Nahanjeon Hall of Seonghyeolsa Temple, Yeongju

Nahanjeon is a Buddhist worship hall that typically enshrines statues of Sakyamuni Buddha and arhats, the perfected disciples of the Buddha. In Nahanjeon Hall of Seonghyeolsa Temple, the principal buddha is Vairocana, not Sakyamuni. Vairocana, known as the Cosmic Buddha, who is the personification of the absolute universal truth.

According to historical records discovered during a repair of the building in 1984, Nahanjeon Hall was first built in 1553 and rebuilt in 1634. The wooden window lattices on the building’s facade demonstrate refined carving techniques. The middle window lattices, in particular, were made utilizing a cutout relief technique and include carvings of fish, crabs, cranes, dragons, children, lotuses, and wild geese.

On the altar inside the building is a seated stone statue of Vairocana (Gyeongsangbuk-do Tangible Cultural Heritage) in the center. The Buddha clasps his left index finger in his right hand, which is a distinguishing gesture of Vairocana. To each side of Vairocana are eight arhats. The statue of Vairocana is presumed to date to the late 9th century, while the 16 statues of arhats are presumed to date to the 20th century.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08