism from India
and Sri Lanka to southern Thailand, the center
of which is in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The legend
records the development of Nakhon Sri Thammarat
province where, buried under the Sai Kaeo Beach,
the Buddha’s relics remain the center of faith.
The legend, as a text contr ibuting to the
maintenance of the Chedi (stupa) that contains
the Buddha’s relics at Nakhon Sri Thammarat,
has generated a constructive force that provides
the province prosperity in religious as well as
worldly affairs for several centuries to this day.
The Legend of Phra Boromma That Nakhon Sri Thammarat