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story : 25
Aug 05 / Vol. 22 No. 10
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The
Emerald
Buddha's
Eventful
History Traces
of the image's journeys
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By
Inthira
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| Photos
by Induang and by courtesy of TAT |
Visiting Thailand, a country where Buddhism has flourished for
more than one thousand years, you will not be astonished to
see a large number of Buddhist monasteries and Buddha images.
In lists of tourist attractions in Bangkok, the Temple of the
Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo) is the most prominent place where
all tourists must pay a visit because it houses the Emerald
Buddha, the most sacred Buddha image of Thailand.
The Emerald Buddha in the costumes
of the cool, hot and rainy seasons, respectively. |
In spite of the Buddha image's significance, very few people,
even the Thais, know about its long eventful history. The image
had gone through long journeys before being enshrined in the
Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. Those journeys give
explanations why there are several temples with the same name
Wat Phra Kaeo in the North of Thailand.
For travellers who are interested in history or Buddhism, paying
homage to historical sites or temples housing or involved in
the journeys of the Emerald Buddha is well worthwhile. Moreover,
going to these ancient temples will allow you to appreciate
the splendour of their ancient architecture, sculpture and paintings
as well.
About the Emerald Buddha
The image is carved from a fine block of jade, not emerald which
refers to its colour only. In the usual cross-legged sitting
posture, the statue measures 48.3 cm (1ft. 7in.) across the
lap and 66 cm. (2ft. 1.98 in.) high from base to top.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha,
Bangkok |
The journeys of the Emerald
Buddha
Historical evidences of the Emerald Buddha have been discovered
in both written records and archaeological facts.
As for the written records, there are several ancient documents
mentioning the Emerald Buddha. From these, historians drew conclusions
that the image was built in 43 B.C. by Phra Nagasena Thera in
Pataliputtara Town (today's Patana State of India). After that,
Phra Kaeo was moved to be enshrined in numerous significant
cities as will be described below.
In A.D. 257, a war broke out in India,
so the Emerald Buddha found his way to Ceylon. Then in A.D.
457, King Anurut the Great of the Pukam Kingdom dispatched a
group of high-ranking Buddhist monks to Ceylon to ask for the
bestowal of the image. The request was granted and the image
was transferred in a junk. On the way, a storm drove the junk
to Kamphuchea (today's Cambodia). A flood hit the town afterwards,
thus Phra Kaeo was moved to Inthapat town in Angkor Wat. Later
on, Phra Kaeo was brought to Ayutthaya (the former capital of
Thailand A.D.1350-1767) in the reign of King U-thong (1350-1369).
A detail from the mural paintings
at Wat Hongrattanaram, Bangkok,
depicting Phra Kaeo in a junk. |
In the reign of King Ramesuan (1369-1370)
of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the Emerald Buddha was moved to
the Wachira Prakan Kingdom (today's Kamphaeng Phet). Then
in A.D. 1391, the image found its way to Chiang Rai, where
it was covered with layers of plaster and was put in a stupa
in a temple by Chao Mahaphrom. After that, the stupa was struck
by a thunderbolt and Phra Kaeo, mistaken for an ordinary Buddha
statue, was placed among many others in a vihara. A few months
later, the stucco covering the nose of the statue came off.
Seeing that the inside was in bright green, the abbot of the
temple had the coverings of the whole object removed. It was
then known to everybody that it was made of a single piece
of jade pure and flawless. The image became known as Phra
Kaeo Morakot, meaning the Emerald Buddha, and the temple housing
it was known as Wat Phra Kaeo.
King Samfangkaen of Chiang Mai sent a convoy to bring the
Emerald Buddha to his capital in A.D.1436.
However, when the
party came to a junction where three roads met, the elephant
carrying the image became excited and ran towards Lampang
instead of Chiang Mai as intended. The beast was calmed down
but again it became frightened when it was taken back to the
junction. It was replaced with a tame one but the same thing
happened again. Therefore, the Buddha image was carried to
a temple especially built in Lampang named Wat Phra Kaeo Dontao
Suchadaram, where the image was kept for 32 years until A.D.1468.
After King Tilokkarat was enthroned in that year, he moved
the Emerald Buddha to Chiang Mai. Then in A.D. 1551, the king
died without an heir. Prince Chaiyachetta of Laos, whose mother
was the daughter of a former king of Chiang Mai, was chosen
by the nobles and the high priests to be the next ruler.
The next year Prince Chaiyachetta's father died and the Prince's
younger brothers vied with each other for the throne. The
prince was called back to Luang Prabang, the capital of Laos,
to suppress the strife. Uncertain of his own future, the prince
took the Emerald Buddha with him when going back to Laos,
on the pretext of providing opportunities for his relatives
there to worship it.
