Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot) | Lap Width 9\" | 3 season | Thai Buddha Image
![Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot) | Lap Width 9\](img-large/g/uBsAAOSwDuJWu3FB/s-l1600/Emerald-Buddha-Phra-Kaeo-Morakot-Lap-Width-9-3-sea.jpg "Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot) | Lap Width 9\")
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Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot) | Lap Width 9\" | 3 season | Thai Buddha Image:
$150.00
Emerald Buddha
at Wat Phra Si Rattana SatsadaramSummer Season Costume
Rainy Season Costume
Winter Season Costume
The Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot or Phra Phuttha Maha Mani Rattana Patimakon) is considered the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand. It is a figurine of the meditating Buddha seated in yogic posture, made of a semi-precious green stone (jade or jasper rather than emerald), clothed in gold, and about 26 inches (66 cm) tall. It is housed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.HistoryHistorical sources indicate that the statue surfaced in northern Thailand in the Lannathai kingdom in 1434. One account of its discovery tells that lightning struck a chedi in Wat Pa Yia (Bamboo Forest Monastery, later renamed Wat Phra Kaew) in the Chiang Rai, revealing a Buddha covered with stucco inside. The Buddha was then placed in the abbot\'s residence, who later noticed that stucco on the nose had flaked off, revealing a green interior. The abbot removed all the stucco and found a Buddha image made of a green semi-precious stone, which became known as Phra Kaew Morakot or the Emerald Buddha. \"Emerald\" here simply means \"green coloured\" in Thai. Some art historians describe the Emerald Buddha as belonging to the Chiang Saen Style of the 15th century AD, which would mean it is of Lannathai origin.
King Sam Fang Kaen of Lannathai wanted it in his capital, Chiang Mai, but the elephant carrying it insisted, on three separate occasions, on going instead to Lampang. This was taken as a divine sign, and the Emerald Buddha stayed in Lampang in a specially-built temple for the next 32 years. In 1468, it was moved to Chiang Mai by King Tiloka, where it was kept in a niche in a large stupa called Chedi Luang.
The Emerald Buddha remained in Chiang Mai until 1552, when it was taken to Luang Prabang, then the capital of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang. Some years earlier, the crown prince of Lan Xang, Setthathirath, had been invited to occupy the vacant throne of Lannathai as his mother was the daughter of the king of Chiang Mai who had died without a son. However, Prince Setthathirath also became king of Lan Xang when his father, Photisarath, died. He returned home, taking the revered Buddha figure with him.
In 1564, King Setthathirath moved it to Vientiane, which he had made his new capital due to Burmese attacks and where the Buddha image was housed in Haw Phra Kaew. The Buddha image would stay in Vientiane for the next 214 years.
In 1779, the Thai General Chao Phraya Chakri put down an insurrection, captured Vientiane and took the Emerald Buddha to Siam. It was installed in a shrine close to Wat Arun in Thonburi, its new capital. Chao Phra Chakri then took over the reins and founded the Chakri Dynasty of Rattanakosin Kingdom. He adopted the title Rama I and shifted his capital across the Menam Chao Phra river to its present location in Bangkok, and constructed the new Grand Palace including Wat Phra Kaew within its compound. Wat Phra Kaew was consecrated in 1784, and the Emerald Buddha was moved with great pomp and pageantry to its current home in the Ubosoth of the Wat Phra Kaew temple complex on 22 March 1784.LegendsThe legend of Phra Kaeo Morakot or the legend of the Emerald Buddha image is Thai Buddhist literature. It is also known alternatively as \"Tamnan Phra Kaeo\" and \"Tamnan Phra Kaeo Chao\". The oldest version of the legend is \"Rattana Phimphawong\", written in Pali language by the Venerable Thera Phrom Ratcha Panya during AD 1436-68. The legend also features in \"Chinna Kala Mali Pakon\", which was written by the Venerable Phra Rattana Panya Thera at about 1517, and in the King Rama I\'s \"Royal Chronicle of Rattanakosin\".
The most numerous versions of the legend are those of Lanna. They are found in various temples and mostly contain only seven to eight pages of the Thai traditional palm-leaf manuscripts on which they were inscribed. Some manuscripts recorded only the legend of the Emerald Buddha image, while some included other texts as well. The following synopsis of the story was summarized from \"Tamnan Phra Chan Chao Phra Sing Phra Kaeo\" from the palm-leaf manuscript found at Wat Sai Mun, San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai province.
