Takrut or better known as ‘Tangkai’ by other culture is a well-known talisman of Thai origin for a long time. It is a holy scripture texts in the form of summarized Yant mantra written onto a sheet of lead, silver, copper or even gold. The inscribed Yant is written on it and then crafted according to arcane sciences and deep meditation by the guru monk or Archan before they are handed out to devotees. Takrut scroll can be easily distinguished with its rolled up form with sacred Yant scripts written on the scroll.
Thais strongly believed in the power and sacred magic of Takrut for its effects in offering protection and increase serenity of mind to the bearer. This occult practice had a long history since the Ayutthaya warring period that is still very popular until today. Takrut is usually worn by Thai men on a waist cord for its protective efficacy (Kongkrapan) against harm and danger and on the neck for authority (Maha Amnat).
Takruts made from lead, tin ore and copper sheets are appropriate for warding off danger, accidents, sharp weapons and bullet fires (Konkrapan or invulnerability), authoritative power (Maha Amnat), dispelling evil forces and scheming characters.
Those made from silver and gold are appropriate for dispelling off demons or dark evil forces and it has the capability in helping the wearer to attract kind benefactors, accumulate wealth fortune (Pokkasap) and gaining good affinity with people (Metta Mahaniyom).
It must be noted that there is a vast variety of Takrut scrolls made from many different materials such as Prajioud armband usually worn by Thai Boxers, Monk’s waist belt, Tiger fur, Snake skin, Bamboo, Bullet shell, auspicious type of wood, etc. In whichever form of material it may be made from, it always come with a written Yant scripture and further sanctified by the master maker to make it efficacious.
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| Wrist Takrut - Protection in underwater adventures |
Today this famous Prajioud armband made popular by Ajahn Thamma Chot continued to serve every Muay Thai boxers in Thailand. It can be said that the evolution of Takrut history started from the Ayutthaya period.
In retrospect, Takrut talisman is very popular with people in dangerous professions such as police or military. However, the usage of Takrut does not only confine within these dangerous profession alone. Anyone can carry this talisman for added protection or for a special purpose as specified by the maker. It works similarly with any other type of contemporary amulets but just that amulets can have various designs and can contain many materials.
We can conclude that Takruts and other contemporary amulets are in the same talisman platform to offer safety, protection, and blessing to the wearer. There is no known restriction about wearing Takruts and amulets at the same time as they are relatively compatible.
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| Tiger Cave Sacred Takrut |
Perhaps the marvel of Takrut is that it can be miraculously inserted into the human body. This phenomenon is well documented in recent times being populated by none other than the Venerable Luang Phor Koon of Wat BanRai, Korat Province Thailand. Today LP Koon no longer inserts Takruts into the arms of devotees anymore due to his fragile health. But 20-30 years ago every weekend people from all over Thailand and other South East Asia countries would throng their way to Wat BanRai to have their body to be inserted with a tiny piece of Takrut made from pure gold by LP Koon.
According to LP Koon, his Takrut 'Thong Kam' will not create any complication to the human body because it was made of pure gold. With LP Koon’s assurance that it is safe, thousands of people had sought the Master’s miraculous Takrut insertion over the years without any side effect being reported thus far. LP Koon advises people that with this tiny gold Takrut insertion, upon encountering danger just remember and pray to him. As such, this is the mystical marvel of this golden sacred incantation scroll. Furthermore, Takruts can also intensify the fighting spirits of the bearer. This is especially relevant to Muay Thai boxers in Thailand. The Thais firmly believed that wearing a Takrut during a fight can prevent the fighting spirit from declining. However, in every boxing tournament wearing a foreign object such as Takrut is not allowed. Therefore, many boxers would have a Takrut inserted inside their body in order not to infringe the boxing regulations.
The aesthetic beauty and practical application of Takruts can be worn by just anyone, any place, and in any combination with any contemporary amulets. Let’s look at an example where some devotees and amulet collectors would insert a piece of the Master’s gold Takrut glued onto the surface of the rian medallion with great emphasis in paying respect to a great Master.
Alternatively a wearer can also encase the Takrut into a special tube casing and wear it together with a neck chain at chest level. However, there are also Takruts that are meant to be worn on the waist level. This can be easily distinguished with a long string belt attached to the Takrut that can be easily adjusted to the waist size of the wearer.
Small tiny holy Takruts are also popular for insertion into sacred amulets particularly those of powder based. A clear example of this type of Takrut application is Somdej Pae votive tablets which carries along 1,3,5 or 9 pieces of these sacred incantation scrolls to make those amulets highly potent.
