Veneration and Significance

The Emerald Buddha stands at the centre of Thai religious and royal life. It is the palladium of the kingdom, and its custody has historically signified the right to rule: King Rama I's installation of the image in his new capital was as much an act of state as of piety. The seasonal robe-changing ceremony, performed by the reigning monarch three times a year, is a public rite in which the well-being of the nation is felt to be renewed; the used robes and the ritual are treated with great reverence.

Pilgrims and visitors venerate the image from the floor of the ordination hall, far below its high pedestal, and the prohibition on anyone but the king touching it underlines its status as royal property held in trust for the whole people. Because the image is a national symbol as well as a devotional one, its treatment is governed by protocol as much as by ritual, and its home at Wat Phra Kaew is the ceremonial heart of the Thai state.