Pha That Luang (; "Great Stupa") is a large, gold-covered

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

in the centre of the city of

Vientiane Vientiane (, ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Laos. Situated on the banks of the Mekong, Mekong River at the Thailand, Thai border, it comprises the five urban districts of Vientiane Prefecture and had a population of 840,000 ...

, capital of Laos. Since its initial establishment, suggested to be in the 3rd century AD, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions, as recently as the 1930s, due to foreign invasions of the area. It is generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos as well as a national symbol.

History

Pha That Luang Vientiane Laos Wikimedia Commons

Buddhist missionaries from the

Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...

are believed to have been sent by Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

, including Bury Chan or Praya Chanthabury Pasithisak and five Arahanta monks, who brought a sacred relic (believed to be the breastbone) of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

and enshrined it into the

in the 3rd century BC. The structure was rebuilt in the 13th century as a Khmer temple, which fell into ruin. In the mid-16th century, King Setthathirat relocated his capital from

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

to Vientiane and ordered the construction of the temple in 1566. It was constructed about 4 km from the centre of Vientiane, at the end of Pha That Luang Road, and named accordingly. The bases had a length of 69 metres each, and the stupa was 45 metres high, surrounded by 30 smaller stupas. In 1641, a Dutch envoy of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

, Gerrit van Wuysthoff, visited Vientiane and was received by King

Sourigna Vongsa Souligna Vongsa (ສຸຣິຍະວົງສາທັມມິກຣາດ ) was the king of Lan Xang whose reign is considered the golden age of Laos. He ascended to the throne in 1637. King of Lan Xang In 1637, Souligna Vongsa ascended the ...

at the temple, reportedly in a magnificent ceremony. He wrote that he was particularly impressed by the "enormous pyramid...and the top was covered with gold leaf weighing about a thousand pounds". The stupa was repeatedly plundered by the Burmese, Siamese, and Chinese. Pha That Luang was destroyed by the Thai invasion in 1828, which left it heavily damaged and abandoned. It was not until 1900 that the French restored it to its original design, based on detailed drawings from 1867 by the French architect and explorer Louis Delaporte. However, the first attempt to restore it was unsuccessful, and it had to be redesigned and then reconstructed in the 1930s. During the

Franco-Thai War The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – 28 January 1941, ; ) was fought between Thailand and Vichy France over certain areas of French Indochina. Negotiations shortly before World War II had shown that the French government was willing to alter th ...

, Pha That Luang was heavily damaged during a Thai air raid. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was reconstructed.

Architecture

The architecture of the building includes many references to Lao culture and identity, and so has become a symbol of Lao nationalism. The first level is ; the second is along each side; and the third level is along each side. From ground to

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

, Pha That Luang is high. Only the pinnacle is covered in real gold; the remainder of the stupa is painted a gold color. The area around Pha That Luang is now gated, to keep out traffic. Previously, visitors could drive around the whole complex. The encircling walls are roughly long on each side and contain a large number of Lao and Khmer sculptures, including one of

Jayavarman VII Jayavarman VII (), known posthumously as Mahaparamasaugata (, c. 1122–1218), was king of the Khmer Empire. He was the son of King Dharanindravarman II (r. 1150–1160) and Queen Sri Jayarajacudamani. He was the first king devoted to Buddhism, ...

Gallery

Pha Than Luang stupa.jpg, Pha That Luang stupa Pha That Luang - Vientiane (Laos) I.jpg, View of the stupa from inside the temple That luang1.jpg, The national symbol of Laos at sunset Pha That Luang - Vientiane (Laos) II.jpg,

Nāga In various Asian religious traditions, the Nāgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

inside the temple Thatluang Festival ທາດຫລວງ タート・ルアン CIMG2590.jpg, That Luang Festival (2010) Thatluang Festival ທາດຫລວງ タート・ルアン CIMG2581.jpg, Thatluang Festival (2010) PhaThatLuang Afterdark.jpg, That Luang stupa at night Pha That Luang 2014.JPG, That Luang JayavarmanVII-Vientiane.jpg, King

of the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

Naga pha that luang1.jpg, Naga Pagoda of west Pha That Luang, October 2006

References

External links

{{commons category-inline Buddhist temples in Laos National symbols of Laos Buildings and structures in Vientiane Tourist attractions in Vientiane Articles containing video clips Buddhist relics 3rd-century Buddhism 3rd-century religious buildings and structures Religious towers

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links