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Phiphithaphan Thepsri Yantra (พิพิธภัณฑ์เทพศรียันตรา),
in English known as the Thepsri Yantra Museum, is a museum in Nakhon Pathom (นครปฐม)
that displays a mixture of colourful, both large and smaller to life-sized
statues of deities and characters form various eastern religions, most notably
from Hinduism and in specific from the Hindu god Ganesha (श्रीगणेश), to whom a
single hall alone dedicated to this elephant-headed deity features 33 large
statues in various poses and colours, and with a variety of attributes and
sometimes with a vahana (वहन) or consort. The museum has both an indoor and
outdoor section with a courtyard where a brahmin priest performs rites and
blessings. Besides characters from religion it also has a small Thai history
section, some Khon masks, i.e. traditional dance masks, and a garden with a
pond, an artificial cave and a waterfall. Besides the omnipresent Ganesha,
characters on display, include —yet, are not limited to— Shiva (शिव); Brahma (ब्रह्मा);
Vishnu (विष्णु); Krishna (कृष्ण); Uma (उमा); Lakshmi (लक्ष्मी); Radha (राधा);
Sri Mariamman or Kali (काली); Mahakali (महाकाली); Rahu (राहु, ราหู), a legless
demon, who as the god of darkness is offered black flowers; Garuda (गरुड);
Skanda (स्कन्द) or Karttikeya (कार्तिकेय); the four guardian gods or lokapala (लोकपाल)
Vaisravana (वैश्रवण), Virudhaka (विरूढक), Dhritarashtra (धृतराष्ट्र), and
Virupaksa (विरूपाक्ष); various reusi (ฤาษี) or hermits; Buddha images, and some
Chinese Taoist deities, etc. There is a room dedicated to the half-human
half-serpent Nagaraat (นาคราช), as well as a separate air-conditioned room with
wax images of famous Buddhist monks known as Luang Pho (หลวงพ่อ) and Luang Poo (หลวงปู่).
Many of the characters in the museum are displayed with the typical attributes
ascribed to them, whereas the Hindu deities may additionally be depicted on or
with an animal that represents their mount, whilst some may be in the presence
of their shakti (शक्ति), i.e. a consort. To a certain extent resembling a
temple, the museum has provided for visitors to worship and place offerings that
can be obtained at the museum's entrance.
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