Takruts can be easily inserted into powder/herb based amulets during the making process. With the advent of high tech casting method today even metal based amulets can be embedded with takruts with very fine prints.
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| Wat Klang Rajcha Kru Tharam, Ang Thong Province |
Whether a Takrut is worn at the waist or at the chest its main function to give protection to the wearer is still the same. Just adhere to the correct application either to wear it at chest level or at the waist will bring about its desired effects to each individual bearer to experience. We firmly believe that every talisman will have its own special Katha. Therefore, feeling the outcome effects of Takrut by learning to chant the proper Katha verses provided by the maker will invoke its power and energies. If you can chant the Katha daily there is no doubt that the power of the Takrut can increase manifold to assist the bearer.
For many years Venerable LP Koon had stopped inserting golden takruts into the body of devotees. However, this magical art form is still being carried out today by some other masters from different temples in Thailand. In order to give an idea on what it is like during the process of inserting the tiny golden Takruts to enhance Metta and protection to devotees, let's take a look at a video source below with the intent to enhance our own learning and Not with the intention to promote any particular guru/teacher or temple.
According to ancient scriptures there is a powerful Takrut known as Maha RankNgap Maha Chakapat. It’s said to be extremely difficult to make this special Takrut that is endowed with supernatural powers for the individual who possess it. The special meaning of Maha RankNgap is Great power to stop, obstruct or defeat and conquering victory. Maha Chakapat is Great energies consisting of Mahalap, Maha Metta, MahaSaneh, MahaNiyom, Pokkasap, and KlaewKard. This ancient art dated back to the warring period of Ayutthaya. Today not many practitioners can master the making of this highly efficacious Takrut as it demands extreme skillful mind aptitude and knowledge.
In essence, the ultimate purpose of Takrut Maha RakNgap Maha Chakapat is to stop or defeat any negative element that may affect the bearer of this Takrut scroll. For example when an individual carries it alongside, he will be blessed with safe passage wherever he goes. It can also prevent the bearer against robbery, burglary and other malicious disturbance. As it is endowed with Maha Chakapat force, it can also provide positive energies resulting in good fortune, opposite sex attraction, loving kindness, and invulnerability to the bearer. Ancient testimony always mentioned that to own a piece of Takrut MahaRakNgap MahaChakapat is much more valuable than to have any diamonds from heaven.
Magical properties such as Metta or Chakapat in enhancing people affinity or other positively charged energies (e.g. good fortune, affinity blessing, success, etc.) may also be embedded into the Takrut by some master makers. For example let's take a look into the hidden scroll motive revealing a pair of Salika bird which signifies good relationship and affinity. All sacred scrolls will have complex Yant scripts inscription.
The intensity of sacred elements between protective power and positive energy power varies from each Takrut issued by different temples or master maker. A common way to identify sacred properties based on Takrut materials was mentioned earlier e.g. gold, silver, copper, lead, tin ore, bullet shells. Judging from the material a Takrut was made may give certain clues about its primary function.
It is a good practice to enquire about the purpose and usage of a particular Takrut before taking it home for your own use just like any other amulets. Armed with some knowledge about the intent or purpose of a selected Takrut talisman by asking the master maker you can only gain more benefit and nothing less.
Again pay particular attention in securing the ‘key’ to activate or invoke the efficacy of the Takrut. The key in this context refers to the Katha verse. Just like a car that needs a key to ignite the engine before the car can be driven to the destination, Takrut will also require a key to ignite its sacred power before it can be put to good use and bring benefit to the user.
Takruts at large has many genres by the type of materials it was made from. We have already mentioned some of the popular materials in this article earlier. There are many accounts and incidents where Takruts had helped the bearer to escape from dangerous situations unharmed. In particular tin ore has the unique capability in deciphering poison and danger. In our own research, early Takrut batches by Porthan Lek of Wat Ariyakiri are usually made by using tin ore material. Dangers and harms will vanish into thin air if the tin ore Takrut is used appropriately by following the Master’s guidelines and recitation of its specific Katha. With deep respect to all sacred objects issued from Wat Ariyakiri, the hand pump incantation scrolls and hand inscribed Yant scrolls made by Than Lek himself is also equivalently effective.
