Wat Phra Sri Sanphet

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet was the most important temple in the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It was located in ground of the Grand Palace. It is the royal monastery with no resident monks served to conduct ceremonies for royal functions.The temple is regarded as an equivalence of Wat Mahathat in Sukhothai and served as a model for Wat Phra Sri Ratana Sasadaram (the royal temple of the Emerald Buddha) or Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.

At the center of Wat Phra Sri Sanphet are three very large bell shaped stupas, which have become the landmarks of Ayutthaya Historical Park. The stupas were built to enshrine the ashes of Ayutthaya Kings -King Boromatrailokanat and his two sons, King Ramathibodhi and King Boromatrailokanat II. These stupas are considered typical of the Ayutthaya style.

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet housed an enormous gilded standing image of the Buddha. The image is 16 meters high and its surface is coated with 343.2 kilogram of gold. The royal assembly hall was used until the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. The temple was invaded and the invaders melted the gilded gold and the Buddha image was seriously damaged. The King Rama I of the Rattanakosin period took the remaining bronze core to Bangkok where it was restored and enshrined in a chedi of the Wat Phra Chetupon Vimolmangkalararm or Wat Pho and named the pagoda Chedi Sri Sanphetdayan.

Right next to Wat Phra Sri Sanphet is the Phra Mongkhon Bophit Wiharn. It was not a temple. However, it is one important historical attraction located nearby Wat Phra Sri Sanphet. The main feature at Wat Mongkhon Bophit is Phra Mongkon Borphit image, one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand seated in the position of Subduing Mara with the style of the combination of U-thong and Sukhothai. Once you visit Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, you can also drop by the Phra Mongkhon Bophit Wiharn, another interesting attraction at the same time.