Wat Suthat

Wat Suthat (full name: Wat Suthat Thepwararam Ratchaworamahaviharn - Thai :: วัด สุ ทัศน เทพ ว รา ราม ราชวรมหาวิหาร ) is a Buddhist temple ( Wat ) in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, capital of Thailand. It has an area of about 40 hectares one of the largest temples of Bangkok. King Phra Phutthayotfa Chulaloke ( Rama I ) left him for a Buddha statue from Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai, build the eight -meter Buddha Shakyamuni.

Location

Wat Suthat is located in the heart of old Bangkok, called the Rattanakosin Island, the Bamrung Mueang Road in Phra Nakhon district.

Directly in front of the temple is Sao Ching Cha, the " Giant Swing ". She was in former times every year the scene of a multi-day Brahmin ceremony in honor of the Hindu god Shiva. On the other side of the street Bamrung Muang Road is the Devasathan, a small Brahmin temple district in which the preparatory ceremonies were held for the swing ceremony.

History

King Phra Phutthayotfa ( Rama I ) ascended the throne of the Siamese Empire in 1782 as the first ruler of the newly established Chakri Dynasty. He intended to build his new capital Bangkok is a replica of Ayutthaya, which had been 15 years earlier completely destroyed by the Burmese. Artists, architects and craftsmen were to build the Royal Palace, the city walls, city gates and the royal temple exactly along the lines Ayutthaya.

As a site for the central temple, the center of the former capital was selected as Mount Meru is the center of the universe. Both the plan of the entire system as well as the architectural style of buildings should take into account rules and Buddhist symbolism. The overall layout should " be performed systematically, neat and carefully so that this temple is the graceful showpiece of the whole country " is.

Just outside the city of Ayutthaya is still the temple of Wat Panang Choeng where a Buddha statue is home of enormous size. The king wanted to have such a representative temple in his new capital. To this end he commissioned Phra Thep Pirehn Torah to bring from Sukhothai almost eight feet tall Buddha statue on the Chao Phraya River to Bangkok. The huge bronze statue was at that time at Wat Mahathat, the main temple of the ancient capital of Sukhothai, of which only ruins remain.

The foundation stone of the new temple on Sunday was the first in February 1807 on the grounds that lay next to a Brahmin monument named " Sao Ching Cha ". The following year, the barge reached the huge Buddha statue Bangkok. It was at Tha Chang ( "Elephant's Pier " ) moored opposite the Royal Palace. The statue was unloaded and placed in a solemn procession to the temple site. There it was installed with a seven -day celebration as the center of the new viharn, later the building was completed around the statue.

Now the king could give the temple its name. The preferred he name was " Wat Maha Suthawat ", but it circulated another name such as " Wat Phra Yai " ( Temple of the Great Buddha statue ) or " Wat Sao Ching Cha ". Recently an agreement was reached on the present name of " Wat Suthat Thepwararam ". This name refers to the divine city of God Indra in Tavatimsa sky. The King died later in 1809, without witness the completion of the temple.

King Phra Phutthaloetla ( Rama II ) continued the expansion of the Viharn. Since he was artistically talented, he put himself on hand, as the huge entrance doors to the Viharn should be decorated with carving. The original door panels are now in the National Museum Bangkok. The king also sent a Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka to procure from Anuradhapura branch of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha is said to have experienced his enlightenment. An offshoot was planted at Wat Suthat, another in Wat Mahathat and Wat Saket. In 1824, the second king died before the age of temple building.

During the reign of King Nang Klao (Rama III. ), Construction work could finally be ended. The king had also build a ubosot ( " ordination hall " ) of comparable size, addition Sala Kan Parian one ( " Sermon Hall" ) and the Sanghawat, the living area for the monks. Finally, a Kampheng Kaeo was drawn ( " Jewels - wall" ) around the entire complex. In 1843 the first abbot was able to take office. In 1847, finally, a great opening ceremony was held. Overall passed as 40 years of laying the foundation stone to the dedication of the temple.

Important buildings

The ground plan of the temple grounds is easy to compare with the symbolic construction of the Meru mountain as it had planned more than 200 years ago the King Phra Phutthayotfa ( Rama I ).

  • In the courtyard are located around the small Kampheng Kaeo ( " Jewels - wall", the inner wall around the Viharn ) a total of 28 Tha, stone pagodas in the Chinese style. It is here to hexagonal building with six sections. Each section has a small window-like openings that provide just enough space for a lantern. The pagodas are reminiscent of the 28 Pacceka Buddhas, which are described on the wall paintings in the Viharn. In the northeast corner of the court, the statue of King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII ) is prepared. It was inaugurated on November 2, 1973. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX. ) Attended this ceremony.
  • Viharn Luang, the Great Chapel, houses the Buddha statue Phra Si Sakyamuni. The building has a length of 126 meters and a width of 26 meters. It is built in the Ayutthaya style, each with a portico front and rear. At the four corners of the Viharn Luang are four smaller pavilions, called Sala Thit whose roof is supported on ten pillars. The roof of the Viharn is covered with green and orange tiles, the roof structure itself is outside and inside of 32 supported by eight pillars. There are three entrance doors front and rear, five windows in each side wall. The interior of the Viharn Luang is decorated with wall paintings, which in the late 1980s have been restored with the financial support of the Federal Republic of Germany. On the walls between the windows and the stories of the 28 Pacceka Buddhas are depicted on the pillars are scenes from the Traiphum shown.
  • The sacred ordination hall ( bot or ubosot ) has the reputation of being the most beautiful in Thailand. It is 72 meters high and 22 meters wide. Your roof is supported by 68 square pillars. On the east and on the west side of the bot there are two entrance doors in the side walls 13 are each mounted window, let the light into the interior of the sanctuary. King Phra Nang Klao (Rama III. ) Had ordered its construction in 1843. The main Buddha statue in Phra bot is Phuttha Tri Lokachet. It was created during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV ), but the exact date is unknown. Before the big statue sits another smaller statue, which is surrounded by eighty disciples of the Buddha. The walls of the ubosot are completely covered from floor to ceiling with wall paintings, the stories from the Thai folklore tell (see also: Himaphan ).
  • The Satta Mahasathan are the " Seven Great stations ", where the Buddha is said to have resided in the following weeks, according to legend, after he had attained enlightenment. You are here symbolized by Chinese Geng shrines or by certain trees. Here at Wat Suthat they are strung along the eastern perimeter. In the past they were the scene of Wian Tian - ceremony in which the Visakha Bucha holiday - believers with burning candles and lotus buds in the hand clockwise walk around the central sanctuary.
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