Another genre worth mentioning is known as Takrut ‘Tong Fah Bart’. Tong Fah Bart is actually a monk alms bowl. What makes this alms bowl so special is the bowl cover that is made from copper. Monks will carry this alms bowl in the morning during their routine alms round. A holy Buddhist verse will be chanted each time before the kind giver puts food into the alms bowl. This will be repeated many times a day and for many years. The resonance of blessings through chanting of the holy texts in return made the bowl cover full of blissful energies. Using this copper cover to make Takrut Tong Fah Bart is very auspicious and powerful. Sadly Takrut Tong Fah Bart is very hard to come by these days because most alms bowl covers are now made with iron or steel that does not have a similar efficacy.
Majority of people and amulet collectors alike believe that sacred talismans are made only by Buddhist monks. This belief may have been influenced by legendary popular Thai epic movies such as Bangrajan, Kingdom of Wars, etc. depicting all warfare heroes in Ayutthaya period wore Takruts and talismans made by Buddhist monks. On the contrary this notion of popular belief is not exactly true to some extent. Let’s take for instance Khun Paen the Great General during Ayutthaya era (For further reading please visit SimplyBuy’s blog title The Charming Attractions of Khun Paen). We may have heard the myth about how the legendary Khun Paen used magical sciences to assist him in defeating all his enemies. We can assume that such arcane sciences by invoking tree wisps and GumanThong spirit is rather based upon ancient shamanistic practices that is not associated with mainstream Buddhism. But we may wonder why epic stories on the silver screen such as Bangrajan would feature those brave warriors receiving armband Takruts from Buddhist monks.
In order to ascertain the truth surrounding this myth and the relationship between shamanistic practices and Buddhism aspect in making sacred talisman had taken us on a long journey to Wat Balai in the state of Kelantan. Kelantan is very famous for its Phra Pidta talisman made popular by Wat Bangsek. But we must know that Takrut incantation scrolls are equally famous as nearly all monks including Tok Raja made this talisman too. We took the opportunity to further study a piece of copper based waist Takrut originated from Wat Balai made by Than Plen the present Chaowat. We had the privilege to meet with Than Plen personally to listen to the Dharma talks and finding out more about the temple past history and the miraculous Porthan Phut whom is very well known for making thread based Takrut wristband.
Just a brief background history of Wat Balai. After the passing away of Porthan Phut in 1981, there was no suitable Chaowat at the temple for a long time. Thai community folks from Kampong Balai are very much concerned about the situation as temple development and religious services had been implicated. Finally the villagers persuaded Than Plen whom was also a local native from this village to take up the heavy task to serve as Chaowat. According to Than Plen when he first became the temple Chaowat, he came to know that an important treasure was missing from the temple premise after so many years of being unattended properly. That important treasure happened to be an arcane knowledge manuscript written by Porthan Phut. Without this manuscript in making sacred holy objcts, it is deemed very hard for Than Plen to make good talismans in order to generate funds for the temple construction efforts and welfare. According to Than Plen, he prayed to Porthan Phut to recover the lost manuscript. After the third day his prayers was answered. A local villager returned the lost manuscript back to the temple.
In the past Porthan Phut was a highly respected Buddhist monk with a low profile personality eventhough he possessed Wicha knowledge. After the passing away of Porthan Phut for many years, local kampong folks here still have very high regard for him. This could be the main reason that the 1st. batch of Phra Pidta from Wat Sg. Padi created by CK Onn was said to have contained holy mixture of Porthan Phut's bone ashes.
From the exchange of information with Than Plen while conducting a detail study on his Takrut making process, we came to understand that the secret knowledge of making every efficacious talisman actually came from lay persons who have inherited the art of making sacred talismans from local shamans e.g. Bomoh. At a later stage in life the layman or shaman then decided to enter the Sangha Order to become a Buddhist monk on personal grounds. After entering monkhood, they brought along the shamanistic arcane knowledge and rituals in creating talismans with pure intention to help people and for other social cause. This is where the perception being created that Buddhist monks are the ones who created these talismans wonders. To a certain aspect, it is also correct to say that Buddhist monks can create powerful talisman too where these shaman arcane knowledge are passed down to later generation Buddhist monks. The later generation Buddhist monks then followed the same principles and arcane sciences that they inherited from their predecessors whom are shamans before.
With clear comprehension we must come to understand correctly that Buddhist doctrine is mainly concerned with the Dharma teachings only. Arcane knowledge for creating talismans such as Takruts, Mai Kru Tongkat, GumanThong, Phra Phrom, etc. can be said to be originated from shamanistic arcane sciences in this respect. However, we must also take into consideration with regards to the incorporation of sacred Buddhist recitation verses being formulated into the making of such talismans by most Buddhist masters.
