The "four face Buddha" is not a Buddha: it is Phra Phrom (พระพรหม), the Thai form of the Hindu creator god Brahma, shown with four faces looking to the four directions [3], [5]. Chinese speakers call him 四面佛 ("four-faced Buddha") as well as 四面神 or 梵天, and in Buddhist texts he is a deity (deva), not an enlightened being [6], [7]. His best-known image stands at the Erawan Shrine (ศาลท้าวมหาพรหม) at Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection, enshrined on 9 November 1956 [1], [2].
Key facts
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who he is | Brahma, the creator in the Hindu Trimurti with Vishnu and Shiva; Thai name Phra Phrom | [3], [5] |
| Formal shrine name | San Thao Maha Phrom (ศาลท้าวมหาพรหม), "shrine of Lord Maha Brahma" | [1], [2] |
| Location | Ratchaprasong intersection, Ratchadamri Road, Bangkok, near the Grand Hyatt Erawan | [1], [17] |
| Enshrined | 9 November 1956, at the state-owned Erawan Hotel as construction neared completion | [1], [2], [9], [17] |
| Original image | Gilded plaster, sculpted by Chit Phimkowit (จิตร พิมพ์โกวิท) of the Fine Arts Department | [2], [17] |
| 2006 attack | Statue smashed with a hammer in the early hours of 21 March 2006 (one source gives 20 March); replacement enshrined 21 May 2006 | [1], [2], [10], [11] |
| 2015 bombing | 17 August 2015, 18:55; 20 killed, more than 120 injured (AP) | [1], [14], [15] |
| Opening hours | 06:00 to 22:00 daily | [18], [19] |
What is Phra Phrom? Brahma in Hindu cosmology
In Hinduism, Brahma is the creator member of the Trimurti, the divine trinity he forms with Vishnu and Shiva [3]. English Wikipedia's article on Brahma says he is linked with the creation of everything, with knowledge and with the Vedas [3]. He is shown seated on a lotus, and his mount (vahana) is a hamsa, a swan or goose [3].
The four heads are his most recognisable feature. In the Hindu reading they represent the four Vedas and face the four cardinal directions [3]. The best-known temple dedicated to him in India is the Brahma Temple at Pushkar, Rajasthan [3]. The same article names the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok as a Brahma shrine outside India that has become very popular among Thai Buddhists [3].
Thai Wikipedia gives a set of Thai epithets for the god, among them จตุรพักตร์ (chaturaphak, "four-faced") and หงสรถ ("he whose vehicle is the swan") [5]. It describes his hands as holding a lotus, a scripture and a water pot, with a rosary around his neck [5]. Thai popular speech also uses the phrase พรหมลิขิต (phrom likhit), destiny "written by Brahma" [5].
Phra Phrom in Thai Buddhist cosmology
Buddhism took Brahma into its own picture of the universe, but as a god among gods. In Buddhist texts the leading Brahma is sometimes called Mahābrahmā, and the Buddha is described as devatideva, "the god beyond the gods," Brahma included [7]. Thai Wikipedia explains that Buddhism recognises many Brahmas, with 16 levels for Brahmas with form (รูปพรหม) and 4 for formless Brahmas (อรูปพรหม) [5]. English Wikipedia says Buddhist texts define seventeen or more Brahma realms, so counts differ by source [7].
The most famous Brahma in the Pali texts is Brahmā Sahampati. In the Āyācana Sutta (SN 6.1), set at Uruvelā by the Nerañjarā River just after the Buddha's awakening, he appears and asks the hesitant Buddha to teach [4]. The four meditations called brahmavihāra (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity) are also named after Brahma [7].
In Chinese, Brahma is known as 梵天 (Fantian) [7], and Buddhist tradition also considers Mahābrahmā a protector of the teachings (dharmapala) [7]. English Wikipedia notes that in Thailand Phra Phrom is typically seen as a god of order, government and law [7].
Why is Phra Phrom called the "four face Buddha"?
Chinese Wikipedia records that in Chinese-speaking regions the deity is called 四面神 ("four-faced god"), 四面佛 ("four-faced Buddha") or 梵天, and identifies him as Mahābrahmā [6]. The sources consulted do not say why 佛 ("Buddha") became part of the name. What they do establish is that the figure is a deity, not a Buddha [3], [7], and that English Wikipedia describes the Erawan Shrine as having found immense popularity within the Thai Buddhist community [3].
Chinese Wikipedia adds a caution: in Tibetan Buddhism the term 四面佛 refers to a different figure, a form of Vairocana, not Brahma [6]. It also reports that, under Thai influence, more shrines to the four-faced Brahma have appeared in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China [6].
