Erawan Shrine

File:Erawan-Schrein_top.jpg

The shrine is near the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, at the Ratchaprasong intersection of Ratchadamri Road in Lumphini Subdistrict, Pathum Wan District. It is near the BTS Skytrain's Chit Lom Station, which has an elevated walkway overlooking the shrine. The area has many shopping malls nearby, including Gaysorn, CentralWorld, and Amarin Plaza.

Five other shrines dedicated to Hindu deities are located in the area as well: Phra Laksami (Lakshmi), Phra Trimurati (Trimurti), Phra Khanet (Ganesha), Phra In (Indra), and Phra Narai Song Suban (Narayana on his garuda).{{cite web |url=http://www.tour-bangkok-legacies.com/lakshmi-shrine.html |first=Eric |last=Lim |title=Lakshmi Shrine – guardian angel of Ratchaprasong |work=Tour Bangkok Legacies |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.thailandsworld.com/en/bangkok/bangkok-temples/hindu-shrines-at-ratchaprasong-bangkok/index.cfm |title=Thailand's World: Hindu Shrines at Ratchaprasong |work=thailandsworld.com |access-date=19 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821005906/http://www.thailandsworld.com/en/bangkok/bangkok-temples/hindu-shrines-at-ratchaprasong-bangkok/index.cfm |archive-date=21 August 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://lifes-indulgences.blogspot.ch/2007/11/hindu-shrines-around-bangkok.html |website=Life's Indulgences |title=Hindu Shrines Around the Ratchaprasong Junction |date=16 November 2007 |access-date=19 August 2015}}

File:People praying at Erawan Shrine 2018.jpg

The Erawan Shrine was built in 1956 as part of the government-owned Erawan Hotel to eliminate the bad karma believed caused by laying the foundations on the wrong date.

The hotel's construction was delayed by a series of mishaps, including cost overruns, injuries to laborers, and the loss of a shipload of Italian marble intended for the building. Furthermore, the Ratchaprasong intersection had once been used to put criminals on public display.

An astrologer advised building the shrine to counter the negative influences. The Brahma statue was designed and built by the Department of Fine Arts and enshrined on 9 November 1956. The hotel's construction thereafter proceeded without further incident.{{cite news |last=McGirk |first=Jan |date=22 March 2006 |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article352759.ece |title=Attack on Thai statue seen as bad omen for beleaguered Thaksin |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=4 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102230511/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article352759.ece |archive-date=2 January 2007 }} In 1987, the hotel was demolished and the site used for the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.{{cite web |url=http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/buildings/erawan/erawan.shtml |title=A visit to the old Erawan Hotel |work=2Bangkok.com |access-date=4 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113011749/http://2bangkok.com/2bangkok/buildings/erawan/erawan.shtml |archive-date=13 January 2007 }}

In the early hours of 21 March 2006, a young man named Thanakorn Pakdeepol destroyed the statue with a large hammer. He was then beaten to death by angry bystanders. Two street sweepers were arrested and charged with the murder.{{cite web|url= https://mgronline.com/daily/detail/9490000038575|title=อาเพศร้ายทุบท้าวมหาพรหม|work=Manager Online|date=21 March 2006|access-date=13 January 2019|language=th|trans-title=Ominous of collapsed Thao Maha Phrom}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/21/headlines/headlines_20003221.php |title=Much-revered Phra Prom statue destroyed |work=The Nation |date=21 March 2006 |access-date=19 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819233413/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/21/headlines/headlines_20003221.php |archive-date=19 August 2015 |url-status=dead }} Witnesses said Thanakorn stood on the base of the statue and smashed the hollow statue of Brahma to pieces, fragmenting the four-faced head, torso, six arms, and weapons. Only part of the lap and the base of the statue remained intact.{{cite web|url=https://mgronline.com/live/detail/9490000038476 |title=ท้าวมหาพรหมถูกทำลาย มิอาจทำลายหัวใจพรหม|work=Manager Online|date=22 March 2006|access-date=13 January 2019|language=th|trans-title= Thao Maha Phrom was destroyed but could not destroy Phromheart}}

An autopsy performed on Thanakorn found Arabic characters tattooed on his back and arms, prompting the police to investigate if the attack had been religious and if the vandal had any ties to Muslim extremists.{{cite news |url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20060322-0253-thailand-shrinedestroyed.html |title=Police probing whether attacker of sacred shrine in Thailand was Muslim extremist |first=Sutin |last=Wannabovorn |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune |date=22 March 2006 |access-date=19 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820004641/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20060322-0253-thailand-shrinedestroyed.html |archive-date=20 August 2015 |url-status=dead }} However, Thanakorn's father, Sayant Pakdeepol, explained that his son had received treatment for psychiatric problems and that mental illness was the cause of the attack. Sayant condemned the fatal beating of his son as an "overreaction". "Doing something like this is not the act of people with good beliefs, of those with real faith in Brahma", Sayant told The Nation newspaper. "Murder is an immoral act and people with morality would not have done what they did".{{cite news |title=Vandal's dad distraught |newspaper=The Nation |page=4A |date=23 March 2006}}

Just days after the destruction of the Erawan Shrine, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra visited the site and paid his respects to the fragments of the Hindu deity. A white cloth was placed over the shrine to conceal the statue's absence. Officials reopened the site to the public, displaying photographs of the statue for worshippers to pay their respects.{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/22/headlines/headlines_20003314.php |title=Man beaten to death after desecrating the Erawan Shrine |first=Monthathip |last=Poo |work=The Nation |date=22 March 2006 |access-date=19 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820161638/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/22/headlines/headlines_20003314.php |archive-date=20 August 2015 }} At a rally the following day, government critic Sondhi Limthongkul claimed the destruction of the statue was an attempt by the Prime Minister to maintain his political power through black magic. However, Thanakorn's father rejected this, telling The Nation that Sondhi Limthongkul "is the biggest liar I have ever seen."