The most powerful aspect of a Takrut is its defending power in warding off lethal weapons, increase personal affinity, and decipher dangers which is why everyone would aspire to have it. In other words, Takrut incantation scroll is basically a multi-function treasure.
There has been a lot of reported incidents about Takrut's capability in providing protection and helping people to escape from narrow death. Many of these accounts are reported in Thailand but we managed to get one story incident from Malaysia. Whether the stories revealed here are shocking truths or mere fabrications, readers are advised to read at own discretion.
On February 2012 a family living in Pendang, Kedah provided a spirit exocism account of a sacred Takrut. The incident was encountered by the daughter of this family, Loh Li Shuan an 18 year old Form Five school prefect studying at a nearby secondary school. Just like any other normal weekly school assembly, all of a sudden 3 school girls went into hysteria as though they were possessed by evil spirit force. They were out of control, yelling and spoke strange things. All the school teachers did not know how to handle that situation. Li Shuan took her courage and started approaching one of the possessed student and asked “who are you?” The possessed girl replied in Malay “I was abandoned”. Li Shuan asked the spirit further where it originated and came from. The spirit replied “from the big tree behind the school”. After a short conversation, Li Shuan tried to get closer to the possessed girl shouted painfully in Malay “Don’t come close. It’s very hot”. Without any hasty thinking, Li Shuan quickly grabbed the girl. The girl fainted after being held by Li Shuan. The other 2 girls also fainted after Li Shuan grabbed hold of them. After a while all the 3 girls slowly regained consciousness and started seeing signs of recovery from that ordeal. Everybody was surprised to see Li Shuan’s heroic action and commended her. It was learned later the only sacred object she was wearing at that time was Archan Tia’s waist Takrut, given free by Archan Tia during a floral bath occasion at the temple.
In Chiang Mai Thailand, a 65 year old man by the name of Mr. Thongkam Jaiton went to a clinic to get an injection from a doctor. What's strange about this incident was that the doctor couldn't manage to get the syringe needle injected into Thongkam's body. Few of the syringe needles were broken in the doctor's attempt. Suddently Thongkam recalled that he has a Takrut with him and suspected that it's the sacred incantation scroll that is exercising its power in protecting him against sharp object. He then removed his Takrut aside for the doctor to try again and the syringe needle went through his skin. This incident was captured in an interview with Mr. Thongkam and the Master whom made this remarkable Takrut.
Another story happened to Chatri Duangpakot in Bangkok on 13th May 2007. Chatri's job is the city's motorbike taxi rider. That fateful day he fetched a male customer from a shopping mall in this busy city and headed to Rangsit market. On the way to the supposedly destination, he was forced to stop his motorbike and the customer turned out to be a robber. The robber only found THB80 (RM8) only on Chatri's possession and maybe because of this little money, it infuriated the robber further and slashed Chatri's neck before running away. Chatri thought he would die this time from a serious artilery slash wound on his neck. However, Chatri managed to go to a hospital with the help from passers-by to seek medical attention. Doctors, nurses and the Police Inspector couldn't believe that Chatri suffered only a minor injury and the worst was over. The lucky motorbike taxi rider survived a robbery cum murder attempt because he wore a piece of undisclosed Takrut at the time of this case incident.
The next testimonial story is related to a fatal car accident where all 5 passengers escaped from narrow death. In Thailand 4 wheel drive pick-up trucks are very popular. One day a man drove his pick-up truck with other 4 passengers at high speed in Nonthaburi Province. While speeding he lose control of the steering wheels and his pick-up truck had a head on collision with another vehicle coming from the opposite direction. The pick-up truck broke into half due to the impact of the accident. Amazingly all the 5 passengers in the pick-up truck escaped unhurt and survived from this terrible accident. All 5 of them wore a bullet Takrut created by Luang Phor Ot, Wat SaiMai and they all firmly believed that this sacred incantation scroll had kept them safe and protected. The file photo of the undisclosed survivor in this accident held the bullet Takrut during the news interview. It is said that bullet Takrut incantation scroll is effectively capable in warding off dangers and accidents.