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Prince Chaiyachetta
became King of Laos after reestablishing order in
the country. He could not and did not return to Chiang
Mai, because the nobles of Chiang Mai had in the meantime
invited Meku of Muang Nai, who was of the royal blood,
to be their new king, for fear that Chiang Mai would
become a vassal state of Laos.
| A
painting on the inside of the dome
of The Ananda Samakhom Hall in Bangkok,
depicting King Rama I, founder of
the Chakri Dynasty, riding on elephant
back upon his triumphant return from
an expedition. |
And the Emerald Buddha was kept in Luang
Prabang for 12 years.
In A.D. 1564, King Chaiyachetta moved his
capital to Vientiane to avoid confrontation
with the neighbouring Kingdom of Mon, which
was emerging as a new power. He again took
the Emerald Buddha along. It was placed
there for the next 214 years.
Wat Phra
Kaeo, Chiang Rai province |
Finally, in A.D.1779,
the Emerald Buddha was brought back to Thailand
safe and sound, by none other than the founder
of the present Chakri Dynasty of Thailand
himself, Chao Phraya Chakri (later King
Rama I). At that time Phra Kaeo was housed
at the Temple of Dawn.
When Chao Phraya Chakri became king and
established Bangkok as capital in A.D.1782,
he ordered the construction of Wat Phra
Kaeo within the compound of his palace to
house the Emerald Buddha up to the present
time.
Temples Used to House the Emerald Buddha
Here are brief descriptions of the temples
used to house the Emerald Buddha:
1. Wat
Phra Kaeo, Kamphaeng Phet (358 km north
of Bangkok)
Wat Phra Kaeo, Kamphaeng Phet, is one among
the world heritages of Kamphaeng Phet Historical
Park which is located next to today's Kamphaeng
Phet town.
This historical site is situated in the
heart of the ancient Wachira Prakan Kingdom
and adjacent to the palace compound as was
practised in former times. The temple's
architectural plan is rectangular and it
stands parallel to the city wall. In the
vicinity of the monastery, 35 bases of ruined
stupas of different styles were discovered.
There also stand remains of 8 viharas and
3 ordination halls. All these remind us
of its significance in the old days. A principal
Ceylonese stupa was found in the centre
of the temple compound. Its base was surrounded
by lion figures standing in niches.
Kamphaeng
Phet Historical Site |
2. Wat
Phra Kaeo, Chiang
Rai (785 km north of Bangkok)
Wat Phra Kaeo, Chiang Rai, is located at
Thai Rat Road, Chiang Rai town. Formerly,
its name was Wat Pa Yia (Yia is a kind of
local bamboo.) In A.D. 1434, as mentioned
above, the stupa was struck by a thunderbolt.
A stucco Buddha image was exposed to be
made of jade, which is the Emerald Buddha.
Nowadays, a replica of the Emerald Buddha
is enshrined here instead of the original
one which was moved to Bangkok.
A replica
of the Emerald Buddha enshrined
in Phra Kaeo Hall, Wat Phra Kaeo,
Chiang Rai province |
3. Wat
Phra Kaeo Dontao Suchadaram, Lampang (599
km north of Bangkok)
Wat Phra Kaeo Dontao Suchadaram, situated
on Suchada Road, Lampang town, aged more
than a thousand years, is a beautiful ancient
temple featuring the typical Northern Thai
temple architecture. There are venerable
constructions in the monastery such as Phra
Barommathat Dontao, a large stupa containing
the Buddha's hair relic, Vihara of Phra
Chao Thong Thip, built by Queen Chammathewi,
aged more than a thousand years as well,
a mondop showing Burmese art influence and
the Lanna Museum.
Wat Phra
Kaeo Dontao Suchadaram,
Lampang province |
4. Wat
Chedi Luang, Chiang
Mai (696 km north of Bangkok)
Wat Chedi Luang on Phra Pok Klao Road centrally
located in Chiang Mai town is where the
largest stupa in Chiang Mai, built in the
7th reign of the Meng Rai Dynasty (A.D.1386-1401)
is situated. The stupa was renovated in
the reign of King Tilokkarat and was used
to house the Emerald Buddha for a period
of 85 years (A.D. 1468-1553).
The stairway to the entrance of the principal
vihara has an exquisite pair of stuccoed
naga, which are considered as the most beautiful
naga of the North. Besides, there is a city
pillar called Sao Inthakhin, constructed
in A.D. 1296 when King Meng Rai the Great,
the founder of Chiang Mai, established Chiang
Mai town. At present, this pillar, made
of a whole large log buried under the ground,
was sheltered in a small Thai-style vihara
and is celebrated yearly around May.
Wat Chedi
Luang, Chiang Mai province.
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In addition to paying homage to these sacred
places, you can make side trips to various
tourist attractions nearby to enjoy sightseeing.
More
about the story of the Temple of the Emerald
Buddha, Bangkok.
Special thanks to Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) Northern Office (Region1,2,3&4)
for giving Thaiways useful information and
opportunity to visit these historical places.
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