Wat Pa Mamuang
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Wat Pa Mamuang ( Thai วัด ป่า มะม่วง - Monastery of the Mango Grove ) is the ruins of a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in Sukhothai , Sukhothai Province in the northern region of Thailand .
location
Wat Pa Mamuang is part of the Sukhothai Historical Park , it is located about 800 meters west of the O-City Gate ( ประตู อ้อ - Pratu O) outside the Old City (Mueang Kao - เมือง เก่า ) of Sukhothai.
history
According to legend, King Ramkhamhaeng is said to have planted a mango grove in front of the city. It was about halfway between the "grove of sugar palms" in the royal palace and Wat Aranyik , a temple of the respected forest monks , in which the Sangharaja resided. Here King Loe Thai established a royal temple called Wat Pa Mamuang. He probably first built a mondop for the "Devalayamahaksetra", a Brahmanic shrine. For although the Sukhothai kings were devoted Buddhists, royal brahmin ceremonies could add to the prestige of the court. A few years later, King Li Thai had two larger than life bronze statues made, a Shiva (Mahesvara) and a Vishnu , which were found here during excavations in the 20th century. The statues can be admired today in the National Museum Bangkok .
Since the temple was in a quiet location outside the city, it soon became a temple of the Lankavamsa forest monks (also นิกาย ลังกา วงศ์ - nikay lankawong, sect of Ceylonese descent). A monk who was trained and reorganized in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ), a Tai named Sumana Thera , was the first to be invited to Sukhothai by King Loe Thai in 1341. He was to report on his experiences and show the king the ceremonies as they were used in Ceylon. He resided in the Mango Grove Monastery.
In 1361 King Li Thai had the temple renovated and enlarged for the famous monk Mahāsāmī Sangharāja, who had also acquired his profound knowledge of the Tipitaka through long studies in Ceylon. This was mentioned, among other things, in a stone inscription (the so-called "Inscription VII") that the king had made. To welcome the scholar, he sent members of the royal family to meet him, who then accompanied him from Kamphaeng Phet on the so-called " Phra Ruang Highway " to Sukhothai. In the capital Sukhothai, the main street Rājamārga was festively decorated from the western to the eastern city gate. It was even carpeted to prevent the guest's foot from touching the floor. The Mahāsāmī was then directed to the Mango Grove Monastery, where he spent the three-month rainy season retreat with the embassy and the king (see also: Khao Phansa ). On stone inscriptions (the so-called "Inscription IV" and "Inscription V") it is further described that the king was ordained a monk on November 23, 1361. King Li Thai was the first Siamese king to spend some time in the Buddhist monastery. Since then, this tradition has been continued by many Siamese and Thai kings, most recently the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn , who lived for a few days as a bhikkhu at Wat Bowonniwet in 1978 .
Attractions
Today the square base of a chedi can be seen here. It has a side length of 12 meters and is surrounded by a low brick wall with balusters .
There is also the brick foundation of an ordination hall ( ubosot ), which is 12 meters by 18 meters.
Some distance away are the remains of the Mondop, which was once surrounded by several small chedis.
From the kutis , the assembly hall ( Wihan ) "with scenes from the life of Buddha" and the large Buddha statue described by King Li Thai, no remains can be found today.
literature
- Betty Gosling: Sukhothai Its History, Culture, And Art . Asia Books (Oxford University Press), Bangkok 1991, ISBN 974-8206-85-8
- AB Griswold : Towards A History Of Sukhothai Art . The Fine Arts Department, Bangkok 1967 (without ISBN)
- Dawn F. Rooney: Ancient Sukhothai, Thailand's Cultural Heritage . River Books, Bangkok 2008, ISBN 978-974-9863-42-8
Individual evidence
- ^ Betty Gosling: Sukhothai Its History, Culture , p. 67
- ^ AB Griswold: Towards A History Of Sukhothai Art , p. 16
- ↑ a b Griswold, p. 42
- ↑ Griswold, p. 36
- ↑ Griswold, p. 37
Web links
Coordinates: 17 ° 0 ′ 20 ″ N , 99 ° 41 ′ 12 ″ E