Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan
Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan
Shown within Thailand
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	8°24′41″N 99°58′00″E / 8.411389°N 99.966667°E / 8.411389; 99.966667
Affiliation	Buddhism
Country	Thailand

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (Thai: วัดพระมหาธาตุวรมหาวิหาร) is the main Buddhist temple (wat) of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in Southern Thailand. The main stupa of the temple called Phra Borommathat Chedi (Great Noble Relics Stupa) was built by King Sri Dhammasokaraja in early 13th century CE to establish a symbol for the Theravada Buddhism sect in the province. The temple is believed to house a tooth relic of Gautama Buddha.

According to legend, Prince Thanakuman and Queen Hem Chala brought the relic of Buddha to Hat Sai Kaew and built a small pagoda in 291 CE. When King Si-Thamma Sokarat established the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, he built a new temple called Wat Phra Borom That on the same site in the Mahayana style of the ruling Srivijaya kingdom. The city of Nakhon Si Thammarat was a prominent city in the ancient kingdom of Tambralinga. The city was a part of the Srivijaya empire till the early 13th century.

Historians believe that the city was almost deserted by epidemics and war, prompting the king to build a larger stupa in the Sri Lankan style with public participation and thereby re-develop the town community. The other religious buildings were constructed between the 13th and 18th centuries including the Wihan-Bodhi Lanka, a roofed cloister around the Bodhi Tree which is believed to be a sprout of the Mahabodhi tree in the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India.

The Thai name for the temple, Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan comes from Pali, vara maha dhatu vara maha vihara, literally meaning 'Great Noble Temple of the Great Noble Relics Stupa'. The stupa which is bell shaped, is inspired from Sri Lankan Buddhist art reflecting the belief of Ashoka's transmission of the tradition of the Stupa from India to Sri Lanka. The ruler of Nakhon Si Thammarat, who started work on the Stupa calls himself by the epithet of Sri Dhammasokaraja, which literally means Ashoka the great. The name of the town Nakhon Si Thammarat, is also derived from Pali, Nagara Sri Dhammaraja, meaning 'Town of Dhammaraja'.