Wat Yai Chai Mongkon
The Wat Yai Chai Mongkon (Mongkol, also Wat Chao Phraya Thai; Thai วัด ใหญ่ ชัยมงคล ) is a Buddhist temple complex ( Wat ) in Ayutthaya in central Thailand .
location
Wat Yai Chai Mongkon is located southeast outside the old city wall of Ayutthaya on a branch of the Pa-Sak River .
Building history
The temple was built in 1357 on the orders of King Ramathibodi I , the first ruler of the Ayutthaya Empire .
Prince Damrong Rajanubhab , one of Thailand's leading historians, speculates that in 1592 King Naresuan the Great had an 80-meter-high chedi built on the site of the temple in memory of his successful elephant duel with the Burmese crown prince, whom he had killed. However, Piriya Krairiksh, President of the Siam Society in 1992 , studied contemporary maps as well as reports from Jaques de Coutre, who visited Ayutthaya in 1595, Jeremias Van Vliet , a Dutch chronicler and others. Piriya concludes that the great chedi was probably not built until King Narai was renovating this temple between 1656 and 1666. ( See also: Don Chedi )
The chedi stands on a rectangular base with four smaller chedis at the four corners. On the east side a long staircase leads to a small crypt. In front of it, symmetrical to the chedi, lie the ruins of two mondops , in which seated Buddha statues can be seen. Originally, the chedi was surrounded by a Phra Rabieng (covered, inwardly open gallery), the supporting pillars are still partially preserved. Today, numerous Buddha statues from more modern times sit lined up along the enclosure wall.
In the Viharn Phra Buddha Saiyas ( Viharn of the reclining Buddha ) there is a large image of the reclining Buddha , which may also date from the time of Naresuan the Great. It was mainly used for worship and meditation. In 1965 a thorough renovation of the portrait was carried out.
use
Ramathibodi I had the building built to provide a home for the monks who had returned from Ceylon after they had studied the Buddhist teachings with Phra Vanarat Maha Thera .
literature
- HRH Prince Damrong Rajanubhab: A History Of Buddhist Monuments In Siam . Bangkok 1929. Reprint by The Siam Society, Bangkok 1962
- Piriya Krairiksh: A Revised Dating of Ayudhya Architecture (II) . In: Journal of the Siam Society , Vol. 80 Part 2, Bangkok 1992, ISSN 0857-7099 , siamese-heritage.org (PDF; 1.4 MB), accessed on October 31, 2012.
Web links
Coordinates: 14 ° 20 ′ 43 " N , 100 ° 35 ′ 33" E