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The
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 Phuttha Maha
Man i r a t t ana Pa t imakon” . I n t he No r t h o f
Thai land, i t is called, for example, “Tamnan
Phra Kaeo Chao”, “Tamnan Phra Kaeo Morakot”,
“Tamnan Phra Kaeo Amorakot”, “Tamnan Phra Kaeo
Ammorakot Chao”, and “Tamnan Phra Kaeo.”
The Legend of Phra Kaeo Morakot
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 (toWitsanukam) 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 learnedmen 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.