Erawan Shrine: A Place Of Wishing Holy Land Of Bangkok

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Photo credit: detsugu on VisualHunt

When traveling to Bangkok, Thailand, you have to mention this famous attraction. The Erawan Buddha Square, known for its “effective”, is a place full of mystery and holiness, attracting tourists and believers worldwide. It is the seat of Phra Phrom, known as Believed to have divine power.

Why is there this square?

In fact, this Erawan Shrine Square was built due to an accident in 1956. At that time, strange things happened while building a hotel. At this time, a spiritual medium appeared and suggested that everyone could solve the problem by building a temple there.

It was said that it could suppress weird things, so everyone built a temple next to it! So in fact, this temple was not born out of pure “religious belief” at the beginning, but actually because of supernatural events.

The building next to the current Erawan Shrine is the Grand Hyatt Erawan Shrine Bangkok. It is located next to the intersection. Seeing a crowd of people means you are on the right track~

Features of Erawan Buddha

If you come here, you will find that the Erawan Buddha is located in the center of the entire square. Different from other common temples, the construction method adopts the open-air covering method. The statues are also exposed to the outside. The appearance is magnificent and the floor is paved with marble.

The Erawan Buddha has four aspects, representing career, love, wealth, and health respectively. I wonder if you all have the same question as me, is seeking a career just to have wealth? (Maybe I’m too superficial•ө•)

Devotees come to worship the Erawan Shrine, usually focusing on a specific aspect according to their needs and praying to the deity for help.

Private tour information👉Private Worship Tour with Thai costume: Erawan, Ganesha and Lakshmi

Methods and etiquette of worshiping

▌Buy tribute

When you come to the entrance, you can first buy flower baskets, incense sticks, and character decorations for tributes. You can buy them according to your preferences, ranging from 200 to 1,000 baht! Basically, there are flowers.

You can also buy offerings to the Buddha and gods from the stalls around the square, but some people say that there may be a risk of being ripped off if you buy them outside the temple. After all, there are no clearly marked prices like temples.

▌Start worshiping

First, find the front of the Erawan Buddha as the starting point, make a wish, and then place the tributes. The tributes bought by everyone have different prices. Just divide the number of tributes into four equal parts and place them on the table in front of the Erawan Buddha!

Also, remember to visit the shrine clockwise.

When worshiping, you must worship every aspect, otherwise, it will be very disrespectful. During the process of making a wish, you must also make it clear what your wish is and how you will fulfill it after it is fulfilled. The clearer the better!

For example: I hope to be promoted to xx position within x months. If my wish comes true, I will come back here to ask eight dancers to dance as a fulfillment of my wish. It would be best if You also tell your birthplace, date, name, etc.

The incense part is now directly plugged into the stove next to it. Unlike Taiwan where you need to light incense, the flower basket I bought comes with tribute dolls, which cost 300 baht in total.

After the clockwise visit, you can put some money in the donation box next to you according to your personal wishes, or sprinkle holy water on your body to drive away bad luck.

▌How to fulfill the promise when your wish comes true

Next to the Erawan Buddha, there are dancers who specialize in assisting in fulfilling the promise.

After making a wish, you can tell how you will fulfill your wish, such as asking a few dancers to perform, etc. When you went there, there were many people queuing up to fulfill their wishes. I think this also shows that the Erawan Buddha is really amazing.

▌What you should know

• Smoking inside the temple is prohibited, otherwise, you may be fined
• Do not wear inappropriate or revealing clothing
• If you don’t buy tributes to worship, you can also pray with your palms together.
• Don’t make wishes that will hurt others
• For gods, piety is the most important thing, and there is no need to stick to some formal rules. For example: being unable to enter during menstruation, etc.
• After your wish comes true, you must come to fulfill it! Rumor has it that if you don’t keep your promise to the Erawan Buddha, bad luck may come.

Erawan Shrine opening hours and transportation

• Business hours：6:00~22:00
• Address：494 Ratchadamri Road. | Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
• Transportation: Take BTS to Chitlom Station and arrive immediately after exiting the station
• Recommended length of stay: 1 hour

Recommended surrounding attractions

SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World、Bangkok Art and Culture Centre、Patpong Night Market、 Shopping Center

Bangkok travel guide

▌Thailand Bangkok Travel Guide－Things you need to know

Bangkok travel recommendations

Practical goodies for traveling in Thailand