View source for Phuket Big Buddha

{{Short description|Buddha statue in southern Thailand}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name = Phuket Big Buddha
|native_name   = {{langx|th|พระพุทธมิ่งมงคลเอกนาคคีรี|translit={{nowrap|Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Akenakiri}}|label=none}}
|image         = The Big Buddha, Phuket.jpg
|caption       = The Big Buddha, photographed from the frontside, bottom of the stairs.
|location      = Wat Kitthi Sangkharam, Karon, Meaung, [[Phuket]], [[Thailand]]
|designer      =
|type          = {{ubl|[[Buddha statue]]|[[Maravijaya Attitude]]}}
|material      = Concrete, covered with white marble
|length        =
|width         =
|height        = {{convert|45|m|ft}}
|begin         = 2002
|complete      = 2014
|open          =
|dedicated_to  = [[Gautama Buddha]]
|map_image     =
|map_caption   =
|map_width     =
|coordinates   = 
|lat           =
|long          =
|extra         =
|website = https://www.mingmongkolphuket.com/Index
}}

'''Phuket Big Buddha''', or '''The Great Buddha of Phuket''', is a seated [[Maravijaya Attitude|Maravija]] Buddha statue in [[Phuket]], [[Thailand]]. The official name is '''Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakiri''' ({{langx|th|พระพุทธมิ่งมงคลเอกนาคคีรี}}; {{RTGS|phra phuttha ming mongkhon eknakhakhiri}}), shortened to '''Ming Mongkol Buddha'''. Sitting atop Nakkerd Hill (also spelt Nagakerd) near Chalong, construction began in 2004. Expansion of the base was ongoing as of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phuket101.net/phuket-big-buddha/|title=Phuket Big Buddha|first=Willy|last=Thuan|date=13 December 2017|website=Phuket 101}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.phuket-big-buddha.com/|title=Phuket Big Buddha Chalong Phuket Thailand|website=www.phuket-big-buddha.com|access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> By 2017, 80 percent of the project had been completed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationthailand.com/detail/Travel_log/30324191|title=Phuket's finest viewpoint at the "Big Buddha"|website=The Nation|language=en|access-date=2019-02-23|archive-date=23 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074335/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Travel_log/30324191|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the third-tallest statue in Thailand behind only the [[Great Buddha of Thailand]] and [[Luangpho Yai]].

The Buddha statue depicts [[Gautama]] in a sitting position ([[Maravijaya attitude|Maravichai]]: มารวิชัย) and is {{convert|45|m|ft|abbr=off}} tall and {{convert|25.45|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide. It is made of concrete and covered with Burmese white marble. Facing towards Ao Chalong Bay the statue is the main Buddha of the Wat Kitthi Sankaram temple (Wat Kata). The statue was declared the "Buddhist Treasure of Phuket" by [[Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana|Somdet Phra Yanasangwon]], the [[Supreme Patriarch of Thailand]], in 2008.<ref name=":0" />

The statue cost 30 million [[Thai baht|baht]] (approx. US$950,000 in February 2019),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.countrycurrencyrates.com/en/convert/THB/USD/30000000 |title=Country Currency Rates |website=countrycurrencyrates.com |access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> sourced primarily from donations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phuket.com/magazine/big-buddha.htm|title=Phuket Big Buddha - History & Construction of a Giant Buddha|website=phuket.com|language=en-US|access-date=15 February 2019}}</ref> It was built legally in a national conserved forest with the approval of Thai [[Royal Forest Department]].
[[File:Big Buddha (3382030422).jpg|thumb|Phuket Big Buddha|257x257px]]

The [[Tiger Muay Thai|Tiger Muay Thai tryouts]] notoriously concludes with a gruelling run up the Big Buddha hill.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kara France’s Journey: From Cruise Ship to The Ultimate Fighter |url=https://www.ufc.com/news/kara-frances-journey-cruise-ship-ultimate-fighter |website=[[UFC]]|date=March 5, 2020}}</ref>

== Names ==
The statue's official name is '''Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakakiri''' ({{langx|th|พระพุทธมิ่งมงคลเอกนาคคีรี}}), which means "The Cherished Auspicious Lord Buddha atop [[Nāga]] Hill". The name is a blend of native Thai, Sanskrit, and Pali words – the first element Phra Phutta (Sanskrit {{IAST|{{linktext|vara|buddha}}}}) means "Lord Buddha"; the second element Ming Mongkol means "cherished and auspicious"; the third element Eknakagiri (from [[Sanskrit]]/[[Pali]] {{IAST|{{linktext|eka|nāga|giri}}}}) means "atop Nāga Hill".

==See also==
* [[Buddharupa]]
* [[Emerald Buddha]] 
* [[Golden Buddha (statue)|Golden Buddha]] (Phra Sukhothai Traimit)
* [[Iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and Thailand]]
* Other tallest statues in [[Thailand]]:
** [[Great Buddha of Thailand]], the tallest
** [[Luangpho Yai]], the 2nd-tallest
** [[Wat Intharavihan|Luang Pho To Wat Intaravihara]], the 4th-tallest

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[File:Phuket Thailand Big-Buddha-of-Phuket-05.jpg|thumb|255x255px|The big Buddha of Phuket]]

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Big Buddha (Phuket)}}

{{Colossal Buddha statues}}

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[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in Thailand]]
[[Category:Colossal Buddha statues in Thailand]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Phuket province]]