Chachoengsao is regarded as Thailand’s “city of Ganesha,” featuring three massive Hindu-Buddhist gods Ganesha sculptures in three separate temples: The tallest seated Ganesha in Thailand is 49m high at “Phrong Akat Temple,” while the highest standing Ganesha in Thailand is 39m high at “Khlong Khuean Ganesh International Park.” The tallest resting Ganesha in Thailand is 16m high and 22m long at “Saman Wattanaram Temple.”
Many films or television series begin production without a Hindu ceremony in which Ganesha is prayed to and offerings offered to him. Ganesha shrines may be found all across Thailand. The Royal Brahmin Temple, near the Giant Swing in downtown Bangkok, is one of the most respected temples, with some of the oldest images. Other antique Ganesha sculptures may be found all across Thailand, including a 10th-century bronze figure with Tamil and Thai inscriptions uncovered in Phang-Na.
Wat Phra Sri Umadevi, a Hindu temple in Silom, also has a Ganesha figure that was brought from India in the late 1800s. Due to unclear Buddhist/Hindu mythology, Thai Buddhists regularly pay reverence to Ganesha and other Hindu deities.
The Ganesha Shrine, located at the Huai Khwang Intersection, the four corners of Ratchadaphisek and Pracha Songkhro and Pracha Rat Bamphen Roads on the boundary between Din Daeng and Huai Khwang Districts, is another widely respected Ganesha shrine in Bangkok.This shrine was erected on the site of the old marble factory in the year 2000. It is respected by both Thais and Chinese alike.
Ganesha or Phra Phikanet or Phra Phikanesuan is revered as the god of prosperity and success, as well as the conqueror of problems. In Thailand, Ganesha is featured in the Department of Fine Arts’ emblem.
When business is booming, he is rewarded with Motaka, sweets, and fruit, and when business is bad, he is rendered silly by turning his portrait or statue upside down. He rests on a towering pedestal outside Bangkok’s CentralWorld (previously World Trade Center), where visitors give flowers, incense, and a respectful Sawasdee as lord of business and economy.
