Wat Phra That Hariphunchai is located in the heat of Lamphun city, about 28 kms southeast of Chiang Mai. The temple has long been regarded as an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists especially for those who were born in the Year of the Rooster. The main chedi houses a hair, crown of a skull, chest and finger bones of Buddha.
Legend and architectural background
According to a legend, the Buddha once visited the town nearby and one local villager offered him a myrobalan [a cherry plum]. The Buddha ate the myrobalan, placed its seed in the earth and predicted that in the future a man would build a town and a great golden chedi on that spot. Later on, the town was really built there and was named Harinphunchai Nakhon and the chedi was named Pratat Hariphunchai. (Literally, Hari means myrobalan, Phunchai means Eating and Nakhon means City.)
The temple was built during the reign of King Athittayarat, a descendent of Princess Chamma Devi, around 1440 BE. He had a strong faith in Buddhism and supported the religion by introducing Buddhist practice to his city.
The temple has been passed through many restoration and amendment. Originally, the top of chedi was built in a rectangular structure, but then during the reign of Phraya Mengrai, it was changed to a Lanka bell-shaped structure. The form seen today is the masterpiece of King Tilokkarat of Chiang Mai city. He combined the Burmese-Phukam style and the Lankan Bell-shaped architecture together and created a unique Lanna style. Later on, this special architecture was adopted as the principal model for other chedis throughout the Northern region under Lanna Kingdom. If you have been to Wat Pratat Doi Suthep in Chaing Mai, you will recognize the pattern.
According to Thai history and archaeology, Phratat Hariphunchai is one of the Eight Great Grand Chedis (Jom Chedi). The title is given to those chedis that have prominent and outstanding features. In addition to the main chedi, there are other fine design and well preserved Buddhist architectural examples located in the complex.
Ho Trai, which houses the sacred Tripitaka scriptures, is a large base two-story building located next to the moon shape bell tower. The ground floor of the building is made of bricks painted in red, while the top floor is made of woodwork with fine detailed carving. This Ho Trai resembles the inside of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai. It is believed to be a popular model of the Lanna Kingdom.
On the right side of Pratat Hariphunchai is a five-tiered, square-based chedi made of laterite and brick called Pathumvadi Chedi or Phra Suvarn Chedi. The chedi was built by Princess Pathumvadi, wife of King Athittayarat. It is believed that Princess Pathumvadi replicated the construction style of Chedi Kukut inside Wat Chama Devi. Each tier of the chedi is lined with standing Buddha images, which nowadays, is only left a few. The top tier is covered with golden brass. Inside the chedi houses an important Buddha image called “Phra Pem”.
Of interest in this temple is this square-based chedi revealing connections with The Mahabodhi Temple, in Bodh Gaya, India and the standing Buddha image style resembles those found at Ananda Chedi, Bagan, Burma. It points to the influx and combination of Buddhist arts in this region.