Wat Phra Kaew(Temple of Emerald Buddha)

The most important Buddhist Temple in Thailand is Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew, officially called the Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram.It is situated within the grand palace of Bangkok. The shrine of the Emerald Buddha or Phra kaew Morakot in the temple was carved precisely out of a bluish-green precious stone known as jade. The Emerald Buddha Temple enshrines Lord Buddha in meditating position. The construction was initiated during the reign of King Rama I in 1785

The main building of Wat Phra Kaew called the ‘ubosot’ has three entrances though only the royal King and Queen are permitted to take entrance through the middle one. Each season the robe of the Buddha is changed by the King to welcome good luck for the country. The inner walls of the Emerald Buddha Temple manifest Buddhist cosmology where Buddha is overcoming the demon of desire, Mara and also scenes from life of Buddha. The temple doors depict scenes from the epic Ramakien i.e. The Ramayana. Wat Phra Kaeo has a model of Angkor Wat which was a temple built for King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. Irrespective of weather, no one is allowed to enter the Wat without long trousers. It is believed by historians that Thailand Emerald Buddha statue belonged originally to India but it was presented to the King of Ayuttaya in the 15th century by the Vassal kingdom of Cambodia. Afterwards during the attack of Burmese raiders the Thailand Emerald Buddha was recorded to be lost. The statue reappeared about a century later in Chiang Saen and then was shifted to Chiang mai. Prince Setatiratt again shifted this to Luang Prabang when he succeeded the throne after his father. During an attack from the north, The Emerald Buddha returned. Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) do not any provision for the residence of the monks unlike other Buddhist Royal temples though it has the status of National Temple and hence it is not a centre of Buddhist learning like other Buddhist temples. The Thailand Emerald Buddha rests on high platforms near which the visitors are not allowed to go and as per Thai custom all visitors and worshippers should keep off their shoes before entering the Wat Phra Kaew.