Image number: 07THI-181

On the right are demons at the bottom of a gilded chedi (or stupa). The golden statue of asurawayupak on the left has the head of an asura (a kind of demon), and the legs and tail of a bird. This is one of the many mythical animals from the Himapan (or Himmapan, Himaphan in Thai), a legendary forest which includes a pantheon of amazing creatures and surrounds the base of Mount Meru in Hindu mythology of ancient India (where it is called Himmavanta, Himavanta, or Himavamsa). This statue is in the shining complex of buildings known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), within the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.