((UNESCO World Heritage))
Ayutthaya ruins: Wat Phra Mahathat
ruins of Buddhist temple "Wat Mahathat"
Episode of Wat Mahathat
Tomo&Chouchou joined Japanese group tour organized by HIS. We visited Ayutthaya on the second day. We had already known about the head of Buddha in a tree's root. So we were very excited to see it.
We arrived at Wat Mahathat. We could find the ruins built by red bricks once we entered Wat Mahathat. We were already excited. Then we found a Buddha statue. Most of the head of Buddha statues in Wat Mahathat were taken by Burmese army. We were at least glad to see a whole Buddha.
We arrived there in the evening. The sun has begun to set. We hurried to see the main spot of Wat Mahathat. We could find the head of Buddha in a tree. It was very sacred. We could feel the power of mother nature and god. We could also feel that the right thing would be protected in any difficult situation. We lowered ourselved under the head of Buddha for the photo. We received the power of Buddha. We could appreciate the opportunity to be able to visit Wat Mahathat.
After that, we saw main prang of Wat Mahathat. It was very big and tall. We could imagine that it would be much bigger and taller before being destroyed.
We saw the gallery of Rabieng Khot. There were many headless Buddhas there. We felt sad. We couldn't believe such a cruel act of cutting off the heads of Buddha statues. We strongly felt that we should not repeat such kind of invasion and war.
Around the central prang, some prangs and the wall remains. We could see Khmer style prangs. We could also find another whole Buddha statue in Wat Mahathat. It was the sitting Buddha. We could approach this Buddha.
The sunset of Wat Mahathat was very beautiful. The shape of prangs or pagodas and the colorful sky were matched well. We lost the word by the beauty of the sunset. We even felt the time stopped. As a result, it was good to visit Wat Mahathat in the evening. We left Wat Mahathat before getting very dark.
History of Wat Mahathat
Why are there headless Buddha statues?
Burmese army invaded Ayutthaya. There were gold leaves on the heads of Buddha statues. Burmese army cut off the heads of Buddha statues and brought back to Burma. It was a proof of victory.
Why is the Buddha head embedded?
When Burmese army cut off the heads of Buddha statues, they forgot to bring it back. After many years past, it was found in a tree.
Information
Wat Phra Mahathat,
Temple of the Great Relic, Monastery of the Great Relic,
[Thai: วัดมหาธาตุ พระนครศรีอยุธยา ]
Open: 8:00 - 18:00
Address: Naresuan Rd, Tha Wasukri, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
Relating article
- Wat Lokaya Sutha in Ayutthaya
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