KATHMANDU: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn has conferred the highly-honored title of Dev Pada on Phra Anil Shakya also known as Sugandha Mahasthavira.
Monk Sugandha is the first Nepali to be honored with the post of Dev Pada, the fourth highest title in the Thai Buddhist tradition.
He is in Thailand for more than 40 years and is known as Phra Anil in Thailand. ‘Phra’ refers to monk in Thai.
Anil is offered the title of Dev Pada for his contribution to Budhha Dharma and Thai culture. Monk Sugandha is the deputy rector of Mahamukut Bouddhist University, Thailand.
It is estimated that there are more than 328 thousand monks in Thailand.
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