Perhaps the most astonishing story related to Takrut protective power is a shooting story incident which took place in Phetburi Province on 11th Oct 2001. The news coverage of this remarkable story of survival was widely circulated in Thailand. It's a classic case of staring at others that caused a negative conflict that turned ugly. This shooting incident happened to a couple Mr. and Mrs. Nai Chaiwat on their way back to Bangkok city after visiting some relatives in Phetburi. At around 1.00am the couple stopped their pick-up vehicle at a petrol kiosk to fill up the tank. Just as Mrs. Chaiwat was about to alight from the vehicle, a car suddenly stopped right next to Mrs. Chaiwat nearly knocking her. Mrs. Chaiwat got angry and stared at the 3 youths inside that car with agitation. The youths are intoxicated and they stared back hardly at Mrs. Chaiwat. Recognising that an untoward conflict had happened, Mr. Chaiwat quickly usherd his wife back into their pick-up to avoid the drunken youths and moved on with their journey back to Bangkok.
After travelling for about 30km close to Lopburi, out of nowhere a car suddenly came from behind in high speed and overtook Mr. Chaiwat's pick-up vehicle and nearly caused an accident at an instance. In order to avoid any collision, Mr. Chaiwat immediately swayed his vehicle to the inner lane slowing the speed down. Upon careful looking at the car in front, they realized that it was the same car driven by the drunken youths that they had a close encounter at the petrol kiosk earlier. The youths waved hands at Chaiwat to stop his vehicle. But not wanting to take any risk, Chaiwat accelerated his pick-up and sped off in the hope of getting rid of those rogue youths. A high speed chase then followed between Chaiwat and the delinquent youths. This could have infuriated the youths further as their demand for Chaiwat to stop was totally ignored. Horror strikes when one of the drunkard youth pulled out a revolver and starting shooting at Chaiwat's car. The shots fired hit Chaiwat's front tyre. Almost instantenously Chaiwat's pick-up vehicle ditched off the road and knocked a tree. The impact of this accident caused Chaiwat to lose consciousness after his pick-up halted to a stop. The furious youths did not just stop there. They got down from their car and went near to Chaiwat and fired several more shots at the front passenger seat where Mrs. Chaiwat was sitted. Their evil intention was to kill her while she was also unconscious due to the crash impact. The youths then sped off at the scene after firing the shots.
Other passing motorists stopped by at the scene to rescue the couple from the damaged bullet laden vehicle. Slowly Mr. Chaiwat regained his consciousness and went over to check on his wife. The last thing he remembered before going into unconscious state was that he heard many gun shots fired. He thought that his wife must be dead. As he was about to carry his wife, she suddenly regained consciousness. Chaiwat was shaken and couldn't believe his own eyes to see that she is alive. The only thing noticeable was her torn dress and some burnt red spots on her body. The couple was rushed to the nearby hospital for treatment. After a thorough examination at the hospital, doctors found 8 red spots on Chaiwat's wife body. Red spots was found at her forehead, arm, hand and back. The bullets that was fired by the youth did not pierce through her body and that amazed everybody. As usual when such miracle happen, curious Thais asked what sort of sacred objects that had saved her life.
Mrs. Chaiwat revealed that it was a wood Takrut made from a tree with mixture of holy powders from Wat Pakkhlong Makhamtao in Chainat Province by Luang Phor Suk. Before this incident happened many years ago, they used to visit this temple and donated requisites with full sincerity. Upon seeing their good deeds each of them were given a piece of this miraculous Takrut. With heart felt appreciation, the couple went to encase the Takrut with gold. Since started wearing the Takrut, their business had improved and now this sacred Takrut had saved their life from a terrible incident.
Three days later the youths were apprehended by police. After interrogation by the police, they confessed their evil actions with intent to kill that led to the couple's misery while under the influence of alcohol. They told the police that they felt discontented when they were stared by Mrs. Chaiwat at the petrol kiosk and they took matters on their hand to retaliate back. The couple managed to live through this life threatening shooting incident to relate their story to others to conduct good actions and receiving the blissful blessing from such Takrut.
By nature all sacred arcane knowledge in making talismans including Takruts is too complex for us to fully grasp. But more importantly is that the arcane knowledge is being preserved for future generations to learn and use it. Likewise, it is also important that the next generation has a strong will to learn these arcane sciences or else this ancient knowledge perfected by many previous generations will be lost some day.
In the Buddhist concept of impermanence, everything is subjected to decay and so will be this art of making sacred Takrut talismans. With this documented article I sincerely hope every reader would get a fresh new insight into the supernatural marvels of this ancient Sacred Incantation Scrolls with great respect.
For further readings and references to the above article, please visit our other related blog titles. You may find what you need to know.
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