"The seat of Cambodian Buddhism, where a hair from the Buddha's eyebrow survived the Khmer Rouge"
Wat Ounalom
Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Wat Ounalom is the most important Buddhist monastery in Cambodia, headquarters of the Mahanikaya Order and residence of the Supreme Patriarch. Founded in 1443 as one of Phnom Penh's five original pagodas, it houses a relic believed to be a hair from the Buddha's eyebrow. The Khmer Rouge killed its 500 monks and destroyed its 30,000-volume library. Today, over 100 monks pray, study, and serve in the rebuilt compound, a living answer to attempted annihilation.
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Quick Facts
Location
Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Coordinates
11.5679, 104.9296
Last Updated
Mar 29, 2026
Learn More
Founded in 1443 to enshrine a Buddha relic and serve as the administrative heart of Cambodian Buddhism, Wat Ounalom has functioned as the headquarters of the Mahanikaya Order for nearly six centuries.
Origin Story
King Ponhea Yat founded Wat Ounalom in 1443, one year after establishing Phnom Penh as the new Khmer capital. The monastery was built to enshrine a sacred relic: a hair from the Buddha's eyebrow. The word ounalom refers to the urna, the mark or tuft of hair between the Buddha's eyebrows that is one of the thirty-two physical characteristics of a great being. By housing this relic, the monastery became the spiritual anchor of the new capital and the institutional center of Cambodian Buddhism.
The designation of Wat Ounalom as headquarters of the Mahanikaya Order established the monastery's authority over the majority of Cambodia's Buddhist monks. This administrative function meant that decisions about ordination, monastic discipline, Buddhist education, and religious observance throughout the country originated here. The accumulation of a 30,000-volume library over centuries made it one of the most important centers of Pali scholarship in Southeast Asia.
Key Figures
King Ponhea Yat
founder
The Khmer king who established Phnom Penh as the capital in 1442 and founded Wat Ounalom in 1443 to enshrine the Buddha's eyebrow relic. His founding of the monastery established the institutional framework of Cambodian Buddhism that persists to this day.
The Supreme Patriarch (Sangharaja)
head of Cambodian Buddhism
The highest-ranking Buddhist monk in Cambodia, who resides at Wat Ounalom. The Supreme Patriarch's presence connects the monastery to the full hierarchy of Cambodian Buddhist authority.
Spiritual Lineage
Wat Ounalom belongs to the Theravada Buddhist tradition that has defined Cambodian religious life since the thirteenth century. As headquarters of the Mahanikaya Order, it connects to the broader network of Theravada Buddhist institutions across Southeast Asia. The relic tradition connecting it to the historical Buddha places it within the ancient practice of relic veneration that extends from the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka to Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar.
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