Wat Somanasvihara Rajaworavihara (Wat Som)

Wat Somanasvihara Rajaworavihara
(Wat Som)

     Wat Somanasvihara Rajaworavihara (Wat Som) is located on Phadung Krungkasem Road and canal on the Nang Loeng market side. King Rama IV ordered the construction of the temple in 1853 to honor and make merit for Princess Somanas Wattanawadee Phra Borom Rajathevee. The temple has thick and high walls. There are two lines of sema, or boundary stones, as there are at Wat Makutkasattriyaram.

     The gables of the phra ubosot are a blending of the Thai and the Chinese architectural styles. Inside there are murals that were painted by artists in the reign of King Rama IV showing scenes from the scriptures, the lives of the Buddha, and senior monks looking at a corpse. On the door and window panels there are pictures of the Seven Gems and other scenes and in the monks' residences there are paintings on glass in the Chinese style. All these are of considerable interest.

Wat Suwannaram Rajaworawihan (Wat Suwan)

Wat Suwannaram Rajaworawihan
(Wat Suwan)

    
     Wat Suwannaram (Wat Suwan) is located on the western bank of Bangkok Noi Canal. It is approached from Charan Sanitwong Road, opposite Bang Khun Non. The temple dates from the Ayutthaya Period and was called originally Wat Thong. King Rama I ordered the temple to be completely renovated and renamed it Wat Suwannaram.

     Somdej Krom Phra Rajawang Boworn Mahasurasinghanart ordered the construction of a crematorium for royalty and high officials. Cremations of such personages traditionally took place outside the outer walls of the city. The crematorium continued in use until the reign of King Rama IV. During renovations of Wat Suwannaram in the Third Reign, the King had the royal artists of the day compete with each other in painting the murals in the phra ubosot. These artists included Luang Vichit Chesada (Thongyoo), who painted the Nemeraja Chadok, and Luang Seni Borirak (Khong Pae), who painted the Mahosot Chadok.

Wat Saket Rajaworamahavihara (Wat Saket)

Wat Saket Rajaworamahavihara
(Wat Saket)

     Wat Saket Rajaworamahavihara (Wat Saket) is located along the Mahanak and Rob Krung Canals, near the Phanfa Leelas Bridge. It was an ancient temple dating from the Ayutthaya Period and was called originally Wat Sakae. King Rama I the Great ordered the renovation of the temple and the digging of a canal around it. He renamed it Wat Saket, which means "to wash the hair", in commemoration of the occasion when he performed the Phra Krayasanan Ceremony at the temple on his return from Cambodia to quell great confusion in Thonburi and his subsequent ascension of the throne in 1782.

     King Rama III ordered the temple to be renovated and had some new buildings constructed, the most important being the Phra Borom Banphot, or Golden Mount, that was to be a phra prang on a twelve-sided base. The construction was not completed in his reign, and King Rama IV decided to construct instead an artificial mountain with a chedi on the summit. Construction was completed in the reign of King Rama V. The chedi on the summit of the Golden Mount has housed relics of the Buddha ever since.

Wat Rajanaddaram Woravihara (Wat Rajanadda)

Wat Rajanaddaram Woravihara
(Wat Rajanadda)

       Wat Rajanaddaram Woravihara (Wat Rajanadda) is a temple of the early Rattanakosin Period. The temple is situated near the Mahakarn Fort, next to the Maha Chesadabodin Pavilion, which is used to welcome guests of state, and near the Phan Fa Leelas Bridge. King Rama III built the temple on about 25 rai of orchard land in honor of his niece, Princess Somanas Wattanawadee (later Queen of King Rama IV). Both attended the foundation stone laying ceremony in 1846.

Wat Rakhangkhositaram Woramahavihara (Wat Rakhang)

Wat Rakhangkhositaram Woramahavihara
(Wat Rakhang)

     Wat Rakhangkhositaram Woramahavihara (Wat Rakhang) is situated on the Thonburi side, opposite Tha Chang Wang Luang Pier. Wat Rakhangkhositaram was originally called Wat Bang Wa Yai and was an ancient temple built during the Ayutthaya Period. King Taksin raised its status to that of a royal temple and had it used as the site of a Buddhist council to recompile the tripitaka. In the First Reign, an ancient bell was discovered on the temple grounds and since that time the temple has been known as Wat Rakhang, or the Temple of the Bell. King Rama I had the bell, which had good tone, removed to Wat Phrasrirattana Sassadaram.

