The cult of
royal ancestors has been analysed in the works of Chinese, Thai, European and
American scholars (Aroonrut 1977; Ganjanapan 1984; Heine-Geldern 1942;
Mabbett 1985; Premchit and Dore 1992; Quaritch-Wales 1977; Tambiah 1970,
1976; Vatikiotis 1984; Zhu Liangwen 1992). Some of this analysis is focused on a
Hindu–Buddhist tradition that accentuates the hierarchical nature of kingship and
is identified with certain coastal states of Southeast Asia, including Siam (Thailand)
(Heine-Geldern 1942; Mabbett 1985; Quaritch-Wales 1977). According to the
Buddhist cosmology, kings are beings on the way to Enlightenment (bodhisattva)
who reside in the Ta¯vatimsa Heaven. It was at the request of the god Indra that
kings and princes left heaven and descended to earth.