Silver Pagoda is always listed in Phnom Penh highlights chosen by many tourists when traveling to Cambodia. Although this is not a well-known spiritual address, Silver Pagoda attracts visitors by the treasures being stored here along with the unique beauty of the pagoda. if you are in Phnom Penh tours, spend your time to visit this temple to find the Buddhism culture of Cambodian.
The History of Silver Pagoda
The official name is Wat Preah Keo Morokat, meaning the pagoda of Emerald Buddha. As its name, the Silver Pagoda is a place keeping the priceless treasures of Buddhism with over 1050 valuable treasures made from gold, silver, copper, precious stones, and so on offered by the king, the queen Kossomak Nearyreath, the nobles, royalty, or prayers at the pagoda. They come here mainly to pray for peace, prosperity, and happiness, the preservation of cultural traditions to future generations of the country. In addition, this is also where the king heard the monk preaching; as well as the organization of solemn ceremonies. Therefore, when visiting the pagoda any visitor would have to wear formal clothes, no T-shirts, shorts or photographing, filming.
Silver Pagoda was built in 1892 under the reign of King Norodom. The pagoda was made of wood and followed the style of Buddha pagoda in Thailand. Silver Pagoda is not only a massive work but also a typical architecture of the temples and pagodas of Cambodia. On the walls around the pagoda are painted scenes of epic Ramayana with nearly 642 meters long and about 3 meters high, but today it was much faded. Under Pol Pot period, the pagoda was restored, but nearly 60 percent of artifacts were lost. In 1962, the pagoda was restored again. Discovering Silver Pagoda, visitors also have a chance to look at the statue of King Norodom placed in front of the pagoda courtyard from 1892. This statue was carved by French artists in Paris in 1875 and then Napoleon III was donated to the pagoda. On either side of the statue, there are two towers which are the tomb of two Kings, Ang Duong and Norodom. Behind and on two sides of the pagoda are other tombs of the king, queen, and princess.
The Meaning of Silver Pagoda
The interesting feature apart from the architecture of the Silver Pagoda is the name. The pagoda has many names and each name has a different explanation. Silver Pagoda, for example, the reason for this name is because the pagoda is paved with 5000 bricks made of silver (each weighing 1kg). The pagoda is also known as the Gold Pagoda because it has the Maitreya Buddha statue carved in gold in 1906, it weighs 90kg and has 9584 diamonds carved on the statue.
Buddha Statues in Silver Pagoda
In addition to the gold statue of Buddha, the pagoda also has a statue of sitting Buddha made of green jade, which is currently the property of some countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, …In the pagoda, there are many other precious Buddha statue with gold, silver, diamond and jade jewelry… Behind these statues, there is a throne with a gold plated layer weighing 23kg. This is a chair with vertical bars for 8 to 12 people helping, the king will sit on this chair and parade on his coronation day. Silver Pagoda is the pride of Cambodian tourism and is an attractive destination for local and foreign tourists. It also has a number of other works such as Dhammasala which is a large room where the monks preach or guests welcoming of royal; Keong Preah Bat tower which contains the footprints of the Buddha; Mondop hill that is an artificial hill symbolizing Kailassa mountain, and the tower which is decorated with 108 photos standing for the soul of the Buddha.
Spending a trip to Cambodia and visit Silver Pagoda will be an unforgettable experience for you. Being immersed in the amazing beauty of architecture and learn about the history and culture of a country in ancient times is very worthwhile for a discovering tour.
