People then flocked to worship this precious statue. At that time the town of Chiengrai was
under the rule of the king of Chiengmai. The latter, King Samfangkaen, sent an elephant to
bring the Emerald Buddha to Chiengmai, but each time the elephant arrived at the junction
with the road to the city of Lampang, it ran to that town. The king sent an elephant out three
times and each time the same incident occurred, so he thought that the spirits guarding the
Emerald Buddha wanted to stay in lampang. T hus the Emerald Buddha was allowed to
remain in Lampang for 32 years, until 1468, when Chiengmai had a powerful king, King
Tiloka. He had the Emerald Buddha brought to Chiengmai and, according to one chronicle,
installed the image in the eastern niche of a large stupa called Chedi Luang.