The four-faced form was not always the norm in the region. According to the same article, Brahma images in Southeast Asia from the 6th to 11th centuries (the Dvaravati period) usually had one face and two arms, and four faces and four arms became common in the 12th and 13th centuries [6].
What do the four faces of Phra Phrom mean?
Several readings exist side by side, and sources give them as interpretations:
- Four Vedas and four directions. The Hindu reading: each head stands for one Veda and faces one cardinal direction [3].
- Watching every direction. Thairath describes the four faces as letting Brahma look over both the human world and heaven [17].
- Four sublime states. Thansettakij links the four faces to the Buddhist phrom wihan si (พรหมวิหาร 4), the four brahmavihāras [18].
- Four topics for requests. Thai press guides assign a topic to each face for devotees' prayers [18], [19].
The last reading is a matter of popular practice. Thairath English (2026) says devotees bring requests about work, studies, exams, competitions and promotions to face one; large finances, real estate, houses, cars and land to face two; health, family, spouses and love to face three; and luck, investment returns and various successes to face four [19]. Thairath English says to start at the first face, by the entrance, and move clockwise [19]. These are reported customs, not claims about what prayers achieve.
Erawan Shrine history: why it was built in 1956
The shrine exists because of a hotel. In 1951 the Director-General of Police, Police General Phao Sriyanond, ordered the Erawan Hotel built to house foreign guests [2], [17]. English Wikipedia lists the problems that followed: cost overruns, injured labourers and the loss of a shipload of Italian marble [1]. It also notes the intersection had once been used to put criminals on public display [1].
Late in 1956, as construction neared completion, the hotel's management contacted Rear Admiral Luang Suwichan Phaet, chief physician of the navy, described by Thairath as an expert in auspicious timing [17]. Thai sources report that he found no rite had been held to inform the spirits of the site, and that the foundation stone had been laid at the wrong time [2], [17]. Thai Wikipedia says he advised building a shrine to Phra Phrom [2]. English Wikipedia says an astrologer advised the shrine, which was built in the belief that it would remove bad karma attributed to laying the foundation on the wrong date [1]; Chinese Wikipedia also mentions an astrologer [6].
The Erawan name
Erawan is a Thai name of Airavata, the king of elephants and mount of the god Indra, usually shown with three heads [8]. Thairath reports that the adviser called "Erawan" a sacred name needing proper rites, and that the advice was to ask Phra Phrom for blessings to remove obstacles [17]. Chinese Wikipedia says the builders had used the elephant's name without its consent and were advised to seek the protection of a higher deity, the "Great Brahma King" [6].
Designers and the first statue
The shrine structure was designed by Rawi Chomseri (ระวี ชมเสรี) and M.L. Pum Malakul (หม่อมหลวงปุ่ม มาลากุล) [2], [17]. The statue was sculpted by Chit Phimkowit of the Fine Arts Department in gilded plaster [2], [17]. Thai Wikipedia says a gold-coloured cast-metal image was planned, but the hotel's opening schedule forced the switch to plaster [2].
The image was enshrined on 9 November 1956 [1], [2]. The hotel holds a worship ceremony every year on that date [17]. The original hotel was later demolished, and the Grand Hyatt Erawan opened in its place in late 1991; the shrine was kept [9].
The 2006 attack on the Erawan Shrine statue
In the early hours of 21 March 2006, a man broke into the shrine and smashed the Brahma statue with a hammer [1], [10]. Sources differ slightly on timing: Thai Wikipedia says the night of 21 March, and Hinduism Today dates the attack to 20 March [2], [11]. Al Jazeera gave the man's age as 27 and quoted his father as saying he had been in and out of hospital with mental-health problems for ten years [10].
Bystanders beat him to death [1], [2]. A taxi driver quoted by Al Jazeera said he was unconscious but still alive when police arrived, and a police colonel told the outlet that two cleaners who tended the shrine had been arrested and charged with murder [10]. English Wikipedia also says two street sweepers were arrested and charged [1]. English Wikipedia says only part of the lap and the base of the statue survived [1].
The replacement image
In a report dated 2 May 2006, Hinduism Today said the restored image, made from the remains of the old one, would travel to the shrine in a decorated car procession through Bangkok, and that the Culture Ministry would hold a gold-casting ceremony for another Brahma image "made from auspicious nine metals and kept at the National Museum" [11]. The replacement was enshrined on 21 May 2006 at 11:39 [1], [2]. English Wikipedia describes it as plaster mixed with gold, bronze and other precious metals, incorporating fragments of the original, and says a duplicate made entirely of metal, cast in the same mould, is kept at the National Museum of Thailand [1].
