gada (गदा)

Sanskrit. A club or mace, one of Vishnu's attributes and the main weapon of many a yak (giant).

Gajagaranaka

Sanskrit-Pali. 'One resembling an elephant'. A name for Ganesha.

Gajamuk

Pali. 'With the face of an elephant'. A name for Ganesha.

gajasingha

Pali. A mythological lion with the head of an elephant. Its name is a compound of gaja (elephant) and singha (lion). There are two kinds which in Thai have different names: one is called kodchasih, the other takkatoh. The difference between the two is that the takkatoh has a goatee and furry hair on the top of its head.

gandhabbas

Pali for gandharvas.

Gandhara (गन्धार)

Indian art style that developed during the Kushan period, from the first to second centuries AD. It is distinguished by depictions of the Buddha with realistic features, wearing draped robes, reflecting Greek influence.

gandharattha (गन्धरत्थ)

Sanskrit. A mudra 'calling upon the rain' with the right hand, whilst the left hand is held at the waist forming a bowl to 'collect the rainfall'. This mudra is usually found with statues from the Rattanakosin period. Also gandhararath.

gandharvas (गन्धर्व)

Sanskrit. Male half-gods and celestial musicians who in Hindi mythology are accompanied by the female apsaras. They are the guardians of the soma. Generally considered aerial spirits who live in the firmament and reveal the Divine Truth in the form of a celestial rain. In Pali called gandhabbas.

Gandiva (गांडीव)

Sanskrit. Magical bow that Arjuna received as a reward for helping Agni and Krishna burn down Khandava forest.

Ganesha (श्रीगणेश)

Sanskrit. 'Lord of hordes', a compound name made up of and the word gana, meaning 'horde' and isha meaning 'lord' or 'ruler'. Son of Parvati, consort of Shiva. He was created by Parvati from the flakes of her skin mixed with oil, and brought to life with water from the Ganges.  He is represented with a human body and the head of an elephant, with one tusk broken off (Ekatanta). His mount is the rat. According to legend he was decapitated during one of Shiva's tantrums, who promised a new head from the first creature that he would encounter - it turned out to be a baby elephant. His broken tusk is a souvenir from the event when the rat, tired of carrying him, threw him off. The moon who witnessed this laughed mockingly and Ganesha in anger broke off his tusk and threw it at the moon. He is the protector of art, remover of obstacles, and the god of knowledge and intelligence, and of transition and new beginning. In his terrible form he represents the underworld. In Thailand he is also called Phra Kaneht and Phra Phikhanesawora, and is worshipped as the deity who improves fortune in trade. He is honored with Motaka, sweets and fruit, when business is good, and he is made ridiculous by putting his picture or statue upside down, when business is down.

Ganga (गङ्गा)

Sanskrit. Goddess personifying the river Ganga or Ganges in India. She is one of two daughters of the sacred golden mountain Meru, the other being Uma or Parvati, consort of Shiva. Her symbol is the makara. The river Ganges is considered sacred by Hindus, with healing and other holy properties. It has the recursive property that any water mixed with even the minutest quantity of Ganga water becomes Ganga water, which is so holy that even the greatest of sins may be washed away by bathing in it. Initially Ganga resided in the Heavens, but king Bhagiratha of Kosala, seeking to find salvation for his ancestors who were cursed by the sage Kapila, persuaded her to come down to Earth to wash out the sins of the humans and make the whole earth virtuous and fertile. To break Ganga's fall on her descend to Earth, she had to come through the jata, the matted hair, of the god Shiva. See also Ganga and Jahnavi.

Ganga (गंगा)

Hindi for Ganga.

Ganges

River in India considered sacred by Hindus. In mythology it is personified by the goddess Ganga, in Thai called Khongkha. Also nicknamed celestial river. See also Ganga.

Garuda (गरुड)

Sanskrit. A large and savage mythological bird, mount of the Hindu god Vishnu, with enough size to block out the sun and wings that create hurricane-like winds that darken the sky and chant the Vedas when flying. He is the king of birds, a son of Kasyapa and Vinata, whose sister was Kadru, the mother of serpents, thus making him a half-brother of the nagas and snakes. However, in a bid to liberate his mother Vinata, who had become enslaved to her sister after losing a imprudent bet, he became the arch-enemy of the serpents. He is depicted with a golden body of a human and the wings and feet of a bird, and the beak of an eagle.  He has a white face and a crown on his head and is in art often shown in battle with a snake or naga. His birth and actions are told in the first book of the epic Mahabharata, where it is written that when he first hatched, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic blaze that consumes the world at the end of every yuga. Frightened, the gods begged for mercy, whereupon Garuda reduced himself in size and force. In the Vedas, where he is mentioned the first time, he is said to have brought nectar from heaven to earth. In Hinduism, worship of Garuda is believed to remove the effects of poisons from one's body. Krishna carries the image of Garuda on his banner and in Thailand, where Garuda is called Krut, he is the nation's royal symbol, showing the connection between the Thai monarch as the protector of the nation, and the mighty god Vishnu as the protector of the universe. Garuda has six sons from whom the race of birds descended. In Buddhism garudas are huge and intelligent predatory birds with social order, and believed to dwell in silk cotton trees. Also known by the names Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Galon, Kamayusha, Karura, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Khangard, Nagantaka, Shyena (eagle), Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna or Supanna (well-winged), Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vineeta, Vishnuratha (chariot of Vishnu), etc.

