Buddha image, it depicts his passage to Nirvana, a blissful
state characterized by absence of desire and attachment.
The earliest version of this figure was destroyed by the
Burmese, but fragments were salvaged and integrated
with bricks covered by stucco, reconstructed during the
reign of Rama III.
Entering the niharn, or prayer hall, where the Reclining
Buddha resides, visitors crane their necks to obtain a first
glimpse of him. His head, resting on the palm of his right
hand, soars almost five stories into the air. He lies on his
right side, glancing down, serene, with a faint smile, as
if mildly amused at the steady parade of tourists trying,
impossibly, to capture his grandeur through photographs
taken from every angle.
HYLAND
