ฤๅษีแปลงสาร

From ฤๅษี (rʉʉ-sǐi, “ṛ́ṣi”) +‎ แปลง (bplɛɛng, “to alter; to change”) +‎ สาร (sǎan, “letter; message; text”); literally "a ṛ́ṣi alters a message".

The term took its origin from a Buddhist jātaka, the Rathasena Jātaka. In the jātaka, a queen, an ogress in disguise, ordered Rathasena (รถเสน) the hero to carry her private message to her daughter. The message said:

"Should this boy come in daytime, devour him in daytime. Should he come in nighttime, devour him in nighttime."

Rathasena met a ṛ́ṣi en route. The ṛ́ṣi, having learnt of the message, secretly reversed the text that the message became:

"Should this boy come in daytime, marry him in daytime. Should he come in nighttime, marry him in nighttime."

So the daughter of the ogress married Rathasena.

ฤๅษีแปลงสาร • (rʉʉ-sǐi-bplɛɛng-sǎan)

1. (historical) reverse cipher, such as:

   "กอัรษรวณษกลันวล้ งลพเลพา",

   which ought to be read as:

   "อักษรวรลักษณล้วน เพลงพาล"

   àk-sɔ̌ɔn wɔɔn-rá lák lúuan · pleeng paan

   "all the letters in this divine message are just a deceptive serenade".

2. (idiomatic) person who alters a document, message, etc, especially in a completely different way or for an outcome or effect contrary to that intended by the original.

• Royal Society of Thailand. (2010-03-08). "ฤๅษีแปลงสาร rʉʉ-sǐi-bplɛɛng-sǎan" (in Thai). Retrieved: 2016-04-20.