The Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew

Posted by paul on February 22nd, 2008 filed in Bangkok, Culture & customs, Top attractions

The magnificent Emerald Buddha is probably the most sacred and revered Buddhist icon in Thailand. Created of green jade, the 45 cm tall, sitting and clothed in gold Buddha statue is surprisingly not made from emerald. Positioned on the complex of the Grand Palace, the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha houses this extremely valuable icon.

According to several legends the sacred Buddha was sculptured in the Indian town of Pataliputra. A number of internationally acclaimed historians assume that the statue dates from the 15th century and has a typical Chiang Saen (located in the Golden Triangle in the north) style. The legend tells us that the Emeral Buddha stayed in Pataliputra for three centuries. To save the Buddhist icon from the devastation of a civil war, it was quickly transported to Sri Lanka.

The Burmese King Anurut wanted the Buddha. He was convinced that if he owned the icon, it would greatly support Buddhism in his empire. In 457 Anurut sent out his wishes to Ceylon and demanded important Buddhist scriptures along with the revered Buddha statue. Ceylon granted his demand but the vessel which supposed to transport the Buddha and deliver it to Burma never arrived. Due to a severe storm the ship got lost and later navigated into a Cambodian harbour.

After this it seemed that the Emerald Buddha was several times owned by different powers and once Kamphaeng Phet, Ayuthhhaya, Laos and finally Chiang Rai all housed the icon. Chiang Rai’s ruler didn’t want to loose his treasure and wisely decided to hide the Buddha.

The northern part of Thailand was the location where in 1434 authorities indicated the discovery of the statue. A temple’s pagoda in Chiang Rai was struck by lightning, and under the stucco an object became visible. Soon workers freed the statue from its secret hiding place. When people saw the Buddha they believed it was created out of emerald and this event is the reason why the icon got famous as the Emerald Buddha.

However, the figurine may be just an ordinary jade statue, the garments it wears are from fine gold. During the changing of the seasons celebrations, the Thai king changes the clothing of the Buddha three times annually.

More on the Emerald Buddha.