Despite the fact that today Thailand is a Buddhist-majority country, many elements of Thai culture and symbolism demonstrate Hindu influences and heritage.

[3] Indian settlement in Southeast Asia has been ongoing since the 6th century BCE and has continued into the modern era, influenced by various socioeconomic and political factors.

Furthermore, Hindu-Buddhist deities are worshiped by many Thais, such as Brahma at the famous Erawan Shrine, and statues of Ganesha, Indra, and Shiva.

Reliefs in temple walls, such as the 12th-century Prasat Sikhoraphum near Surin (Thailand), show a dancing Shiva, with smaller images of Parvati, Vishnu, Brahma, and Ganesha.

An annual Giant Swing ceremony known as Triyampavai-Tripavai was held in major cities of Thailand until 1935, when it was abolished for safety reasons.

Outside shops, particularly in towns and rural areas, statues of Nang Kwak as the deity of wealth, fortune and prosperity (a form of Lakshmi) are found.

[12] Southern and Central Thailand are possibly the earliest regions, where Vaishnavism flourished in the whole of Southeast Asia.

[13][14] The human-sized sculpture of the second phase Vishnu with Pallava influence was discovered in Sri Mahosot in Central Thailand.

[13][14] Sri Thep is one of the most important Dvaravati cities in Central Thailand which yields several stone sculptures of Vaishnavism.

Vishnu stands in the posture of Tribhanga, Krishna is portrayed with the left band lifting Mount Govardhana.

[13][14] After the 13th century CE, when the Thais converted to Theravada Buddhism, kings tried to claim themselves as the incarnation of Vishnu.

It depicts the unison of the male and female energies, which created the entire universe according to Hindu thought.

Similarly, a gold lingam, belonging to a hermit's private collection, has been discovered at a cave in the region.

Historian Damrong Rajanubhab has mentioned about three kind of Brahmins, from Nakhòn Sī Thammarāt, from Phatthalung, and those who originated from Cambodia.