When the monk by the name of the Venerable Maha Nakkha Sen,who resided at Sen Aram in the city of Patalibut (Pataliputta), wished to create a Buddha image, Phra In (Indra, Lord of Heaven) sent Witsanukam (Vishvakarma) to bring to him the Kaeo Mani Chot from Wibula Banphot Mountain, but the Demon Kumphan gave the emerald (to Witsanukam) instead. Indra ordered a statue of the Buddha to be made, which was two Sok and one Niew in height (one Sok equals the length of the forearm; one Niew equals the length of a finger). Indra then put in the Buddha\'s relics at seven spots inside the image. The Venerable Maha Nakkha Sen predicted that this Emerald Buddha Image would be venerated in Khom, Burma and Thailand. Later, King Anuruttharat of Burma sent the learned men to Sri Lanka to copy the Tipitaka (Buddhist sacred scriptures) and they also brought back the Emerald Buddha image. On the way back their junk boat was carried by the current to the city of Luang Phra Bang (in Laos). King Anuruttharat asked for the Emerald Buddha image to be returned to him, but King Phraya Nakhon Luang returned only the Tipitaka copy. Later, Phraya A-thit conquered Nakhon Luang (Phra Bang) and brought the statue to Ayo-thaya (Ayutthaya). Later, King Phra Ram of Kamphaeng Phet had the Emerald Buddha image moved to Bangkok. Later, Phraya Maha Phrommarat had the Emerald Buddha image moved to Chiang Rai. Later, when the construction of the Kudi (a shrine) for the Emerald Buddha image was completed, Phraya Tilokarat of Chiang Mai had the statue moved to Chiang Mai, where it remained thereafter.
The legend of the Emerald Buddha image stands as a testimony to the literary creativity of the Lanna monks in the past. It also serves as a historical record that expresses the Buddhist ideology and belief in this important and sacred Buddha image.The ImageThe Buddha image is made of a semi-precious green stone, described variously as jade or jasper rather than emerald, as \"emerald\" here refers to its colour rather than the stone. The image has not been analyzed to determine its exact composition or origin.
The figure is 19 inches (48 cm) wide at the lap, and 26 inches (66 cm) high. The Buddha is in a seated position, with the right leg resting on the left one, a style that suggest it might have been carved in the late Chiangsaen or Chiangmai school, not much earlier than the fifteenth century A.D. However, the meditation pose of the statue was not popular in Thailand but looks very much like some of the Buddha images of Southern India and Sri Lanka, which led some to suggest an origin in India or Sri Lanka.Seasonal AttireThe Emerald Buddha is adorned with three different sets of gold seasonal costume; two were made by Rama I, one for the summer and one for the rainy season, and a third made by Rama III for the winter or cool season. The clothes are changed by the King of Thailand, or the Crown Prince in his stead, in a ceremony at the changing of the seasons - in the 1st Waning of lunar months 4, 8 and 12 (around March, August and November).
For the three seasons, the three set of costumes for the Emerald Buddha:
The image also marks the changing of the seasons in Thailand, with the king presiding over the seasonal ceremonies. It is a significant ritual held at this temple three times a year, whereby the dress of the deity is changed at the start of each of the three seasons. The astrological dates for the ritual ceremonies, at the changing of the seasons, followed are in the 1st Waning Moon of Lunar Months 4, 8 and 12 (around March, July and November). Rama I initiated this ritual for the hot season and the rainy season, Rama III introduced the ritual for the winter season. The robes, which the image adorns, represents that of monks and the King, depending on the season, a clear indication of highlighting its symbolic role \"as Buddha and the King\", which role is also enjoined on the Thai King who formally dresses the Emerald Buddha image. The costume change ritual is performed by the Thai king who is the highest master of ceremonies for all Buddhist rites. During the ceremony, the king first climbs up to the pedestal, cleans the image by wiping away any dust, and changes the gold headdress of the Emerald Buddha. The king then worships nearby while an attendant performs the elaborate ritual of changing garments. The king also sprays lustral water upon his subjects waiting outside the ordination hall, a privilege previously afforded only to the princes and officials who were attending the ceremony inside the ubosoth.
Ceremonies are also performed at at the Emerald Buddha temple at other occasions such as the by Chakri Day (begun on April 6, 1782), a national holiday to honour founding of the Chakri dynasty. The King and Queen, entourage of the royal family as well as the Prime Minister, officials in the Ministry of Defence, and other government departments, offer prayers at the temple.Thai Buddha ImageThe Emerald Buddha
- Premium Quality Sculpture Artwork from Thailand
- for household worshipping
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- Material : Resin
- Attire : Gold
- Dimensions :
Lap Width 9\"
Base Width 33 cm
Depth 20 cm
Height 47 cm
Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaeo Morakot) | Lap Width 9\" | 3 season | Thai Buddha Image:
$150.00