Rishis in Rammakian by King Rama I

Abstract

This article aimed to study the dominant characteristics, roles and some observation of the character creation of Rishis in the drama Rammakian by King Rama I. The results found that the dominant characteristics of Rishis are divided into 5 characteristics: (1) benevolent, (2) having profound knowledge of sciences and arts, (3) having power, (4) having intuition, and (5) having perseverance in religious routine. Rishis in the story have 7 roles: (1) protector, (2) consultant, (3) communicating with gods, (4) mediator, (5)creators of various stories, (6) producers of Rasa in literature, and (7) teaching new ideas. There are four interesting aspects to Rishis character creation: (1) Rishis are a senior person like an honorable relative, (2) Indian seers were adapted into Thai own Rishis  (3) The Rishi in literature is related to the Rishi in urban legends (4) Rishis who were related to Rāvaṇa were gullible. This study contributes to the understanding of the genius of the Thai poets who created the dominant characteristics and roles of the Rishis in the drama Rammakian of King Rama I.