Gautama (गौतम)

Sanskrit. 'The best ox'. Patronymic or family name of the historical Buddha usually used in texts to refer to the Buddha before he attained Enlightenment. He is the fourth of five great teacher-buddhas and was born in the region of present day India and Nepal. His full name as the prince of the Shakya clan is Siddhartha Gautama, son of Suddhodana Gautama. Also spelled Gotama.

Gautami

Sanskrit. The sister of prince Siddhartha's mother, who became Siddhartha's guardian when his mother died, seven days after his birth. She later married his father Suddhodana. Also known as Maha Prajapati.

geomancy

1. Chinese art of divination by lines and figures, used to determine the correct placing of objects and buildings. See also feng shui. 2. Prophecy by drawing lines in earth or sand.

ghanta

Sanskrit. A bell, sometimes held in the hand of a deity. Its sound symbolizes existence, and as an attribute of the Hindu god Shiva it is a symbol of creation. In Buddhism it may represent wisdom.

Ghost Month

See Gui Yue.

golden lotus

Lotus that grows from the navel of Vishnu during his cosmic sleep and from which Brahma emerges. Also a metaphor in Buddhism and often represented in art and Thai temples.

Gopa (गोपा)

Sanskrit. The wife of prince Siddhartha Gautama, also called Yashodhara.

gopis (गोपी)

Sanskrit. Milkmaids, or female cowherds, who played with Krishna in his childhood. When they gathered on the banks of the river Yamuna to dance and flirt, each of them thought she was alone with Krishna, but in fact he multiplied himself and danced with them all.

Gosiya (โกศิยะ)

Thai name of a very rich but stingy man who lived during the time of the Buddha and loved eating kanom beuang pancakes. To avoid having to share them with anyone he would ask his wife to make the sweets in a hidden place, so he could eat all by himself. When the Buddha found out about the man's behaviour he sent Mogallana to visit Gosiya during his bintabaat alms round and told him to beg for kanom beuang as an alms offering. Gosiya, although unwillingly, couldn't decently refuse the monks request thus came up with the idea to offer only a very small pancake. However, each time his wife put the dough onto the baking plate it swell until it had the size of the hot plate itself. After several attempts to make just a small kanom beuang, he gave up his efforts and eventually became a generous man.

gong de (功德)

Chinese. 'Merit heart'. Term for a kind of tamboon (merit making) ritual in which next of kin offer paper paraphernalia to their dead. It is commonly practiced at Thai-Chinese funerals. The paper paraphernalia may include paper mansions, paper cars, paper mobile phones, paper gold bars, Chinese gold ingots made from paper and other materialistic goods, as well as fake paper money known as hell money (ming bi) and joss or gold paper (jin zhi). All these are burned in specially built ovens on the last night before the coffin is cremated or buried, for the use of the departed in the afterlife. The ritual may also be observed on the 7th or 21st day after the death of a person, during Qing Ming, Chinese All Souls Day and during Ghost Month, the seventh Chinese lunar month. The ritual is also intended to make it easier for mourners to come to terms with their grieve. Before burning joss paper the person offering it will first make a vow called athitahn, in which the hands are brought together above the head, making a wai. From Thai transliterated as kong teik.

Gotama

See Gautama.

Govardhana

Sanskrit. 'Increaser of cattle'. The mountain lifted by the Hindu god Krishna to shelter the herdsmen and their cattle from the storm caused by Indra, after they had refused to make offerings to him and instead became followers of Krishna.

Govinda (गोविन्‍द)

Sanskrit. 'Cowherd', one of the epithets of Krishna.

Great Departure

The moment when prince Siddhartha at the age of twenty-nine left his family and renounced his royal life to become an ascetic in order to find the cause of human suffering. In Thai known as Nih Banpacha, literally: 'depart to live as a monk'.

Great Renunciation

The silent and sad farewell of prince Siddhartha to his wife, baby son and his royal heritage, in order to become an ascetic.

Guan Yu (关羽)

Chinese name for Kuan U.

guishe (龟蛇)

Chinese for 'tortoise-snake'.

Gui Yue (鬼月)

Chinese. 'Ghost Month'. Name of a Chinese festival that coincides with the seventh Chinese lunar month in which the deceased come out from the lower world and visit the living, whereas on Qing Ming the living pay homage to their ancestors by tending to their graves. During this month and especially on the thirteenth day which is called Ghost Day, Chinese Buddhists perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased by offering food and burn gong de paper paraphernalia and/or hell money. Other festivities may include releasing lanterns on water, similar to those on Loi Krathong. Also known as Zhong Yuan Jie.

Guo Nian (过年)

Chinese. 'Pass the year'. Name for the first day of Chinese New Year. Also Xin Nian, literally 'New Year' and Chun Jie, 'Spring Festival'.

guru (गुरु)

Term from Sanskrit meaning 'spiritual leader' and 'teacher'.