Wat Traphang Thong Lang

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Mondop and Wihan (status 12/2014)

Wat Traphang Thong Lang ( Thai วัด ตระพัง ทองหลาง , German: "Temple of the Coral Pond ") is the name of a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in the east of the historic old town of Sukhothai in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sukhothai Historical Park in Thailand . The temple complex was built during the reign of King Li Thai (1347 to 1368/1374).

location

Ubosot (status: December 2014)

Wat Traphang Thong Lang is located in the east of the old town of Sukhothai, a good 650 m outside the eastern city gate ("Pratu Kamphaeng Hak", "Kamphaeng Hak Gate") and around 200 meters south of the main road that connects Sukhothai old town with Sukhothai south city (" Thanon Charot Withi Thong "," Charot Withi Thong Road "). The closest temple ruins are Wat Ton Mahkam (a good 250 meters north), Wat Chang Lom (around 450 meters north), Wat Chedi Yod Hak (around 300 meters northeast) and Wat Chedi Sung (350 to 450 meters east).

Wat Traphang Thong Lang is a temple that is still inhabited and actively operated by monks ( bhikkhu ) today . The modern buildings of the wat are located between the ruins of the Sukhothai period and the main street.

architecture

West and south facade of the Mondop
(status: December 2014)

The ensemble of ruins includes an assembly hall ( Wihan ), an ordination hall ( Ubosot ) with its boundary stones ( Bai Sema ), the foundations of 16 smaller chedis , and a Mondop, which is particularly worth seeing because of its stucco reliefs . The entire ancient complex is enclosed by a moat.

A bit out of the way, in the east of the complex is the Ubosot. What has been preserved is a brick platform with two staircases on the east side, as well as a podium at the western end of the platform on which the fragments of the statue of a seated Buddha are located. The Bai Sema tablets are made of slate .

The Wihan consists of four rows of laterite columns on a brick foundation. The entrance is on the eastern side, with its western end the assembly hall borders directly on the bot .

The Mondop is a massive brick construction with a square floor plan, which opens up to the Wihan with a high, roofed entrance to the east. Inside there was once a monumental Buddha statue. All other facades are provided with high vestibules, protected by large reliefs.

Reliefs of the Mondop

Relief of the south facade
(status: December 2014)

Despite their sometimes very high degree of destruction, the reliefs on the outer walls of the Mondop are among the highlights of relief art and the masterpieces of the Sukhothai style . The representations depict three episodes from the life of the Buddha :

  • South facade (badly damaged): After Buddha visited his mother Mahamaya after her death in heaven and instructed him in his teachings, he climbed down a ladder to earth again, accompanied by the deities Brahma and Indra and some followers. This relief, a replica of which is in the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, is considered to be the most carefully elaborated and filigree representation of the Mondops.
  • West facade (extremely destroyed): In Kapilavastu the Buddha, surrounded by flames, preaches to his father Shuddhodana and his relatives from the northern Indian people of the Shakya .
  • North facade (moderately destroyed): Buddha pacified the elephant Nalagiri - accompanied by his cousin and student Ananda . Particularly finely worked stucco decorations have been preserved on the sides and on the roof arch of the protective vestibule of this relief.

literature

Web links

Commons : Wat Traphang Thong Lang  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wat Ton Mahkam: 17 ° 1 ′ 5.45 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 6.05 ″  E
  2. ↑ Wat Chedi Yod Hak: 17 ° 1 ′ 4.35 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 16.75 ″  E
  3. ↑ Wat Chedi Sung: 17 ° 0 ′ 56.8 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 22.9 ″  E
  4. ↑ Wat Traphang Thong Lang (modern): 17 ° 1 ′ 0.9 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 6.4 ″  E
  5. ↑ Wihan: 17 ° 0 '58 "  N , 99 ° 43' 8.25"  E
  6. ↑ Ubosot: 17 ° 0 ′ 58.15 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 11 ″  E
  7. ↑ Mondop: 17 ° 0 ′ 58 ″  N , 99 ° 43 ′ 7.75 ″  E
  8. ↑ Analog Wihan / Ubosot combinations are in Wat Tuek and Wat Si Chum .
  9. ↑ On the Sukhothai style in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Coordinates: 17 ° 0 '58 "  N , 99 ° 43' 7.75"  E