The first time I ever heard the name Thailand: Wat Trimitr Witthayaram – Temple of the Gold Buddha, Bangkok

[snoop1130]

 

I remember exactly when I heard the story when and how the solid Gold Buddha image was discovered at Wat Trimitr for first time. I was in the 5th grade. It was a beautiful spring day back in April 1962. And I was reading about how and when the priceless statute was found in a world geography textbook that had interesting vignettes from countries around the world, including Thailand.  

 

The story went that an old temple in Bangkok was being moved to new quarters in the mid 1950s. Among the items to be moved was an old, large plaster or stucco-covered Buddha statue. It was late in the day when the workers hooked the statue up to a crane and tried to hoist it up onto a truck bed, but the restraints unexpectedly broke. The statue was dropped, being too heavy to lift and the covering was cracked. The workers just left the statue where it was since it as getting too dark to work any longer. However, that night there was a terrific rainstorm. 

 

When the workers returned, the next morning, they saw something glittering beneath the cracked covering which had been partially washed away in the rainstorm. Upon further investigation it was discovered that inside the outer covering was a gold Buddha image. The rest of the covering was quickly removed. They found it was a solid gold Buddha worth millions of dollars that had sat on the temple grounds for several decades, unbeknownst to everyone. The explanation said that the Buddha statue was covered up to prevent it from being melted down during the Burmese invasion of Ayutthaya in 1767. I was fascinated to hear about this very exotic land.

 

The solid gold Buddha is known in Thai as Phra Phuttha Maha Suwan Patimakon.  This Gold Buddha statue is the world’s largest. Like almost all of Thailand’s history, the solid gold Buddha’s origins are obscured in myth or legend. As the Thais left no written records, what records they did have were religious tracts. Almost all of them were burned, did not last or lost in centuries past. Art historians and experts believe that the statue dates from the 13th or 14th century being crafted during the Sukhothai period. The statue shows Indian influences from the egg shaped head that was typical of the statues made at the time.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/the-first-time-i-ever-heard-the-name-thailand-wat-trimitr-witthayaram-temple-of-the-gold-buddha-bangkok/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2021-05-21

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[KannikaP]

Where is it on the photo please?

[Mario666]

[Tubulat]

Unfortunately closed during covid.

[lagarto]

is located in Thanon jawarat within walking distance of old Huanglanphon Train station very well known easy to find by bus:507,1, 25.40 as well as the MRT