Research & Article

No one would suggest that the sacred gable ofWat Na Phra Men in A yudhya, which is made of wood and has recently been restored, and the sacred gable of Pralayakalesvara Temple, Pennakadam, which is made of stucco and is a similar recent restoration, are directly related or that one derived from the other. This paper contends, however, that a careful study of the details and of their evolution, as far as it can be traced, reveals that they share a common origin in ancient India, and that their subsequent divergent development in South and Southeast Asia may tell us something about indigenous Southeast Asian creativity, and what it did with what had been learned from India.