Case file · Apparition / miracle
The Emerald Buddha revealed by lightning
Thai chronicles say that in 1434 lightning struck a chedi in Chiang Rai, revealing a stucco Buddha; when the plaster flaked, a statue of green stone appeared, the Emerald Buddha.
1434 CE · 19.91, 99.83 · status: legend
The account
The image travelled to Lampang, Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang and Vientiane before King Rama I installed it in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew in 1784. It is Thailand's palladium.
The sceptical view
The discovery story comes from later chronicles; the statue's true origin is unknown.