What kind of Buddhist holy land is Chiang Mai?
Chiang Mai, an ancient historical and cultural city built in 1296, is the second largest city in Thailand and enjoys the reputation of "Rose of Northern Thailand". As the political, economic, cultural and educational center of northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has always been famous for its "beautiful scenery and roses" at home and abroad. Chiang Mai has a cool climate, lush trees and beautiful scenery. As the long-term capital of Thailand, Chiang Mai has many palace sites and historical sites scattered here. Almost every household in Chiang Mai believes in Buddhism, so there are more than 300 ancient temples here. The antique temples and halls in Chiang Mai are interlaced with newly-built white buildings, creating a unique atmosphere for tourists, making people feel like wandering between just visiting. Besides, Chiang Mai is a natural city with both ancient and modern characteristics, and there are also famous scenic spots such as Shuanglong Temple, Tai Huang Summer Palace, Chiang Mai Museum, Elephant Training School, Chiang Mai University and Mi Zhu Agricultural College. It is recognized as a summer resort in Thailand and a paradise for tourists.
Legend has it that Shiva and his wife Goddess David are a very loving couple, but they have never had children after marriage. Because Shiva is a famous destructive god, he asked his wife to go to the monastery every day to worship and support the Brahmins, which lasted for a year. Later, with the help of the old Brahman Chris, the goddess David finally got pregnant with a boy. When the boy was born, he was named Ganes. Shiva finally had a child, and the gods came to celebrate. All the gods try to look after babies, but Sani of Saturn doesn't look after babies. Shiva asked why, and she said that whoever she saw would die. In order to avoid these bad things, she never dared to look at others. But Shiva didn't believe it, so he forced Sani, the Saturn god, to see his son. Nisha was right. As soon as she saw the boy, he was beheaded on the spot. At this time, the goddess David was very sad because of the loss of her son. Everyone cried when they saw it. At this time, in order to make up for the evil consequences caused by his wife's curse on Saturn, the god of nourishment quickly rode on his Dapeng golden-winged bird and flew to the Bobdala River in Puxiu, where he found a sleeping elephant, cut off its head and brought it back. He put the elephant's head on the boy, so the boy came back to life, but he became the elephant's head.
Another story about the elephant god is that one day Shiva went out, and the goddess who was taking a bath went to Ganes, but the child was already very tall when she was born. So in order to prevent outsiders from peeking, she asked her son to watch outside the door. At this time, Shiva came back from the battlefield. As soon as he entered the room, he flew into a rage because he saw a strange man standing in his wife's room. Cut off the boy's head with one knife. When the goddess ran out, she saw that her son had been killed. Later, the goddess told Shiva what happened. Shiva hurriedly sent soldiers to find the first thing he saw and brought back its headband. In this way, the soldier brought back an elephant's headband, and Shiva put the elephant's head on the boy to bring him back to life.
This is a myth and legend about the supreme image of Thailand. In Thailand, the elephant god is the god of wisdom, health and wealth, and is one of the five gods. Legend has it that his broken ivory is a sacrifice for mankind. Therefore, temples in Thailand are dedicated to elephant gods, and people also wear elephant gods. In Chiang Mai, people even set up an elephant training school, where elephants are more respected.