Hatsadiling Bird Castle: The Signifiers of Meaning and Resources from Buddhist Texts and Literature

Abstract

         This study aims to present the history and influence of Hatsadiling Bird Castle, which has affected Thai society. This documentary study used data from primary and secondary sources. The results reveal that Hatsadiling appears in Tipitaka and many Atthakathas (Commentaries), including Buddhist literatures such as Tom-nan Mun Sasana (The Legend of Original Religion), Paññāsa Jātaka on Sudhana Jātaka (Fifty Stories on Suthon Tale), and Tri Phum Phra Ruang (Three Realms of King Phra Ruang). A characteristic of the Hatsadiling Bird is its big shape and being as powerful as five elephants. It is said to have originated in the good land of the so-called moral people, Uttarakuru Continent. These concepts have influenced paintings and sculptures of Hatsadiling Bird Castle at crematoriums until it became embedded in Thai culture to the present day, including the moral, legal, material, and social cultures. Furthermore, it is a Pritsanā Tham related to a belief of transmitting dead people to rebirth in Sugati Bhumi (Sensuous Blissful Realms).
         The body of knowledge collected for this article indicates the following: Firstly, The Buddhist texts and literature only mention the bird’s characteristic big shape and having five elephants worth of power, and that the bird took people away because it thought that people were victims, but it had no intention of harm. Secondly, the post-literature tells stories of this bird having special roles and characteristics that were more praiseful than blaming, and contained certain positive objective. Lastly, though the development of Hatsadiling Bird concept manifested in paintings and sculptures of cremation of castle, it still accords with the old concepts that appear in Buddhist texts and literatures. Added to the concept was an imagination of special shapes, including Pritsanā Tham to remember the goodness and transmission of dead people to be born in heaven.