Wat Na Phra Meru, Ayuthaya, Thailand

Wat Na Phra Meru - a beautiful old temple built in 1503 has very interesting history. It was constructed by King Ramadhibodhi II, the tenth king of Ayuthaya dynasty. A historic peace accord between Tabengchaveti, the king of Burma and Somdet Phramachakraphat, the fifteenth king of Ayuthaya dynasty was signed here. It was meant to stop the war in 1563. The two kings discussed peace here with the image of Buddha, the holy book and the monks as witness. I found it interesting to note that PEACE agreements were signed then too!



Two centuries later in 1760 A.D., Thailand was once more attacked by the Burmese. This temple was then used as a base by the invaders. Shells were fired from here to destroy the royal palace. Alonphaya, the Burmese king himself operated the canons to destroy the palace. One of the canons burst during the firing operations which killed the Burmese King. Since then it is believed that the Buddha image protects Ayuthaya from its enemies.


This main Buddha image is extremely beautiful. It is cast in bronze, then lacquered and covered with gold plate. The Buddha image is in sitting posture, dressed in royal robe. This depicts Lord Buddha as a prince before he left home to gain enlightenment and is a very rare one.


Inside the Wi-hahn, we saw a huge green sandstone statue of Buddha. It is believed to be from Sri Lanka, 1500years old belonging to the Dvaravati period. The unique feature of this Buddha image is the joint eyebrows; this is typical of that period.

Don't miss this Wat if you are ever there.

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Wat Lokayasutharam

This Wat is also called as the Temple of reclining Buddha. A simple, graceful huge image of Buddha; usually it is covered with a saffron cloth, but that particular day when we visited the image wasn’t covered. Behind there was the ruins of the vihara, the prang there still stands as a mute proof that it belongs to middle Ayuthaya period.



The image is made of brick and mortar and had just white paint all over. At some places the paint has washed off and looked discolored. The head rested on a lotus flower, feet overlapping left over the right, with equal toes. Observe the picture carefully to see the equalized toes which signify enlightenment and beauty. It is believed that before Buddha’s death, that is before he attained nirvana, he lied on his side, right hand supporting his head. His left hand resting over his body, this posture of Buddha’s nirvana is revered everywhere.



The image was restored in 1954 and again in 1989. It is out in the open exposed to sun and rain, year after year prone to continuous deterioration; it may require another restoration soon.

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Wat Chaiwattanaram

Yet another impressive old monument in the World Heritage Site of Ayuthaya: the Wat Chaiwattanaram.

Ayuthaya was ruled by 33 kings of five dynasties and some among them have built Wats in honor of their beloved ones or to signify a victory in war. Many of those Wats have withstood the test of time. Walking through the ruins of those Wats gave me goose pimples to think how the place would have once reverberated with life. There must have been music, hymns and chants of priests echoing in these places, the kings walked through these same corridors centuries back; can I faintly hear the music, the King’s footsteps? Ruins never cease to excite me.




Wat Chaiwattanaram was built in 1629 by King Prasat Tong, on the site of his mother’s cremation. It was a gift from a son to his mother. The place reminded me of Taj of Deccan which too was built for the same sentiments. From a distance, the huge prangs seemed to beckon. There was a tall one (35m) in the center of a courtyard with chapels in four corners and smaller prangs in between them.



Along the inner walls of the courtyard were seated Buddha images in a line, most of them damaged and broken at the neck. How would you feel walking through these corridors with head less Buddha images lined in one side? There were 120 Buddha images in the attitude of Maravijaya (victory over Mara, the evil one.) along the gallery.

The chapels had crowned Buddha images, the ceilings were black. Were they the signs of fire that damaged this monastery? The King and his descendants performed religious rites here. The complex was also used as a cremation site for the princes, princesses and other royal members of the family.



In 1767 A.D. Ayuthaya the capital of Thailand was besieged by Burmese invaders and the Wat became an army camp. After the mighty empire of Ayuthaya fell, the Wat was abandoned. Soon the inhabitants around were looting the Wat, damaging the statues and were removing the bricks for various purposes. In 1987 the conservation of Wat was taken up by the Fine Arts Dept. and the work was competed in 1992. It is maintained very beautifully today.

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