Luang Pu Hin (Phra Khru Sangkharak Hin) — Wat Rakhang Kositaram
Venerable Phra Thepsitinayok • Formerly known as Luang Pu Nak’s close disciple
Born November 9, 1899 in present-day Prey Veng, Cambodia, the boy surnamed Sukkasem entered the robe early, spending fifteen years as a novice before briefly returning to lay life to support his family. At 21, he was re-ordained at Wat Thanakhan under Phra Rattanawong (preceptor), with Phra Ajahn Ram as Kammavācācariya and Phra Mongkol Thera as Anusavanācariya.
His early path was the old forest way: he studied the Trinisinghe yantra, crossed jungle tracks through Burma, Battambang, and Angkor, and trained with masters in esoteric wicha. By 1922 he had ranged the border towns of Kabin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Saraburi, and Sukhothai, finally settling for eleven years in Ayutthaya to help raise halls and ordination spaces at Wat Thang Luang.
A turning point came in 1935. Drawn by the legacy of Somdej Phra Buddhacarya Toh Phrommarangsi, Luang Pu Hin walked into Wat Rakhang and placed himself under the guidance of Luang Pu Nak. At Wat Rakhang he became builder, attendant, and teacher — whatever the temple needed. When funds ran thin, he pressed Somdej amulets and offered them for the sake of the monastery, never as trade.
Elders at Wat Rakhang still tell a night-lamp story: after workers had left, the old monk sat among powders gathered like a history of merit — Somdej powders from the crypts of Wat Rakhang and Wat Sam Pluem, Phong Suriyatra, Phong Trinisinghe, Phong Maharaj, with Pilan mixed in for strength. “Let these protect the people who protect the temple,” he said, and the moulds received another batch. Soldiers later carried these pieces to the front; many returned to bow in thanks. That first wartime issue would be remembered as the “Indochina Model” (B.E. 2482).
From 1939 to 1972 his workshop produced distinctive Somdej variants — Garuda Chest, Curtain, Thread/Yarn, Chedi, Bodhi Leaf — each a lesson in iconography and material virtue. Beyond amulets, he practiced meditation to depth, knew the old black-arts countermeasures, and learned traditional medicine, treating thousands who queued at the temple gate.
After 43 years resident at Wat Rakhang, failing health took him temporarily to Wat Kluai, Ayutthaya. He returned to his beloved pier-side monastery and passed on May 21, 1978, aged 79, completing 58 rains in the robe. Much of what we know comes from the cremation booklet compiled by Phra Si Suthisophon (Thiang Akkathammo) — a small volume that reads like an inventory of blessings: the teacher, the temple, and the people lifting one another.
Selected Editions of Phra Somdej by Luang Pu Hin
1) First Edition — B.E. 2482 (“Indochina Model”)
Five prints distributed widely to disciples, police, and soldiers; many war testimonies.
- Garuda Chest (Pim Ork Kru)
- Curtain (Pim Waekman)
- Yarn / Large (Pim Yai)
- Pagoda Shape (Pim Song Jadee)
2) Second Edition — B.E. 2484
Five prints; powders from Wat Rakhang & Wat Sam Pluem crypts with Suriyatra, Trinisinghe, Maharaj.
- Principal (Pim Song Phraprathan)
- Royal Hair Through Arch (Pim Song Phra Kethalusum)
- Male Robe (Pim Song Chai Ciwon)
- Alms-Bowl Chest (Pim Ork Kru Sen Bat)
- Double-Eared Bust (Pim Song Rong Hu Yan Khu)
3) Third Edition — B.E. 2488
Two prints; Somdej + Pilan + Sam Pluem/Suriyatra/Maharaj/Trinisinghe powders.
- Popular Style (Pim Song Niyom)
- Pagoda Shape (Pim Song Jadee)
4) Fourth Edition — B.E. 2494–2495 (“2495 Model”)
Six prints; produced after dismantling the Trai Tower (materials mixed: white powder & Bailan).
- Principal — Powder & Bailan (Nur Phong / Nur Bailan)
- Table-Leg Base (Pim Khatoh)
- Pagoda Shape (Pim Song Jadee)
- Equilateral Triangle (Pim Samlian Dam Thao 4)
- Isosceles Triangle (Pim Samlian Na Chaw)
- Small Isosceles Triangle (Pim Samlian Na Chaw Pim Lek)
5) Fifth Edition — B.E. 2497
- Pagoda Shape (Pim Song Jadee)
- Pagoda Through Arch (Pim Song Jadee Thalusum)
6) Sixth Edition — B.E. 2500 (25th Buddhist Century)
Commemorative series of 84,000 pieces; 15+ designs, widely distributed and blessed.
- Principal (Kanan Bucha)
- Bodhi-Leaf Large (Prok Pho Yai)
- Naga Style (Song Nak Prok)
- Prok Pho Than Sam (Thansen)
- Garuda Chest Alms-Bowl (Ork Kru Sen Bat)
- Pillow Base (Thanmon)
- Popular Style (Niyom) — large/medium/small
- Isosceles Triangle (Samlian Na Chaw)
- Score/Relief Prints (Khanen series)
- Melon Grain (Med Teang), Sankajai, etc.
7) Seventh Edition — B.E. 2510–2512 (“Saturday 5”)
Six prints; included wood from Somdej Toh’s kuti pillars.
- Popular Pillars (Sao Wek) with kuti-wood
- Chulamanee
- Sankhati
- Chest with Ear-Groove, Sam Base (Ork Rong Huyan Thansen)
- Lotus Petals (Kleep Bua)
- Principal (Phraprathan Hubaysri)
8) Eighth Edition — B.E. 2515 (100 years of Somdej Toh’s passing)
- Popular Style (Niyom)
- Garuda Alms-Chest (Ork Kru Sen Bat)
- Commemorative coin — Rian Roon Rek B.E. 2516
Other Creations
- Phra Kring — B.E. 2518 (modeled after early Kring exemplars)
- Luang Pu Hin commemorative coin — B.E. 2521
Why Collectors Care
Each edition preserves an unbroken ritual grammar — powders with provenance, forms with meaning, and blessings witnessed by devotees. For practitioners they’re protection (klaew klaad) and metta; for historians they’re a map of Wat Rakhang’s twentieth-century revival.