Wat Kumpha Pradit (วัดกุมภประดิษฐ์)

Thai. ‘Temple of the Artificial Pot’. Name of a picturesque Buddhist temple in the Amphur Mae Rim (แม่ริม) of the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai. It is locally also known as Wat Ban Mo (วัดบ้านหม้อ), i.e. ‘Temple of the Pot House’. Though the origin of the name is unclear, it is however clearly symbolized in the large golden pot near the side of the road at the entrance of the temple. Here, lined up alongside the edge of a narrow stroke of grass adjacent to the road, are a number of white mythical lion statues known as singh, each in a different  posture from the next, and often with different features, such as wings and with one holding a woman in its open mouth, which refers to a northern legend of a lion that could take on a human body. Whereas the temple is largely designed in the Lan Na style, there are also influences of Burmese architectural styles and several of the Buddha images on display are in the Chiang Saen style. Behind the main prayer hall is a stupa that has a hall with a white Buddha image seated in the maravijaya pose, as well as a translucent green crowned Buddha statue, reminiscent of the Emerald Buddha, whereas the inner walls of this hall have pastel murals that depict scenes and mythical creatures from Himaphan Forest, such as Kinnari (mythical creatures that are half-bird half-woman - fig.) and nariphon (fairy-like beings that grow as fruits on trees and offer erotic pleasure - fig.), as well as a depiction of Thewalohk (fig.) the plane or heaven where the gods live and part of the Trilok or ‘Three Worlds’, i.e. the three realms in Buddhist cosmology, namely Heaven, Earth and Hell. Whereas the elevated platform of the stupa is surrounded with bronze Buddha statues of the Phra prajam wan system, in which each day of the week corresponds to a certain representation of a Buddha image, the square base on which the stupa sits is adorned with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, whilst on each of the four corners of the base sits a lokapala, a ‘Guardians of the world’, one for each of the four points of the compass, and also known as the Four Heavenly Kings, namely Thao Wetsuwan, the guardian of the North, here depicted with a golden complexion and holding a club known as gada and a bag with coins; Thao Thatarattha, the guardian of the East, here depicted with a red complexion and holding a disc known as a chakra (fig.); Thao Wirunhok (fig.), the guardian of the South, here depicted with a yellow complexion and holding an elongated club or staff; and Thao Wirupak, the guardian of the West, here depicted with a white complexion and holding a golden sword, while he has a naga coiled around his neck, a reference to his status as a king and leader of the nagas, as well as a symbolic reference to his representation in southern India as Virupaksa, where he is considered to be a form of Shiva, who is traditionally depicted with a cobra around is neck (fig.). In front of the stupa, to the right of the staircase, stands a golden statue of Phra Sangkatjaai, a Buddhist monk who was an arhat and one of the Ten Principal Disciples, here depicted with black hair and holding an alms bowl. Furthermore, the temple features a small hall with a statue of the Hindu elephant-headed god Ganesha (fig.), that has white rats (fig.), Ganesha's vahana, i.e. the mount or vehicle of a deity, as roof finals. Mid-2023, a new and giant standing statue of Thao Wetsuwan was being constructed at the southern entrance of the compound. See also EXPLORER'S MAP and WATCH VIDEO. 回