Wat Samraong Knong is one of Battambang province’s oldest pagodas. Founded in 1707, it is in Samraong Knong village and commune, Ek Phnom district, Battambang province. The pagoda stands along the eastern bank of the Sangkae River and was named after a large samraong tree approximately two metres in diameter.
The pagoda is regarded as a sacred place where Thut Tong Chey once established a hermitage. It has continued to attract ordinary residents and prominent people who pray for their wishes to be fulfilled in accordance with traditional beliefs, up to the present day.
The old sanctuary that survives in Wat Samraong Knong today was rebuilt in 1890, replacing an earlier sanctuary constructed entirely of wood.
In 1887, the pagoda’s seventh abbot also built a brick shrine to house the remains of previous abbots.
With attention and support from the Royal Government, Battambang provincial authorities, the abbot, the pagoda committee and its Buddhist congregation, Wat Samraong Knong has continued to develop its Buddhist infrastructure and clean, attractive surroundings so that Buddhist devotees from all directions can come to make merit with a serene mind.
By: Pai Sokhim
