Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Early modern · Buddhist · Thailand

Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)

วัดพระแก้ว

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Bangkok · 13.7515°, 100.4927°

Emerald BuddhaChakri (Rattanakosin)Rattanakosin
Sacred since
1782 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1782–84 with the new capital
patron: Rama I

History & significance

Thailand's palladium: the 66 cm jadeite Buddha, discovered in 1434 when lightning split a Chiang Rai stupa, travelled through Lampang, Chiang Mai and two centuries in Laos before Rama I enshrined it in his new Bangkok. The King of Thailand himself changes its gold seasonal robes thrice yearly; no other hand may touch it. The surrounding gallery holds the 178-panel Ramakien — Thailand's Ramayana — in mural form.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The image, legend claims, was fashioned in India by the gods' craftsman for the sage Nagasena, who prophesied it would carry Buddhism to five lands; wherever the Emerald Buddha resides, sovereignty and rain follow — which is why Laos and Siam contested it for centuries.

Reaching there

Grand Palace complex; strict dress code.

Official site ↗Open in Google Maps ↗Wikipedia ↗View on the atlas map

☏ +66-2-623-5500 (from the official site, verified 2026-08-26)

Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chakri (Rattanakosin)