Phrathat Kham Kaen, Ubon Ratchathani

Located at Chetiyaphum Temple, Ban Kham Subdistrict. It was constructed around the 20th century. According to history, the King of Mori, a city in Cambodia, wished to bring the relics of the Buddha that were obtained just after the Buddha had passed away to be enshrined in Phrathat Phanom. Therefore, he requested 9 senior monks to do this. When passing where a large tamarind tree had died with only the main trunk remaining and because it was dusk and the terrain in this area was good, the group paused for a break. The next morning, they continued their journey until reaching Phu Kam Phara, but it appeared that Phrathat Phanom had already been completed. Therefore, they travelled back and intended to bring the relics back and enshrine them in their homeland, but when reaching the tamarind tree, it appeared that the dead tamarind trunk was standing upright and sprouting lush green leaves, which was a miracle. The group summoned the Buddha’s relics and decided to build a chedi here to cover this tamarind tree together with enshrining the relics and Buddha images inside, and gave the name “Phrathat Kham Kaen” as it is still called today. Phrathat Kham Kaen is a chedi that is 10 metres high with a base in the shape of an inverted lotus. It has a square layout rising to the top that is golden tiered umbrella. The elemental body is in the shape of a lotus bud with 12 wooden recesses. On the east side, next to Phrathat Sim, or the old Ubosot, which was built with the Phrathat since ancient times is beautiful Lan Xang architecture. There are wooden stencils on the gable, gable apex, toothlike ridges on the sloping edges of the gable, and honeycomb pattern on the front fade. This is exquisite workmanship, and the walls around the Sim Gate have paintings by the villagers of a policeman as a gatekeeper holding a rifle. At present, Phrathat Kham Kaen has been restored by the Fine Arts Department. There has been an improvement to paint the Phrathat and expand the four walls and d