Golden Puttakaya Chedipagoda With Two Giant Chinthe At The Entrance,Sangkhlaburi District,Kanchanaburi,Thailand. Royalty-Free Stock Photo

Puttakaya chedi is a large golden chedi,located a few hundred meters from Wat Wang Wiwekaram on the edge of the lake.It was constructed about 3 decades ago and modelled after the chedi of the Mahabodhi temple in the Indian town Bodhgaya, the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment some 2,500 years ago.Chinthe is a leogryph lion-like creature that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas and temples in Burma, Cambodia, Laos and is related to the Singha in Thailand and the Simha in Sri Lanka as well as to other similar lion statues in other parts of Asia. The chinthe and the simha are featured prominently on the Burmese kyat and the Sri Lankan rupee respectively. The chinthe is almost always depicted in pairs, and serve to protect the pagoda. They typically appear as animals, but are sometimes found with human faces.