Somdej Phra Chao Taksin Temple

Wat Phra Chao Tak or Wat Siang Barami Phra Chao Tak is located on the bypass road in Mae Tha sub-district, approximately 250 meters from the west bank of the Ping River. During the time of King Taksin the Great, it is a temple with important ancient sites worth seeing, such as a chapel with a pair of sema stones, which shows that it was a temple under the patronage of the King, a chedi and a replica of the Buddha's footprint enshrined in the chapel, and in front are two chedis containing the ashes of King Taksin the Great's father and mother. It is currently registered as an important national ancient site. The origin of this temple is Wat Doi Khoi Khao Kaew, which is mentioned in the legend of a fortune-telling ceremony during the Thonburi period, when King Taksin was only Phraya Tak. He made a prediction at this temple that "If I have enough merit to be a reliable support for the people of the country, may the bell-titling stick I throw at the glass cup, which is approximately 5 wa away, hit only the narrow middle of the glass cup and break it. May no other parts of the glass cup break, etc." It turned out that when the bell-titling stick was thrown as prayed, It was as he had prayed and was evident to the eyes of the Buddhists who came to make merit at Wat Doi Khoi Khao Kaew, to the point that it was rumored that "Phraya Tak was a person with miraculous merit and virtue." After the prediction, he ordered the craftsman to attach one crystal ball to the top of the pagoda at Wat Doi Khoi Khao Kaew, while the other ball was requested by government officials, merchants, and citizens to attach to the top of the pagoda at Wat Klang Suan Dok Mai. Many years later, the crystal balls on the tops of both pagodas fell off because the tops of the pagodas collapsed. Later, when King Taksin visited Chiang Mai for the second time in 2317, he went to see the abbot of Wat Doi Khoi Khao Kaew and asked about the crystal ball that he had predicted when he was still Phraya Tak. From the legend, His Royal Highness Prince Damrong Rajanubhab assumed that King Taksin had ordered the entire temple to be renovated upon his return from Chiang Mai in 2317. #Tak