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from the island of Bali, which also influenced by
Indian culture. It means " good counsel ". In Siam,
wet get Niti books like—Rules for the conduct of the
King and Maxims of Phra Ruang, the national
hero-king of Siam,

The Siamese law books also drew their inspira-
tion from Indian sources. We have in Siam law
books like Laksana Phra Thamasat^ Phra Tarn*a
and phra Tamnon. These law books have been
adopted from the Indian Dh>irm<isastras and the
Cr;de of Jfanu. 1

The Siamese tradition ascribes the origin of
Siamese medical science to India. It was introduced
by Kumarabhacca, the great physician who treated
Lord Buddha. His work was translated into Sia-
mese under the name Rokha : nithan (=Skt. Roga-
nidana\ Like the Indian medical science, it is more
philosophical and theoretical in character. It holds
that as the human body is made up of four elements,
nameiy, water, wind, fire and earth, good health
depends on their equilibrium.

SIAMESE LANGUAGE.

Thus we find that Siam has borrowed liberally
from the Pali religious literature, Indian legends, Indian
law books and medical science. But marked influe-
nce of the Indian language can be traced in the
Siamese language itself. There are many words
in the Siamese language which owe their origin

\\\ See—-Siam in E. B.