The
'Pra Sila' or 'Stone Monk' represents the 'naka' pr. 'nah-gah'
Buddha, and was carved from Sandstone. This Buddha
wears a crown and earings in the cone shape. The arms
are adorned with bracelets. The base is divided into
three sections and there are three Nakas (snakes) around the
head. This statue is 44cm wide and 85.5 cm in
height. This statue is Lopburi art in the Bayan style
and it is dated between 1300 and 1800 B.E.D. ;(Buddha End
Date) or 750-1250 AD in the Western Calendar. *We will
refer to the Western Calendar for all other dates here.
This
statue was found in 'Jaoram' Cave, located between the towns
of A.Tungsleam and Bandanlanhoi. This is an
ancient cave, carved out of the rock and was filled with
bats. In 1025, a Baguan master from Lampang
Province, brought a group of townspeople to Jaoram Cave to
remove the statue from the cave so that it could be placed in
the Tungsaleam Temple (Wat Tungsaleam). They removed the
statue but when they arrived at Wat Tungsaleam, a miracle
occured. the weather suddenly changed from a bright
sunny sky and very hot weather, at noon, on that April day, to
cloudy weather. Then there was a long heavy
rainfall. The people could see that it was a sacred
statue. They brought it to rest in Wat Tungsaleam and
named it "Pra Sila".
Then
on B.E.D. October 29, 1973, theives came into the Temple
and took away Pra Sila without leaving a trace. But then
in B.E.D. 1991, some Thai people in London found it in an
Auction House in London. So they sent a picture of Pra
Sila, along with a letter to an Arts and Culture
magazine. This caused the government of Thailand to
demand the statue be returned.
Thailand's
Minister of Education, Mr. Chowarin along with C.P.
, which is the largest company in Thailand, worked to get Pra
Sila returned to to the country. They were finally
successful. On December 19th, 1992, The C.P. Company
paid a ransom of 5,200,000 baht. They brought Pra
Sila to The King and the King had Pra Sila returned to
Wat Tungsaleam in Febrary 24th, 1993, where it is today.
translated
by Jookie
*Note
B.E.D. - 547 years
= A.D. date.
