The History of Phra Pathom Chedi

"That must be the way to heaven when we die" Nirat Phra Pathom, Sunthorn Phu, a classic Thai poet

The Phra Pathom Chedi

As the pilgrim arrives at the terrace of the mighty Phra Pathom Chedi, he looks up and there, the Phra Pathom Chedi stands, a towering tribute to the 2500 year old religion called Buddhism. Now, more than 2000 years old, the Phra Pathom Chedi is both the tallest Buddhist monument in the world and the oldest Buddhist monument in Thailand, even taller than the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar. Reaching into the sky for 115.8m, the whole structure shines like gold in the sunlight. The golden brown tiles that cover the entire chedi are highly glazed and are brought from China. Phra Pathom Chedi contains relics of the Buddha and is one of the holiest pilgrimage spots in Thailand today. It is said that Phra Pathom Chedi can be seen from the top of tall buildings in Bangkok on clear days.

Structure of the Phra Pathom Chedi The Phra Pathom Chedi looks much like some of the stupas in Sri Lanka and the Sanchi Stupa in India. Its base is made up of a series of concentric rings stacked on top of one another, dinimishing in size as they go higher. The rings are topped by a huge bell-shaped dome. On top of the dome is a square base that supports a series of rings similar to the ones below, except that these rings rise up to a finial in the form of Indra's trident.

An Illustrated History of the Phra Pathom Chedi

Buddhism Comes to Thailand Buddhist missionaries were despatched to Nakhon Pathom, then known as Nakhon Chaisri, during the reign of King Ashoka in India. Nakhon Chaisri was a major city in Suvarnabhumi, a large Dvaravati kingdom in Thailand then. A stupa, in the style of the Sanchi Stupa in India (right) was built on the spot where Buddhist missionaries, Sona and Uttara, first arrived in Suvarnabhumi. According to some records, relics of the Buddha were housed in the stupa and hence may be enclosed within the present structure.

Brahmin Prang Later, when the Suvarnabhumi became weak and came under Khmer control, the Stupa was built over with a Brahmin prang (left), 39.7m high. The Brahmin prang rested on a dome in which the original stupa laid.In 1057, King Anawratha of Burma came with his army to attack the town, and reportedly took all its inhabitants back to Burma. It is also reported that he tried to locate and dig up the Buddha relics hidden in the Brahmin prang, though there is no recording that relics were found and brought back to Burma. Nakhon Chaisri was deserted, and it was eventually overcome by jungle. Some of its former inhabitants reportedly returned but then abandoned the city due to flooding by a nearby river. Phra Pathom Chedi was left to decay in the jungle without care or attention

The Present Chedi During the early 1800s, Buddhist monks came to reside in the ruined Phra Pathom Chedi. The present chedi owes its existence to King Mongkut, who then a monk visited the ruined chedi several times and was deeply saddened to see it in ruins. He understood the significance of the site as the oldest Buddhist monument in Thailand and the spot where Buddhism first arrived in Thailand. Thus he was determined to restore it. On his accession to the throne, King Mongkut began a restoration process by building an enormous chedi over the ruined prang. The first attempt collapsed in bad weather. King Mongkut did not live to see the completion of the chedi. However, in due course this was achieved and in 1870, the spire was raised during the reign of King Chulalongkorn.

The Legend of Phra Pathom Chedi Long ago, The queen of Nakhon Chaisri (Nakhon Pathom) gave birth to a son. A prediction warned Phya Kong, the king of Nakhon Chaisri, that he would be killed by his son so he ordered the baby to be floated down a river on a raft to a forest where he was found and raised by an old woman called Yai Hom. The youth, Phya Pan was adopted by the king of Ratchaburi, a vassal of Phya Kong. Wanting to free Ratchaburi from the control of Phya Kong, Phya Pan waged war against his feudal lord and killed Phya Kong. When he learnt that he had killed his father, he was so angry at Yai Hom for not telling him the truth of his birth, that he killed Yai Hom with one stroke of his sword. Now, he had committed two great sins by killing his own father and killing the poor old woman who had raised him. He was so sad that he wanted to commit suicide but, by committing suicide, he would have commited another great sin. The monks told him to build a stupa that reaches the height where the doves fly and dedicate it to the Buddha, to atone for his sins. So, Phya Pan built a immense stupa called the Phra Pathom Chedi to enshrine relics of the Buddha. He also built another stupa called the Phra Phratone Chedi, to the east of the Phra Pathom Chedi, and dedicated it to Yai Hom.