Wat Yannawa

Wat Yannawa

      Wat Yannawa is located on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, on Charoen Krung Road, Yannawa District. It was an ancient temple dating from the Ayutthaya Period. Originally named Wat Khok Khwai. In the Thonburi Period it was raised to the status of a royal temple and was renamed as Wat Khok Krabeu. Later, King Rama I ordered the construction of a new phra ubosot.

Wat Prayurawongsawas Woravihara (Wat Prayoon)

Wat Prayurawongsawas Woravihara
(Wat Prayoon)

      Wat Prayurawongsawas Woravihara (Wat Prayoon) is situated near the approach to the Phra Phuttha Yodfa Bridge, on the Thonburi side of the river. Somdej Chao Phraya Barom Maha Prayurawong (Dis Bunnag), or Somdej Chao Phraya Ong-Yai, ordered its construction in 1828. People generally call it Wat Rua Lek because Somdej Chao Phraya Ong-Yai had cast iron fences imported from England and presented them to King Rama III for using in the Grand Palace. The fences, however, were not to the King's satisfaction so Phraya Prayurawong asked that they be used in a temple instead, and in their place, presented the King with a quantity of sugar equal to the iron in weight.

Wat Thepsirintharawas Rajaworavihara (Wat Thepsirin)

Wat Thepsirintharawas Rajaworavihara
(Wat Thepsirin)

      Wat Thepsirintharawas Rajaworavihara (Wat Thepsirin) is situated near the Kasatsuek Bridge and Hua Lam Phong Railway Station. King Rama V ordered its construction in1876 in memory of Queen Thepsirin, who was his mother. In 1893 he ordered a royal crematorium be constructed on the temple grounds. This was intended for royalty who were not given a state funeral at Sanam Luang and for the general public. It was unusual because normally a royal temple does not have a crematorium.

      On one side of the temple is the well-known Thepsirin School, and on the other side is the monastic residence area and a crematorium for royalty and other important personages.

Wat Thepthidaram Woravihara (Wat Thepthidaram)

Wat Thepthidaram Woravihara
(Wat Thepthidaram)

     Wat Thepthidaram Woravihara (Wat Thepthidaram) is situated on Mahachai Road near Wat Rajanadda and faces the Rop Krung Canal, where in former times stood the eastern wall of the city.

     The temple was founded by King Rama III and was built between 1836 and 1839. The name, thepthida (celestial daughter), refers to Krom Meun Apsorn Sudathep, or Princess Vilas, the eldest daughter of Rama III and a woman of great beauty, who served her father as a personal aide and was very much favored by him, and who joined with him in funding the construction of the temple.

     Wat Thepthidaram is in the Chinese architectural style. There are Chinese statues of both humans and animals in the temple. Of particular interest are those representing Thai women with babes in their arms and wearing traditional hairstyles.

     At this temple between 1839 to 1842 resided the celebrated Thai poet Sunthorn Phu, who was then a monk. During that time, he wrote a Ramphanphilarp poem in which described in detail of the temples sacred precincts and objects and its beauties. The residence in which he lived is preserved, and commemorative observances in his honor are held at the temple every year on June 26th.

Official Website: www.watthepthidaram.info/









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Tag: Wat Thepthidaram Woravihara / Wat Thepthidaram / Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan / Thepthidaram Temple / Wat Watthepthidaram Varaviharn

Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan (Wat Chinoros)

Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan
(Wat Chinoros)

      Wat Chinorasaram Woravihara (Wat Chinoros) is located on the bank of the Morn Canal on Isaraphap Road opposite the Naval Docks. The princely monk, Somdej Phra Maha Somanachao Krom Phra Poramanuchit Chinoros ordered the construction of the temple in approximately 1836.

     King Rama IV ordered the artisans to sculpt and draw pictures of the naga, or mythical serpent, in many places as a reminder of the prince's former name, which was, Prince Wasukri. He also had a crown sculpted that was placed above the frame behind the presiding Buddha image in the phra ubosot.

Wat Chakrawatrachawat Woramahawihan (Yaowarat - Chinatown)

Wat Chakrawatrachawat Woramahawihan
(Wat Sam Pleum)

      Wat Chakkrawadrajawas Woramahavihara (Wat Sam Pleum) is located on Chakkrawad Road and Soi Wanich (Sampeng)(Yaowarat - Chinatown). An ancient temple dating from the Ayutthaya Period called Wat Nang Pleum, its name was changed to Wat Sam Pleum.

