Villagers at Pak Nam (Bung Sar Phang) Temple held a warm ceremony to welcome the “700-Year-Old Luang Pho Ngern,” an important Buddha image, back to Ubon Ratchathani Province after it was brought to Bangkok for tourists to pour water on during the Songkran festival.
A reporter reported that on 26 April 2026, the villagers of Pak Nam held a warm ceremony to welcome Luang Pho Ngern 700 Years “from the fertile land of the Chao Phraya River basin back to the sacred land of the Mun River basin.”
This ceremony was to bring Luang Pho Ngern from Muang Sook Siam at Icon Siam in Bangkok back to be enshrined at the viharn of Pak Nam (Bung Sar Phang) Temple in Kut Lat Subdistrict, Mueang District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. The Buddha image had been brought to Icon Siam to allow Thai and foreign tourists to pour water on it during the recent Songkran festival.
Mr. Buncha Chantadilok, advisor to the Sook Siam Icon Siam project, said that during the 2026 Songkran festival, Muang Sook Siam at Icon Siam brought the 700-Year-Old Luang Pho Ngern from Ubon Ratchathani for Thai and foreign tourists to pour water on according to tradition. This conveyed the story of the stream of faith from the Mun River basin linking to the Chao Phraya River basin, the heart of Bangkok. Throughout the festival, hundreds of thousands of tourists, both Thai and foreign, attended the Songkran event at Icon Siam. The information was widely shared across various media and online platforms. Muang Sook Siam at Icon Siam expressed gratitude to the people of Ubon Ratchathani for helping bring this important Buddha image for tourists to pour water on and pay respects.
They also expressed thanks to Phra Rajkitchaporn, assistant abbot of Wat Sra Ket; Phra Sri Wisutthimuni, deputy provincial monk chief of Ubon Ratchathani and abbot of Pak Nam Temple; the villagers of Pak Nam; the district chief of Mueang Ubon Ratchathani; the Ubon Ratchathani cultural office; the Kut Lat Subdistrict Administrative Organization; village headmen; and all community leaders who helped make the event a great success. The welcoming ceremony for the 700-Year-Old Luang Pho Ngern back to Ubon Ratchathani left a strong impression on the people of Muang Sook Siam at Icon Siam who came to see him off. Everyone was deeply touched by the scene of the people of Pak Nam and Ubon Ratchathani warmly greeting Luang Pho Ngern. The crowd danced, cheered, and expressed joy and happiness at having this important Buddha image back home.
Mr. Buncha added that the people of Muang Sook Siam at Icon Siam understand that Luang Pho Ngern is a significant Buddha image for the people of Ubon Ratchathani. Historically, it is a victory Buddha image with an elephant emblem, used by the Phra Wao-Phra Ta army during the founding of Ubon Ratchathani Si Wanalai city. It also fought alongside the army of Somdet Chao Phraya Maha Kasatsuek during the transfer of the Emerald Buddha to Thonburi. The image was buried and preserved for over 200 years until it was discovered at Pa Phra Phikanet Temple in 1972, revealed through the vision of Luang Pu Chao Khun Phra Mongkhon Thammavat (Boonchan Jattasalo). Thus, Luang Pho Ngern holds great significance for the people of Ubon Ratchathani.
“Those who wish to pay respects to the original 700-Year-Old Luang Pho Ngern can do so at Pak Nam (Bung Sar Phang) Temple, Kut Lat Subdistrict, Mueang Ubon Ratchathani District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. Additionally, visitors who come to pay respects to Luang Pho Ngern at Pak Nam (Bung Sar Phang) Temple can also visit Pa Phra Phikanet Temple to pay respects to Lord Ganesha, which was discovered at the same site as Luang Pho Ngern and is not far from Pak Nam Temple,” Mr. Buncha concluded.
