อ่านภาษาไทย
Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the original temple tour in Ayutthaya, wear Thai dress and take beautiful photos. Sookjai Holiday invites you to visit Ayutthaya (again). This time, we're taking you to an important temple and whispering secrets about the birth of King Prasat Thong.
📸 If you want to worship and take beautiful selfies in Thai dress along the Chao Phraya River, you must visit Wat Chaiwatthanaram. This temple is located outside the city island to the southwest. In the vicinity of Wat Chaiwatthanaram, there are many Thai costume rental shops and a delicious boat noodle shop to relax on a hot day. This ancient site has a variety of photo angles to choose from. You can spend hours walking around and taking pictures, or you can rent a boat and take a trip in the evening to find beautiful backlit photos with the pagoda. Wat Chaiwatthanaram is one of the most beautiful sunset photo spots in Ayutthaya Province.
Chedi of Prince Kung
This temple from the late Ayutthaya period was established by King Prasat Thong on the land along the Chao Phraya River, which used to be the home of his royal mother (or perhaps the original residence of King Prasat Thong himself). When a prediction was made that a fire would occur in the Ayutthaya Grand Palace, the palace residents moved their belongings to Wat Chaiwatthanaram. Because it was an important temple and a place for the cremation of royal family members in many reigns, it is speculated that it may be the burial place of Prince Kung or Prince Thammathibet and Prince Sangwan (in the case of adultery with Prince Nim, Prince Sangwan in the royal palace many times during the reign of King Borommakot, the ashes of the two princes may be contained in the large bell-shaped pagoda, the small one respectively. Currently, only the large pagoda remains, the small one only has the base). At the time of the second fall of Ayutthaya, Wat Chaiwatthanaram was an important Burmese war camp, able to fight and resist the Burmese for as long as 9 days and 9 nights.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram is one of the largest temples in Ayutthaya. Today, you can still see the outline of its past grandeur. The plan of the temple has a large pagoda in the center, surrounded by 4 pagodas in each direction. The cloister is made into a Meru direction, Meru Rai, with a total of 8 peaks. Inside, there are Buddha images in royal attire (dressed as kings), sometimes 1 or 2 images. In front of the cloister is the Ubosot, facing the Chao Phraya River. There is a middle and outer wall with a corridor (a royal path for the king, royal family, and procession).
Dusit Shrine
Stucco image on the outer wall of the Meru, the episode of pleasing the Buddha's mother
From the excavation by the Fine Arts Department, it was found that there used to be paintings decorated inside the Meru peaks. There are stucco sculptures telling the story of the Buddha's history in 12 episodes, with only a few remaining. We recommend viewing the sculptures decorating the outer wall of the Meru, especially the Meru on the northeast side, which is a picture of the Buddha's history when he ascended to please his mother and when he descended from Daowadueng. On the north side, between the outer wall and the middle wall, there is a small pagoda, which the people of Ayutthaya call the Dusit Shrine.
As for the biography of King Prasat Thong, some legends say that he was the secret son of King Ekathotsarot, born to a village girl on Bang Nang In Island (Bang Pa-in). He gave his son to his relatives to raise until he grew up to become a king later. As for the name King Prasat Thong, Prince Damrong Rajanubhab once commented that he built the first golden pagoda in Ayutthaya, so people have always called him by this name.