     In approximately 1819, Chao Phraya Bodin Decha (Sing Singhaseni), the leading general in the reign of King Rama III, began rebuilding the temple. Upon completion he presented the temple to King Rama III as a royal temple and it was given the name that it bears to this day. The temple has many interesting structures such as the large phra prang, the Mondop Phra Buddhabat, the crocodile pond, and Khao Phra Buddha Chai.

     The phra vihara once housed the Phra Bang, an important Buddha image that was brought from Vientiane. At present this image resides in Luang Prabang, Laos, King Rama IV having returned it to Laos in 1866.

     Besides the usual buildings that are found in a temple such as the phra ubosot, the phra vihara, of which there are three, the tripitaka tower, and the Mondop Phra Buddhabat, there is also a shrine houses a statue of Chao Phraya Bodin Decha. In front of and slightly to one side of the phra ubosot there is a pond where crocodiles were kept, the origin of the expression the "crocodiles of Wat Sam Pleum".

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Address location: Chakkrawat, Samphanthawong, Bangkok, Thailand (Yaowarat - Chinatown)

Tag : Wat Chakrawatrachawat Woramahawihan / Wat Chakkrawadrajawas Woramahavihara / Wat Sam Pleum

The Life in Early Ratthanakosin Era

The Life in Early Ratthanakosin Era

Krabi Krabong practitioners in Thailand

Muay Thai Boran

        For those having a cruising experience along the majestic water of the Chao Phraya River would recognize well the wonder of Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. Lately, the temple just carried a grand festival themed "The Life in Early Ratthanakosin Era" to commemorate the Bicentennial Celebration of His Royal Highness Krom Luang Wongsa Dhiraj Snid, a significant poet and philosopher honoured by UNESCO. The festival included exhibitions featuring the biography of His Royal Highness, and traditional Thai medicine. The Thailand's highest Prang (Khmer-style tower) at the center of the temple is also worth seeing. Standing on the Prang, one can visibly admire the panoramic view of the river in night time. In addition, there was a variety of performances parading to show off such as Thai classical masked play, Thai classical drama, Thai classical dance, puppet show, traditional Thai boxing and traditional Thai food fair. Apart from Thai performances, there were Chinese opera and a lot of other international shows. This represents that Thailand is a harmonious society that accepts all diversities of people.

Tag : The Life in Early Ratthanakosin Era / Rattanakosin / Ratthanakosin

The Importance of Temples in Thai Society

The Importance of Temples in Thai Society


Wat Phra Kaew - Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram

Wat Phra Kaew

Emerald Buddha inner ordination hall

Phra That Doi Suthep Chiang Mai, Thailand

Wat Suan Tan, Nan, Thailand

Two viharns and a chedi at Wat Phra That Chang Kham, Nan, Thailand

     There are 433 temples in the Bangkok-Thonburi area, which is Thailand's capital. This is proof of the supreme importance of Buddhism and temples in Thai society. The temples in Bangkok-Thonburi are usually quite old, dating from the Ayutthaya and early Rattanakosin Periods.

     Formerly, temples were important to Thai society in several ways, such as a school where religious knowledge, reading and writing were taught. At certain temples, various arts and crafts, self-defense, and other subjects were also taught. Parents who wanted their children to obtain learning or enter government service sent them to study at temple schools.

     Even the king sent his sons to study with learned monks. Temples have been places of education for Thai people since the Sukhothai Period. In the reign of King Rama VII of Rattanakosin Period in 1932 the government passed the first national education plan which made the government directly responsible for education. Temples therefore lost their role of educating the public.

     Besides education, temples were also an important source of the arts and the training of artisans. The most outstanding artistic objects are usually to be found at temples, such as murals, bas-reliefs, chapels, vihara, samudkhoi, Tripitaka bookcases and so on. The artisans who created these works of art were usually the monks themselves. Some famous monk-artists in the Rattanakosin Period include Khrua In Khong, who introduced Western techniques in murals of phra ubosot and phra vihara; and Acharn Nak, who painted the murals in the Trai tower of Wat Rakhangkositaram.

    Certain temples in Bangkok-Thonburi contain ancient architectures and antiques that are famous throughout the country and the world, such as Wat Phrasrirattana Sassadaram, the phra prang of Wat Arun, the ubsot (chapel) of Wat Benjamabopit, and the metal prasat of Wat Rajanaddaram.

     Additionally, temples were also the birthplace of Thai customs and traditions and the focal point of each community. Nowadays temples are mainly places of religious learning and for performing religious rites, such as offering Kathina robes, offering picked-up robes, avian thian (candle-light) ceremony, ordinations and cremations.