Wat Phra Singh

Wat Phra Singh or Wat Phra Singh Woramahaviharn is a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai,
Northern Thailand. King Ananda Mahidol(Rama VIII), the older brother of the present
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), bestowed it the status of
Royal temple of the first grade in 1935.

Location

Wat Phra Singh is located in the western part of the old city centre of Chiang Mai,
which is contained within the city walls and moat. The main entrance,
which is guarded by Singhs (lions),Its not mean Lion Phra Singhs is a short name
From Phra-Put-Tha- Shi-Hing , and Thai people call it short until now is a Wat Pra Singhs
is situated at the end of the main street (Rachadamnoen road) of Chiang Mai.
The road runs east from the temple, via Tapae Gate, to the Ping River.

Notability

The temple houses an important Buddha statue: the Phra Buddha Sihing which gives
the temple its name. The origins of this statue are unknown but, according to legend,
it was based on the lion of Shakya, a statue since lost which used to be housed in
the Mahabodhi Templeof Bodh Gaya (India). The Phra Buddha Sihing statue
is supposed to have been brought, via Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka),
to Ligor (present day Nakhon Si Thammarat and from there,
via Ayutthaya, to Chiang Mai.

There are two more Buddha statues in Thailand which are claimed to be the Phra Buddha Sihing:
one is housed in Wat Phra Mahathat in the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat and another
in the Bangkok National Museum.

It is alleged that the head of the statue had been stolen in 1922. The possibility remains
that the present statue (or maybe only the head) is a copy.

Every year, during the Songkran festival, the statue is taken from wihan Lai Kham
and carried through the streets of Chiang Mai in a religious procession during
which the spectators honour the statue by sprinkling water over it.