Naga-Protected Buddha

There is the record of creation of the Buddha Image in the Scription suggested that the sculpture was created in the tear 1183 A.D. by The Town Keeper of Mueang Korahi which is believed to be the old name of Chaiya at the order of King Srimat Trailokaraja Maulibhusana Wormadeva.

Bronze casting

This bronze Naga-Protected Buddha can be separated into 3 parts; the body (Buddha), the Naga’s head, and the Naga Coil.

The Buddha is seated in the lotus position with subduing Mara hand gesture which is unusual as most Naga-Protected Buddha would be craft in the meditation posture. This unique style is classified as the characteristic of the Chaiya School of Art. The hole on the forehead of the Image was likely made later. The Usaneesa is in the half circle shape, undecorated. There are triangular panels that originally had gems adorned in the front side. The seam of the robe runs pass through the left shoulder to the belly is in a square bars overlapping in several layers.

The 7 heads of Naga are in triangular shape, similar to Bodhi leaf. The Middle head is the largest with 3 smaller heads that turn toward the main head on each sides. All of them were placed next to each other in the panel form comparable to the Naga Heads in Lavo or Khmer Art in Thailand during the Angkor Era like the ones at Angkor Thom and Bayon.

There is the record of creation of the Buddha Image in the Scription suggested that the sculpture was created in the tear 1183 A.D. by The Town Keeper of Mueang Korahi which is believed to be the old name of Chaiya at the order of King Srimat Trailokaraja Maulibhusana Wormadeva. The attributes of the sculpture reflected the local style that could be classified as Chaiya School of Art as well as the trait of Lavo or Khmer in Thailand from the posture of the Buddha Image that is the standard of Khmer Buddhist Art. This led to the estimation of Khmer influences from Central Thailand that expanded to the region with Buddhism.

There are 5 lines of inscription at the base of the sculpture in Kwi characters of Khmer language which translated into the standard Thai as follow;

1. In the year 1105 (The Buddhist Year of 1726), Rabbit Zodiac Year. By the royal command of King Srimat Trailokaraja Maulibhusana Wormadeva on the 3rd Night of Waxing.

2. On Wednesday of the 7th Month, order Mahasena Talanai, The Steward of Korahi to contact the abbot and craft….

3. The bronze Buddha Image weigh 1 Para 2 Tula. The gold to cover is worth 10 Tamlung, and dedicate..

4. This Buddha Image to the Buddhist citizen to worship and pray to reach nirvana.

Piriya Krairuek. Art History of Thailand: Student Handbook Edition. Bangkok : Amarin Printing, 1985.

Piriya Krairuek. Southern Art before 19th Buddhist Century. Bangkok : Fine Arts Department, 1980.

Fine Arts, Department. Inscriptions in Thailand, Volume 4 Khmer Scripts of 17th-18th Buddhist Centuries. Bangkok : Department of Fine Arts, 1986.