Wat Rachaburana, Ayutthya

Very close to Wat Mahathat, is the wat with the most beautiful prang. Infact, it is just across the road. It has one of the most beautiful preserved prangs.

main prang as seen from Wat Mahathat

Some historical background:
King Intharacha ruled Ayutthya from 1409 to 1424. After his death, there was a duel between his two elder sons over succession to the throne. They fought each other and were both killed. Prince Sam Phraya was the next on line and so sat on the throne and was given the title of King Borommarachthirat II. He built the monument on the site where his brothers were cremated.

Viharn:
As soon as one enters the wat premises, only the walls of viharn are left to be seen. According to records the viharn and ubosot were a much later addition to the wat.

walls of the viharn

an image of dismembered Buddha sits in viharn

Gallery:

Building of a gallery surrounding the main prang was prevalent at that time. The gallery used to be closed and had Buddha in sitting posture facing the prang.

gallery with fragmented images

broken pieces and dismembered figures

Ubosoth or the ordination hall:

Ubosoth like the viharn was a much later addition to the monastery. It lies on the west of monastery whereas viharn is on the opposite direction.

sema stones visible

one of the many chedis in the wat complex

 another chedi

stucco work still visible

Prang:

The most beautiful attraction to the monument is the prang. It was influenced by Khmer architecture. The main or the pradhan prang is surrounded by four small chedis in four cardinal directions forming a quincunx.
The monastery was earlier surrounded by water. Thus, the central prang represented Mount Meru being surrounded by ocean.

The small surrounding chedis are bell shaped in Sri Lankan style.

The prang stands on a platform and above that the base of prang is indented. The prang was covered by scaffolding and renovation was underway when we visited. Taking good photos was a challenge.

On the four corners above, in line with the smaller prangs, sits garuda on a multi headed naga. On the sides are seen dwarpalas.

The garuda above lacks the naga, probably has been damaged.

On all four sides there are steps leading to the prang. Because of renovation we went around the prang and fortunately the south end was clear. Right in front of us stood an image of Buddha under a projected porch.  It is similar to the ones used in Hindu temples where images of deity are placed.

image inside the porch

I tried to shoo away a pigeon which was persistently sitting on Buddha's hands. The color of the robe has partly sustained and witnessed time.

view of ubosoth and gallery

Entrance to crypt:

This is the highlight of Wat Racha Burana and is considered one of the most unique type of crypt architecture.

There are three entrances to the crypt. North, South and East. West obviously did not have any entrance as it signifies the setting sun and also death. Unfortunately for us, only the east entrance was open.

Once you enter the room, there are steep steps leading to the crypt. I could not gather the courage to go down these steps. It would soon become claustrophobic as the room is very tiny without any light. But, if you are not bothered by small confined spaces, I would suggest you definitely go down.

There are beautiful murals and fresco, though some are not in very good condition.

Just behind the way to steps is a small room which has pictures of what was found in the crypt. The room smelt of bats and you could hear them squeaking.

In 1956, the Fine Arts Department excavated the central prang of Wat Mahathat and found plenty of artifacts. Thinking on the same line, some looters made their way into the crypt of Wat Rachaburana in 1957 and escaped with a huge booty. They were apprehended by police. Some of it was reclaimed but most was lost.

Later, the Fine Arts Department undertook the task of restoration in 1958 and discovered more valuables. They are now placed and can be seen at Chao Sam Phraya Museum in Ayutthya.

entrance fees:
50 Baht
timings: 0800 hours to 1700 hours

Other wats worth a visit: Wat Yaichai Mongkol, Ayutthya, Wat Sri Sanphet,Ayutthya, Wat Mahathat, Ayutthya, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthya

Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthya

In my itinearary, I had not planned of visiting this wat. Our driver told us that this wat should be seen. We were running out of time and had to return to Bangkok but then thought of making a quick visit to this place. I am happy we did that.
The wat is exquisite, must have been grandest at its peak. It was very different from the ones we had visited earlier during the day.

model of the wat from the Chao Phrya side

view from Chao Phraya side

This was the actual entrance. Water transport was very common at that time so it was easy to access the wat.

model from the west side

view from west side

This now is the entrance. At first glimpse it resembles Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The prang style is almost the same.

