Description
Wat Chan Thra Ram (วัดจันทราราม) also goes by the name Wat Dong Sombun (วัดดงสมบูรณ์), which can be translated as Temple of the Rama Moon and Temple of the Perfect Forest, respectively. It is located about 2.5 kilometers away from Luang Pu Phu Phan Priest's Camp Site, which is operated by the widely revered Sakon Nakhon monk Luang Pu Phu Phan.
At Wat Chan Thra Ram you'll see a lovely sculpture of woman in traditional Thai dress with a long pony-tail that appears almost snake like. This is a representation of the Holy Mother Earth Goddess, an image that you'll see at a number of Sakon Nakhon Temples. In Thailand, the Earth Goddess goes by several names, including Phra Mae Thorani/Thoranee, Nang Thorani, and Suvathara.
Phra Mae Thorani plays an important role in Buddhist legend, for it is she who protected the Buddha when he was challenged by the evil Mara and his warriors when sitting under the Bodhi tree. At Buddha's call, Phra Mae Thorani rose from the earth and taking her long flowing hair in her hands, she wringed from it a torrent of water that swept away Mara and his minions.
Wat Chan Thra Ram also has some interesting sculptures of hermit monks (the tiger robe worn by one harkening back to the time when tigers roamed the Sakon Nakhon forests), as well as an unique smiling Buddha sculpture surrounded by 4 Ganesha, the Hindu God of prosperous beginnings.