The 2015 Erawan Shrine bombing
On 17 August 2015 at 18:55 local time, a bomb exploded in the shrine grounds [1], [2]. English Wikipedia describes an explosive device in a metal pipe, inside a backpack, placed in the shrine grounds next to a metal railing [1].
Sources report different casualty figures:
| Source | Killed | Injured |
|---|---|---|
| Al Jazeera, 18 August 2015 (early report) [12] | at least 20 | at least 78 |
| Thai Wikipedia (initial count) [2] | 16 killed at the scene | more than 70 |
| Euronews, 4 September 2015 [13] | 20, including 14 foreigners | 130 |
| English Wikipedia [1] | 20 | 125 |
| Associated Press, 11 June 2026 [15] | 20 | more than 120 |
| Al Jazeera, 11 June 2026 [16] | 20 | more than 120 in the text, "at least 100" in a subheading |
Quoting China's Foreign Ministry, AP reported that seven of the dead were Chinese citizens [15].
Damage and restoration
English Wikipedia describes the statue as slightly damaged and says the shrine reopened within two days [1]. AP reported that the Fine Arts Department repaired 12 damaged areas of the statue, notably a chin blasted off one of the faces [14]. The restored image was unveiled at a ceremony on 4 September 2015 [13], [14]. Culture Minister Vira Rojpojchanarat said the aim was to raise the morale of Thais and tourists [14]. Thai Wikipedia gives the repair cost as 70,000 baht (2015) [2].
The trial and verdict
Thai authorities said they had identified 17 suspects, but only three were arrested [15]. On 11 June 2026 the Bangkok South Criminal Court convicted two men and sentenced both to death [15], [16]. They had been charged with murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of explosives, and AP reported that prosecutors linked them to the bombing through video, fingerprints and other evidence [15]. Al Jazeera reported that the men have repeatedly denied the charges [16]. Thai authorities have described the attack as revenge by a people-smuggling gang whose operations police had disrupted, while some analysts suspect it was linked to Thailand's forced return of Uyghurs to China in July 2015 [15]. Al Jazeera wrote that no group claimed responsibility [16]. A defence lawyer said the men would appeal [15], [16].
How people worship at the Erawan Shrine
The shrine is open daily from 06:00 to 22:00 [18], [19], and stands near Chit Lom BTS station [1], [18]. What follows describes custom as reported in Thai press, not what devotion achieves.
Offerings
Devotees buy offerings inside the shrine. Thairath English describes a standard set of 12 incense sticks, 4 candles and 4 garlands, one portion for each face [19]. Thansettakij lists 12 incense sticks, one candle and four marigold garlands (พวงมาลัยดาวเรือง), and says meat must not be offered [18]. Thairath's general Phra Phrom guide also bars all meat and suggests fruit such as banana and coconut [20].
Incense is no longer lit. English Wikipedia dates the change to March 2020, citing health and environmental concerns, and Thairath English (2026) says sticks and candles are now left unlit at set points to reduce air pollution [1], [19].
Vows and dancers
The central custom is the vow. In Thai popular devotion a person makes a request (bon, บน), and those who believe it was granted return to fulfil the vow (kae bon, แก้บน) with an offering [2], [10], [18]. Thansettakij lists dance drama (ละครรำ), elephant figures (ตุ๊กตาช้าง) and a seven-colour cloth, seven cubits long, among the popular offerings for fulfilling a vow [18].
Thai Wikipedia says lakhon chatri dances are performed daily to fulfil vows [2]. Al Jazeera's 2006 report said visitors who believed the statue had granted their wishes offered gifts, carved wooden elephants being the most popular, and paid for classical Thai dances [10].
Who visits
Thai and foreign worshippers come in large numbers. Thairath reports that Chinese tour groups treat the shrine as a fixed stop in Bangkok and that many Singaporeans visit [17]. Thai Wikipedia says Chinese tour groups come specifically to worship at the shrine, and that the dance offerings are especially popular among foreigners [2]. Thansettakij says the deity is widely known among foreigners, especially people of Chinese and Hindu descent, and that Thai and foreign worshippers attended the 9 November ceremony in large numbers [18].
Phra Phrom shrines and images beyond the Erawan Shrine
The Erawan image became a model for others. A Thai Wikipedia caption says the Brahma statues widely found in Thailand follow the Erawan Shrine's statue [5]. Thairath notes that shrines to Phra Phrom were also set up at other important sites, including Government House [17].
Daily News lists other well-known four-faced Brahma shrines, including one in front of the CentralWorld shopping centre and one at Wat Saman Rattanaram in Chachoengsao [21]. Outside Thailand, Chinese Wikipedia reports a growing number of four-faced Brahma shrines in Chinese-speaking communities across Asia [6].
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