Some historical background:

• King Prasat Thong ruled from 1630 to 1650. Just after being sworn in as the king, he ordered a wat to be built in honor of his foster mother who lived at that place. The construction probably took 20 years to complete.
• there are two identical chedis, one is said to in honor of King Prasat Thong's mother, the other one probably his father, but nothing definite is known about the other one.
• Building a memorial or chedi in honor of someone was a way to gain merits by kings.
• It was almost after a period of 200 years that Khmer architecture wa revived with the building of a prang. Before this the prang is said to be constructed at Rachaburana.
• the wat was a place for royal ceremonies and also funerals of deceased royal family members only.

information on the wat

 stucco relief panel on a meru

False windows, something like lattice work was earlier seen in Wat Mahathat also.

stucco relief panel and false window on side

Passing the merus with fast disappearing stucco panels, we enter the gallery in the center of which is the quincunx. Main prang surrounded by four smaller ones in the four inter-cardinal directions.

The central or the main prang is 35 meter high and stands on a platform

Steep staircases on each of the four cardinal sides lead to the center of prang. The entrance on east side only opens into a chamber where relics were enshrined.

main prang with a smaller one

a small prang

The central prang is surrounded by four smaller prangs on four inter cardinal directions. The main prang representing Mount Meru, around which the universe revolves. The small prangs represent the four major continents.

If you look at the above picture closely, you would notice small holes on the surface. The holes were made by nails which secured tin sheets covered by gold. In this manner the five prangs were  covered with gold. One can imagine how beautiful the place must have looked at that time.

The gallery:
Surrounding the quincunx is a gallery which has four merus on four corners and four in between them.

a corner meru

There are four such corner merus. Inside each are seated two images of Buddha adjacent to each other in bhumisparsh mudra, sitting posture. The images face the galleries.The ceiling is black painted wood.

There is only one image of Buddha in the middle meru.

Image of Buddha with a crown in one of the merus

another image of Buddha with a crown in another meru

an idea of the stucco work at the Buddha image pedestal

seated Buddha images throughout the gallery

 view of gallery with a row of Buddha images

corner meru

All along the walls are images of 104 sitting Buddhas facing the main prang in Bhumisparsh mudra or "victory over Mara" posture.

The gallery shows marks of pillars indicating that it was covered at one point of time.

corner and middle meru

Then there are images of Buddha on either side of meru with their back to the main prang. So there are 8x2 Buddha images.

Ubosoth:
A flight of steps leads to ordination hall or the ubosot or ubosoth.

 side view of ubosoth

Only the floor of ubosoth remains now.

 front view

actual entrance to monastery from Chao Phrya river

Chedis:

On either side of ubosoth, close to river Chao Phrya stand two identical chedis. They are not situated on a platform. It is assumed that one of the chedi might contain the ashes of King Prasat Thong's mother as the temple was built in honor of her. The other might have the ashes of his fathers, but it is a mere speculation.

Mural paintings:

When I was reading the information board, I came to know that there were mural paintings also. I looked with deep concentration and found very faint paintings. They seem to be disappearing fast. I have put the picture by the archeology department alongside mine.

The wat was deserted in 1767 after the Burmese invasion. Restoration began much later in 1987 and it was opened to public in 1992. Since it is situated so close to the river, it suffered severe damage during the flooding in 2012.

entrance ticket:
It is a part of Ayutthya Historical Park, and the entrance is 50 Baht.

Some more wats to visit Wat Rachaburana, Ayutthya, Wat Yaichai Mongkol, Ayutthya, Wat Mahathat, Ayutthya, Wat Sri Sanphet,Ayutthya