Editing Architecture of India (section)

==== Thailand ====
Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, starting with the Kingdom of [[Funan]] around the first century until the [[Khmer Empire]]. [[Indianised kingdom]]s such as the [[Mon kingdoms|Mon]], the [[Khmer Empire]] and Malay states of the Malay Peninsula and [[Sumatra]] ruled the region.
[[File:Sunset at Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthaya, Thailand.jpg|thumb|[[Wat Chaiwatthanaram]], an example of Thai style prang]]
Thailand under Khmer rule saw inclusion of Indian Hindu temple influenced Khmer architectural style. The Khmer prangs resembled north Indian temples' [[shikhara]] and rekha (temple towers) elements. The early 10th century and the late 12th century prangs in Thailand were influenced by the Khmer architects of the great temple complexes of [[Angkor Wat]] and [[Angkor Thom]].
After the [[Khmer Empire]] collapsed, the Thai building masters of the [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] adapted the Prang form. The Thai temple falls into one of two broad categories: the ''[[stupa]]''-style solid temple and the ''[[Prang (architecture)|prang]]''-style. The prangs can also be found in various forms in Sukhothai, Lopburi, Bangkok ([[Wat Arun]]). Sizes may vary, but usually the prangs measure between {{convert|15|and|40|m}} in height, and resemble a towering corn-cob like structure. They extended and developed it. The building material was no more separate small sandstone blocks, instead the Thais built the Prang in brick or laterite covered with [[stucco]]. And the cella could be reached only by stairs. An example for this is the Prang of the [[Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat|Wat Mahathat]] in [[Phitsanulok]]. Later developments of the Prang suggested the cella only. The entrance door became a niche, in which was placed the [[Buddharupa|''Buddharupa'' (Buddha statue)]], which had originally taken the central position inside. For reasons of symmetry the niche was repeated on all four sides. On its pinnacle was a [[Trishul (weapon)|Trishul]], the "weapon of [[Indra]]".