An identical statue of Brahma was placed in the shrine on 21 May 2006 at 11:39, at the instant the sun was directly overhead. Officials from the Department of Religious Affairs and the Maha Brahma Foundation said the new statue was made of plaster with a mixture of gold, bronze, and other precious metals, along with some fragments of the original. A duplicate statue made entirely of metal had also been cast in the same mold and is kept for safety in the National Museum of Thailand.{{cite web |url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/05/22/headlines/headlines_30004585.php |title=Erawan Shrine statue restored |first=Chatrarat |last=Kaewmorakot |work=The Nation |date=22 May 2006 |access-date=19 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612170340/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/05/22/headlines/headlines_30004585.php |archive-date=12 June 2008 }}

{{main|2015 Bangkok bombing}}

On 17 August 2015, at 18:55 local time, an explosive device composed of three kilograms of TNT stuffed in a metal pipe and wrapped in white cloth inside a backpack was detonated near the Erawan Shrine, killing 20 bystanders and injuring 125.{{cite news |url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/658808/city-bomb-horror |title=Bangkok bomb horror: At least 20 die, 125 hurt in Erawan shrine blast |newspaper=Bangkok Post |date=18 August 2015 |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/17/bangkok-rocked-by-explosion-at-busy-road-junction |title=Bangkok explosion: fatal blast at Erawan shrine |first=Oliver |last=Holmes |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 August 2015 |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11807583/Explosion-rocks-Bangkok-close-to-Erawan-shrine-with-reports-of-casualties-live.html |title=Bangkok bomb: Suspect 'didn't do it alone' and 'may not be in Thailand' |first=Raziye |last=Akkoc |date=19 August 2015 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/08/17/large-explosion-bangkok/31840823/ |title=Death toll rises in Bangkok bomb blast |first1=Duncan |last1=Forgan |first2=John |last2=Bacon |date=17 August 2015 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://time.com/4000300/bangkok-thailand-bombing/ |title=Bangkok Bombing: At Least 20 Dead at Erawan Shrine |first=Hannah |last=Beech |work=Time |date=17 August 2015 |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/17/asia/thailand-bangkok-bomb/ |title=Bangkok shrine explosion kills 22, including tourists |first1=Eliott C. |last1=McLaughlin |first2=Kocha |last2=Olarn |date=17 August 2015 |work=CNN |access-date=19 August 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33963280 |title=Bangkok bomb: Deadly blast rocks Thailand capital |work=BBC News |date=17 August 2015 |access-date=19 August 2015}} Bomb disposal units checked two other suspicious objects but found no more bombs.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-33969671 |title=Bangkok bomb: What do we know? |work=BBC }} An analyst with IHS Jane's suggested the attack had been carried out by the Pan-Turkic Turkish ultra-nationalist organization Grey Wolves in retaliation for the Thai government's deporting Uyghur terrorist suspects to China, instead of allowing them to accept asylum offered to them by Turkey.{{cite news|last1=Ruiz|first1=Todd|title=Floundering Bomb Investigation Deepens Doubts About Competency|url=http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1440762991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321130433/http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2015/08/28/1440762991|access-date=28 August 2024|archive-date=21 March 2018|work=Khaosod English|date=28 August 2015}}

The bomb had been placed in the shrine grounds next to a metal railing. The statue itself was slightly damaged.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33984061|title=Bangkok bomb-hit Erawan shrine reopens|work=BBC|date=18 August 2015|access-date=20 August 2015}} Within two days all repairs had been completed and the shrine reopened. However, the government's swift reopening of the shrine has been subject to criticism.{{cite news|title=Thailand's investigation of deadly Bangkok bombing dogged by unsavory police legacy|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/thailands-investigation-of-deadly-bangkok-bombing-dogged-by-unsavory-police-legacy/|access-date=28 August 2015|work=Fox News|agency=Associated Press|date=25 August 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Ngarmboonanant|first1=Geng|title=The Thai Government Is Whitewashing the Bangkok Bombing to Reassure Tourists|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/122628/thai-government-whitewashing-bangkok-bombing-reassure-tourists|access-date=28 August 2015|work=The New Republic|date=27 August 2015}} The government's apparent lack of progress in the investigation stimulated critics to propose a number of theories about the bombing, including blaming elements of the government itself.

Beginning March 2020, incense and candles were no longer allowed to be lit at the shrine, due to health and environmental concerns.

File:Erawan dance.jpg|The Thai dance troupe performs.

File:Thai 4 Buddies.jpg|Closer view of the four-faced Brahma (Phra Phrom) statue

File:Erawan_shrine_flowers.jpg|Flowers and incense around the shrine.

File:Erawan Shrine 5.JPG|Statues of elephants

File:A Thai student pouring Holy water.jpg|A Thai student pouring the holy water on his two hands at Erawan shrine

• Hinduism in Thailand
• Devasathan, the main Hindu temple in Bangkok
• Spirit house, the general practice of establishing shrines to appease local spirits

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060510231715/http://www.bma.go.th/bmaeng/pathumwan/erawan.html Bangkok Metropolitan Administration | Erawan Shrine]
• [https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/erawan-shrine tourismthailand.org/Attraction/erawan-shrine]

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Category:Religious buildings and structures in Bangkok

Category:Hindu temples in Thailand

Category:Brahma temples

Category:Tourist attractions in Bangkok

Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1956

Category:Pathum Wan district

Category:Vandalized works of art

Category:20th-century Hindu temples