One of Thai’s famous Buddhas Luang Phor Sothorn or mostly known as Buddha Sothorn is well known in Thai. People from all walks of lives over the country, even from neighboring countries and amulets collectors are familiar with this Buddha image.
Luang Phor Sothorn is regarded as one of the most revered Buddha images in Thailand. It is said that if you pray sincerely to Buddha Sothorn, your career and wealth would have smooth progress and it will protect your health & safety. The temple Wat Sothorn Wararam Wora Wiham is located in Chachoengsao province, northern Thai.
According to legend, during the kingdom of Ayutthaya period, Myanmar invaded Thailand to loot the local temples especially Buddha statues made from gold as it could be melted.
During its second invasion, the devotees of a temple smeared mud on the whole body of the golden Buddha statues and placed them into a raft to drift away with the river flow. Three of the Buddha statues floated down Pakong river passing through Prachin Buri. Later the statues were seen in Chachoengsao by the local people and they tried to tie the 3 statues with hemp rope and pull it to shore. However their effort was in vain. They couldn't pull in the statues no matter how hard they tried.
Then the bigger statue (Luang Phor Baan Laem) then float down to Baan Laem in Samut Songkhram province. The local people there pulled it ashore and enshrined it in Wat Baan Laem. The smallest one (Luang Phor Tor) floated till Samut Prakan province and was enshrined by local people in Wat Bang Li. The other statue which was the Luang Phor Sothorn floated till Chachoengsao province and was discovered by local people. They tried to tie it with the hemp rope and pulled it ashore but they failed no matter how hard they tried. Then a monk set up an altar chanting prayer and tied a blessed cord on the hand of the Buddha image. Amazingly, the Buddha image was easily pulled ashore and then was enshrined in Wat Sothorn till now.
There was no exact record of when Luang Phor Sothorn was enshrined in Wat Sothorn. However, as the three Buddha images floated at the same period and the year people discovered Luang Phor Baan Laem was in B4 2313, therefore it was inferred that Luang Phor Sothorn was enshrined in Wat Sothorn around BE2313 too.
It was said that King Rama V had inspected to that area. Although there was no exact date of literature about the the origin name of Wat Sothorn, the prime minister in King Rama V period had said that the person who named it must be someone knowledgeable as it is not only nice but also contains deep meaning.
There are few different versions of stories about origin of Luang Phor Sothorn. There were 3 Buddhas brothers statues which floated along northern river to Bang Pakong river area in reversed drift. Local people saw them and tied ropes on the hands of statues. About 500 of them helped to pull the statues ashore but their efforts were in vain. The rope was cut off and the three statues dropped under the water and disappeared. The 3 Buddha statues then floated along Bang Pakong river until the south of Wat Sothorn but weren't pulled ashore and were kept floating in reversed drift.
The elder Buddha floated till Samut Songkhram's Baan Laem. People worshiped and enshrined it till now. And it was named as Luang Phor Baan Laem. Another statue floated to Bang Phli in Samut Prakan province, and was known as Luang Phor Tor while Luang Phor Sothorn flowed to Wat Sothorn and was enshrined over there. The original Buddha Sothorn was very beautiful and made from gold, with over 50 cm of knee distance. The image was in samadhi meditation posture, legs crossed and palms facing top. The monks in Wat Sothorn were afraid that people would become very selfish, and greedy and one would keep the Luang Phor Sothorn statue secretly if he/ she has no religious belief. To avoid these problems in the future, they covered the original statue with cement and made it into meditation posture with knees distance of 165cm.
Another folklore said that there were 5 brothers who turned out to posses supernatural power. To help all living creatures they transformed as five Buddha statues and floated along river to place where people hoped to see miracles. One of it was the Buddha Sothorn. Another four were Luang Phor Wat Raikhing in Wat Rai Khing, Nakhon Chai Si; Luang Phor To Wat Bang Phli Nai in Bang Phli; Luang Phor Wat Baan Laem in Mae Klong river’s Baan Laem village, Samut Songkhram; and Khao Takhrao in Wat Khao Takhrao, Petcha Buri.