The Emerald Buddha (พระแก้วมรกต , or พระพุทธมหามณีรัตนปฏิมากร ) is an image of the meditating Gautama Buddha seated in a meditative posture, made of a semi-precious green stone (jasper rather than emerald or jade), clothed in gold. and about tall. The image is considered the sacred of Thailand. It is housed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
The legend of the Emerald Buddha is related in number of sources such as Jinakalamali, Amarakatabuddharupanidana, and in particular Ratanabimbavamsa or The Chronicle of the Emerald Buddha written in Pali by Brahmarājaprajña in the 15th century (but the oldest extant manuscript dates only to 1788). The story is a mix of fact and fables with some variations to the story. According to the legend, the Emerald Buddha was created in 43 BCE by a sage named Nagasena in the city of Pataliputra (today's Patna), India. Nagasena allegedly had the help of the deities, Vishnu and Indra, 500 years after Buddha attained Nibbana. He was said to have predicted:
This figure of the Buddha is assuredly going to give to religion the most brilliant importance in five lands, that is in Lankadvipa (Sri Lanka), Ramalakka, Dvaravati, Chieng Mai and Lan Chang (Laos).
According to Cambodian Royal Chronicles as compiled by Ros Chantrabot, the legends state that after remaining in Pataliputra for three hundred years, The Emerald Buddha was taken to Sri Lanka to save it from a civil war. The emerald Buddha then somehow arrived in Cambodia, giving its name place known as Russey Keo. When the Thais attacked Angkor Wat in 1432 (following the ravage of the bubonic plague), the Emerald Buddha was taken to Ayutthaya, Kamphaeng Phet, Laos and finally Chiang Rai, where the ruler of the city hid it until it was found in 1434.
A version of the legend stated that in 457, King Anuruth of Burma sent a mission to Ceylon to ask for Buddhist scriptures and the Emerald Buddha, in order to support Buddhism in his country.