Hardly can anyone miss a white and golden wat on top of a small hillock in Bangkok. That's Wat Saket, short form of Wat Saket Ratch Wora Vihara. This is one of Bangkok's oldest temples and is located outside the old Rattanakosin island of the city.
Apart from the Phra Borom Bunphot or Phu Khao Thong, the golden mountain, there are many other things to see here.
History of Wat:
- The temple was named Wat Sa Kae during its construction in the Ayutthya era ( 1351 - 1767).
- The name got changed to Wat Sa Ket when King Rama I (1737-1808), established his kingdom in Bangkok.
- The meaning of the word translates to "wash hair". It is said that the King washed his hair here before entering the city after returning from war.
- This wat has always been the most important temple for Thailand and the ruling Chakri Dynasty. Therefore, this place is renovated timely.
- As this area was outside the city, it became a place to cremate bodies of cholera victims which ravaged the city of Bangkok during King Rama II's rule (1809-1824). I would be writing about it in detail later in my post.
- The grandson of King Rama I, King Rama III (1824-1851) decided to built the pagoda but the soft soil of Bangkok could not support the sturcture and it collapsed.
- The structure remained neglected for quite some time which turned the area into a hillock. Locals started calling it as "Phu Khao Thong". Khao meaning a mountain.
- Later, King Rama IV (1851-1868), revived the construction of a small pagoda on "hilltop". The construction was completed during the rule of his son, King Rama V (1868-1910), who gave temple the royal name, Suwan Banphot or the Golden Mount.
- In 1940s, concrete weight bearing walls were built to support the pagoda and protect against soil erosion.
- In the early 20th century, the wat was refurbished with carrara marble( Italian marble). Buddha relic (teeth) were also enshrined there.
- The huge complex of Borom Bunphot or the Golden Mountain, has in addtion, Phra Uttharot's viharn, ordination hall or ubosot in the north. The south part of the complex has monk kutis, Bodhi tree, Asoka pillar.
Wat Saket across Klong Ong Ang, 1865
Khlong Ong Ang or ong Ang canal was dug during the reign of King Rama I, when Bangkok was made the capital of Thailand.
It is the oldest waterways and is now one of the major tourist attraction.
Both sides of the canal become active on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with street food, shopping stalls.
entrance ticket of 50 THB
The low steps are very easy to climb
on the way up
bells along the path
Buddha images on entrance
I forgot to take the picture of entrance where a sign says that you don't need to take off your shoes. The reason being that the exit is from the other side and you don't come back to this place.
Emerald Buddhas on one side
model of wat
images outside the chamber where relics are enshrined
There is a small flight to stairs, take off your shoes before entering.
inside the chamber, relics brought from India are said to be enshrined here
Buddha images lined up for each day of the week. Devotees pray to the image coinciding with the day of your birth.
a Thai woman praying
image covered in gold leaves below the stupa
A sign pointing to stairs takes you to the roof of this wat where a golden pagoda stands.
On four corners of the roof, stand golden structures
view of Bangkok from above
There is another way to go down.
sign while coming down
another sign
I was in a fix, which way to go. We decided to go to Luang Por To first and then go further down.
an information board
Vultures of Wat Saket:
Going down the steps towards Phra Luang Por To, we saw metallic vultures all over the place. This quite amused us.During the rule of King Rama II (1809-1824), there was an epidemic of cholera, leading to deaths of more than 30,000 people. There was a tradition of not cremating their dead within the city walls and since this temple was outside the city, the place was considered just appropriate.
The temple got over burdened by the number of dead bodies and could not cremate all of them. The families left the bodies in the open. This attracted the vultures who started coming in large numbers to eat the dead bodies.
Every dry season, there were spurt in cases which spiked during the reign of King Rama III(1824-1851)
The last spread of this disease was in 1881.
For around 6 decades, vultures hovered the skies of Bangkok.
vultures sitting all over
small shrine while going down
devouring the dead
wall behind must have had pictures or names of dead
Wat Luang Por To:
The 5.33 meters high and 3.2 meters wide gilded image of Buddha was constructed during the reign of King Rama III. It was a cast-iron statue which was very different to the stucco statues built during those times.
The image of Luang Por To sits in bhumisparsh mudra (calling earth to witness), and faces towards Mahanak canal and provides happiness and joy to all.
Just beneath the image, are Buddha's footprints.
There was this structure just near the temple, but there was no information on this.
Lucky Buddha:
Owing to its massive size, it was called "Luang Por Tho".
Guan Yin on the side while going down
a small shrine on way down
torkay gecko soaks in the sun
almost down...
On the right, near a Bodhi tree is the Lucky Buddha.
golden leaves hang from tree
small shrine on an old mound
more images
information regarding the wat
old part of wat
Luang Phor Dam or Black Buddha:
Bamiyan museum:
At the base of temple, a cave like structure is a recreation of Bamiyan in Afghanistan.
Bamiyan museum
entrance
Huge standing image of Buddha
view of the room
Cremation hall:
The complex has a cremation hall.
wreaths placed outside cremation hall
Wat Saket Ratch Wora Maha Wihan:
Between the cremation hall and ordination hall is the wihan.
The standing image inside the viharn is Phra Attharat Srisucot Thosopol Yanabophit and is said to be the tallest in Bangkok.
It was built around 700 years ago. The image stands in Abhay mudra or dispelling fear.
The image was moved by King Rama III from Wihan Thong, Phisanulok to this Wihan.
tree with silver leaves for devotees to write their wishes
tree with golden leaves
The Ordination hall or ubosot:
A boundary with four entrances on four sides leads to ordination hall or ubosot from wihan.
decorated door connecting viharn to ubosot
Crossing this door, there is a cloister with Buddha images. There are similar entrance doors on all four sides.
163 moulded and stucco Buddha images in the cloister
They are assumed to be placed here at the time of renovation during King Rama III.
The roof has porcelain tiles and the pediment in the center is decorated with Vishnu riding on Garuda which is the logo of Chakri Dyanasty.
Vishnu on his mount, Garuda on ubosot gable
Around the hall, in eight directions are one of the most beautiful sema stones I have ever seen.
main Buddha image inside ubosot
The huge stucco statue is covered with gold and is in a dhyaan mudra, meditative posture.
The walls are covered with murals with a theme pertaining to the life of Buddha.
The image is 79 meters high.
mural projecting life in heaven, earth and hell behind the principal Buddha image
lowest level has people in pain and hunger, middle level has life on earth and topmost level shows celestial beings.
Sermon hall, Ho Trai:
Outside the wihan, ordination hall and cremation ground across the road is sermon hall, Ho trai or scripture hall.
Sermon hall and Ho Trai or scripture hall
Scripture hall
Loy Krathong festival which takes place every year on 12th night of lunar calendar, usually in late October or early November. During this time, the wat is draped with a red cloth. People go in large numbers to attend the festival and earn merits.
Timings: 7AM to 7PM
entrance fee: 50 TBH to the top of chedi
I will have travel to this place
ReplyDelete