Sak Yant - Phra Narai Song Khrut

The Sak Yant design, Phra Narai Song Khrut, is a complex Yant containing three figures from the ancient Indian epic, The Ramayana. The Ramayana was adopted by Thailand during the 18th Century, even though the Ramayana contains stories from Hindu mythology and Thailand is a Buddhist country, and became known as the Ramakien.
The Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana, follows the central story of the Ramayana with additional elements introduced. Another well known Sak Yant design, the Monkey God Hanuman, also comes from the Ramayana.

All our photographs were taken at a Temple near Chiang Mai and we would like to thank Phra Ajarn Gamtorn for his assistance.

If you would like to get a Sak Yant Buddhist Tattoo in Chiang Mai and need some assistance there is a Sak Yant Service available.

The figure at the top of the Phra Narai Song Khrut yant is the highest ranking God of all, Lord Vishnu or as he is called in the Thai version of the Ramayana, Phra Narai, dressed as an archer. Phra Narai is depicted riding on the back of a Khrut, the figure in the middle, a mythical bird with the body and head of a human and the wings and talons of an eagle. In Indian and Indonesian mythology, the Khrut is known as a Garuda. The Khrut is shown grasping two snakes in its talons. The figure at the bottom of the Phra Narai Song Khrut yant is Phra Rahu. In Indian mythology, Rahu is a snake but is usually shown as a dragon without a body. There are several different myths surrounding Phra Rahu and why he lost his head, or to be more accurate, his body, but basically Phra Rahu ended up as an immortal head without a body. The legends have it that from time to time, Phra Rahu would eat the Sun, or as shown in this yant design, the Moon, causing eclipses which is why Phra Rahu is known as the mythical God of Darkness.

The Phra Narai Song Khrut yant also contains a Mantra or Katha written in the ancient Khmer script known as Khom.

Ya Taa Tang Tang
Taa Tang Tang
Seh Taa Taa
Tang Yaa
Ma Ma Ma