Attraction Details :
Wat
Phra Sri Sanphet is located in Pratu Chai subdistrict, Phra Nakorn Si
Ayutthaya district, Ayutthaya province. The temple is not only a
significant historical site, but also considered as the spiritual center
of Thais for a long time. Situated within the royal palace grounds, Wat
Phra Sri Sanphet is the royal monastery and therefore no monk is
allowed to reside at. However, the temple served to conduct ceremonies
within the royal court, such as the ritual to drink an oath of
allegiance. It is also regarded as an equivalence of Wat Mahathat in
Sukhothai and a model for Wat Phra Sri Ratana Sasadaram (the royal
temple of the Emerald Buddha) or Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
Somdet Phra Ramathibodi I or King
U-thong commanded the construction of his royal house in this area, but
when Somdet Phra Borom Tilokkanat succeeded the throne, the king
considered moving the royal palace further north and converting the
piece of land into a sacred ground which later became this temple.
During the reign of Ramathibodi II, an enormous Buddha image was cast.
The Buddha image of “Phra Sri Sanphetdayan” is 16 meters high and its
surface is coated with 143 kilograms of gold. It had been enshrined
inside the assembly hall until the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 when the
Burmese invaded and melted the gilded gold away. The Buddha image was
seriously damaged, so in the Rattanakosin period Phra Bat Somdet Phra
Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke installed the broken core of Phra Sri
Sanphetdayan in a pagoda inside Wat Phra Chetupon Vimolmangkalararm
Rajvoramahaviharn in Bangkok and named the pagoda “Chedi Sri
Sanphetdayan”.
Somdet Phrachaoyuhua Borommakot was
the first to command the temple restoration. During the reign of Phrabat
Somdet Phra Chulachomklao Chao Yuhua (King Rama V), Phraya Boran
Rachathanin the regional intendant found a considerably large collection
of artifacts in the underground chamber of the pagoda, for example
Buddha images and gold ornaments. Later Field Marshal P. Piboonsongkram
assigned a committee to renovate the ruins until the temple regained its
current condition.
This royal monastery plays an
important role in history of art and archeology. The remaining debris
still evidently portrays how glorious the country was. At the heart of
the temple, there are three adjacent Ceylonese (or bell-shaped) pagodas
situated on rectangular platforms. It is believed that these platforms
were the base of royal houses in the Ayutthaya period. Currently, the
temple is regarded as the symbol of Ayutthaya province.
