Bai Sema Ban Kut Ngong

It is another valuable historic site passed on from a long history along with Chaiyaphum province. Bai Sema Ban Kut Ngong is a sandstone Sema in Dvaravati period from 7th and 8th Buddhist centuries found in the northeast. It is a sacred object and an evidence that shows the community in Dvaravati period, when Thevarata doctrine was disseminated. A boundary marker of a temple is placed to designate an area for Buddhist ritual of monks. Bai Sema Ban Khut Ngong is kept at Wat Kut Ngong School in Kut Tum sub-district. Sema stones are not only found at the temple but also around the village. They are therefore collected and stored in the building. Most of them are big with a bas-relief in the front, while some were also inscribed on their back as well. The bas-reliefs present the Buddhist stories of former incarnations (Jatakas) of the Buddha or idols such as the Bodhisattva standing on a lotus, the Buddha image sitting on a throne under the Bodhi tree, considered as the most beautiful ones of Northeastern Thailand. Ancient Pallava scripts of Southern India were also found inscribed on some Sema stones.