"Splashes of Joy, Welcoming the New Year: Vibrant Moments of Songkran Festival 2024"

Songkran has long been regarded as the traditional Thai New Year. It is an ancient and graceful tradition associated with gratitude, joy, warmth, and mutual respect. Water is used symbolically to strengthen relationships and convey good wishes. Historical Thai records indicate that Songkran ceremonies were observed during the Ayutthaya period. The Palace Law associated with King Borommatrailokkanat refers to royal ceremonies known as Phed Sok and Lot Chaet. Phed Sok concerned the transition from the old year to the new, while King Chulalongkorn later suggested that Lot Chaet may have referred to a royal water-pouring ceremony in the fifth lunar month. These references suggest that royal Songkran observances existed from the early Ayutthaya period.

The word “Songkran,” derived from the Sanskrit term “saṃkrānti,” means passage, transition, or movement. It refers to the sun moving from one zodiac sign to another. The transition into Aries is known as Maha Songkran and marks the traditional New Year in Brahmanical solar reckoning. Songkran is therefore observed on April 13, 14, and 15, with each day having a specific name: 

        April 13 is called Maha Songkran, marking the sun’s transition into Aries after completing its cycle through the twelve zodiac signs.
        April 14 is called Wan Nao, traditionally regarded as the day when the sun has settled into Aries.
        April 15 is called Thaloeng Sok, or the first day of the new era, traditionally marking the confirmed beginning of the new year after the sun has moved fully from Pisces into Aries.

The Traditional Legend of Songkran

     According to a traditional Songkran legend, before the Buddhist era there lived a wealthy couple who had reached middle age without an heir, causing the man great sorrow. A neighbouring family was headed by a heavy drinker who would mock the wealthy man for possessing great riches but having no child to inherit them. When confronted, the neighbour replied that although he was poor, he had children to care for him in sickness and protect his possessions after his death. Deeply saddened, the wealthy man worshipped the sun and moon and prayed for a child for three years, but his wish remained unfulfilled until a Songkran festival day. 
The wealthy man brought his attendants to a great banyan tree beside a river where many birds lived. He instructed them to wash rice seven times in clean water, cook it, and offer it to the spirit of the banyan tree. Moved by his devotion, the deities appealed to Indra on his behalf. Indra then commanded a celestial being named Dhammabal to be born to the man’s wife. In time, she gave birth to a son, whom the couple named Dhammabal Kumara. In gratitude to the deities, the wealthy man built a seven-storey residence dedicated to the spirit of the banyan tree.

   As Dhammabal Kumara grew, he became renowned for his intelligence and learning, and the legend says that he mastered the three Vedas by the age of seven. A deity named Kabil Brahma heard of the child’s wisdom and challenged him with three riddles, wagering their lives on the outcome. If Dhammabal answered correctly, Kabil Brahma would sacrifice his own head; if he failed, Dhammabal would lose his. The questions were:

     1. Where does a person’s auspicious radiance reside in the morning?

     2. Where does it reside at noon?

     3. Where does it reside in the evening?

   Dhammabal could not answer immediately and was given seven days. After six days without finding a solution, he left his residence and rested beneath a palm tree in the forest. A pair of eagles lived above him. The female asked where they would find food the next day, and the male replied that they would eat Dhammabal after Kabil Brahma beheaded him for failing to solve the riddles. When she asked what the riddles were, he explained the three answers:

     First: In the morning, a person’s radiance is at the face, which is why people wash their faces each morning.

     Second: At noon, it is at the chest, which is why people traditionally apply fragrance there.

     Third: In the evening, it is at the feet, which is why people traditionally wash their feet before sleeping.

     Because Dhammabal understood the language of birds, he memorised the answers and returned home. The next day, when the deadline arrived, he answered Kabil Brahma exactly as the eagles had explained. Kabil Brahma then summoned his seven daughters and told them that he must honour the wager by cutting off his own head. He warned that if his head touched the earth, the world would burn; if cast into the air, the sky would become dry and rain would cease; and if dropped into the ocean, the seas would dry up. 
He therefore instructed his daughters to receive his head on a ceremonial tray. After he fulfilled the wager, the eldest daughter, Thungsa, carried her father’s head in a clockwise procession around Mount Meru for 60 minutes before enshrining it in the Gandhuli Cave pavilion on Mount Kailash. The legend continues that Visvakarman created a jewelled hall called Bhagavati as a gathering place for the deities. Every 365 days, regarded as one year and the return of Songkran, the seven daughters would take turns carrying their father’s head in procession around Mount Meru before returning it to the celestial realm.