Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat
The Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Maha Worawihan ( Thai : วัด พระ ศรี รัตน มหาธาตุ , popularly called Wat Yai , Great Temple, for short ) is an important Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in the provincial capital Phitsanulok , northern Thailand . It is a first class royal temple .
Here is a not only in the province ( Changwat ) Phitsanulok , but throughout Thailand highly revered Buddha image , the Phra Phuttha Chinnarat (Thai พระพุทธ ชิน ราช ).
location
The temple complex itself is located on the eastern bank of the Mae Nam Nan (Nan River) in the center of Phitsanulok. Nearby, the Naresuan Bridge crosses the river, named after King Naresuan the Great (1590–1605), who was born in Phitsanulok.
history
The monastery was built in the Ayutthaya period under King Borommatrailokanat after he had won the war against Lan Na for what was then the "northern provinces" (Müang Nüa) , the former heartland of the Sukhothai kingdom . It was completed in 1482. Borommatrailokanat resided in Phitsanulok from 1463 until his death in 1488 (and not in the actual capital Ayutthaya).
The center and the most distinctive part of the temple is still today the Ayutthaya-style prang . It was restored during the reign of King Borommakots (r. 1733–1758). The front tiles are a more recent addition.
Phra Phuttha Chinnarat
The Buddha image in the classic Sukhothai style is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Thailand. It shows the Gautama Buddha in the posture of submission to Māra (Bhūmisparśa-mudra) . It was probably commissioned by King Maha Thammaracha IV in the late 1420s when he was moving his residence from Sukhothai to Phitsanulok.
Several true-to-original copies of this image, which is regarded as perfect, exist in other temples across the country:
- at Wat Benchamabophit , Bangkok
- at Wat Saranat Thammaram , Rayong
The attachment
The large Wihan shows a huge portal with mother-of-pearl inlays, which was donated by King Borommakot in 1756. Behind the Wihan is a 36-meter-high prang in Khmer style, which can be climbed from the inside via a steep staircase and shows the Buddha relics in a small room .
Two more temples, Wat Ratchaburana and Wat Nang Phaya, are located south on the same bank .
Public life
Temple festivals take place here regularly, which are usually associated with an extensive market. Every year on the first weekend in October, races with the Thai longboats are held, each of which is contested by around 20 rowers and ends at the Naresuan Bridge.
Individual evidence
- ^ AB Griswold : Towards A History Of Sukhothai Art . The Fine Arts Department, Bangkok 1967. page 57
- ^ AB Griswold : Towards A History Of Sukhothai Art . The Fine Arts Department, Bangkok 1967. page 55
Web links
Coordinates: 16 ° 49 ′ 25 ″ N , 100 ° 15 ′ 45 ″ E