Wat Maha That or the “Monastery of the Great Relic” is located on the city island
in the central part of Ayutthaya in Tha Wasukri sub-district. The temple is situated on the
corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road. The monastery stood on the
west bank of Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak, an important canal, which has been filled up
somewhere in the early 20th century. In ancient times the temple was likely fully
surrounded by canals and moats. The structure has been registered as a national historic
site by the Fine Arts Department on 8 March 1935 and is part of the Ayutthaya World
Heritage Historical Park.
History
The exact date of the establishment of Wat Maha That is difficult to assess.
The Luang Prasoet version of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya put its construction in
736 Chula Sakarat (CS) or 1374 of the Christian Era, during the reign of King
Borommaracha I (r. 1370-1388), somehow 23 years after the establishment of
Ayutthaya. The chronicles mention that the central prang had a height of 46 meter.
In 736, a year of the tiger, King Bòromracha I and the Venerable
Thammakanlayan first erected the great, glorious, holy jeweled reliquary,
towering one sen and three wa, to the east of the royal lion gable. [1]
Later versions of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya state that Wat Maha That was
established by King Ramesuan (r. 1388-1395) after his attack of Chiang Mai in 1384
(746 CS). But this date is not corroborating with his period of reign.
Then the King went out to observe the precepts at Mangkhalaphisek Hall. At
ten thum he looked toward the east and saw a Great Holy Relic of the Lord
Buddha performing a miracle. Calling the palace deputies to bring his royal
palanquin, he rode forth. He had stakes brought and pounded into the ground
to mark the spot. The great holy reliquary which he built there was nineteen wa
high, with a nine-branched finial three wa high, and named the Maha That
Monastery. Then the King had the Royal Rite of Entering the Capital
performed and festivities were held in the royal residence. [2]
In general, historians bet on the two horses and take as granted that the construction of
the monastery was started by King Borommaracha I and completed in King Ramesuan’s
reign. In the second version the prang was 38 meter high with on top, a finial of 6 meter.
An earlier source (1), Jeremias Van Vliet, a chief merchant of the Dutch East India
Company in Ayutthaya, wrote in his “Short History of the Kings of Siam” in 1640, that it
was Prince U-Thong, the later King Ramathibodhi I, who built Wat Maha That.
Then Thao U Thong began to re-establish the city on the fifth day of the
waxing fourth moon (in our reckoning being the month of March) in the Year
of the Tiger and called it Ayutthaya. He also built three temples which are still
considered to be the most important in the whole kingdom: the Nopphathat, the
most holy; Ratchaburana, the same size and shape as the Nopphathat but not
visited by the kings because of a prophecy that the first king who goes in there
will die shortly thereafter; and Wat Doem still the foremost [monastic?] school.
After Thao U Thong had built the aforementioned city, he had the entire
population called together and declared himself king. [3]
The chronicles mention that King Borommaracha II (r. 1424-1448) attacked Angkor
in 1431 and had a large number of sacred images of oxen, lions and other creatures
removed from the temples there. These images were brought to Ayutthaya and installed
as offerings at Wat Maha That.
In 793, a year of the boar King Bòromracha II went and seized Nakhòn Luang.
He then had his son, Prince Nakhòn In, ascend the royal throne of Nakhòn
Luang. At that time the King then had Phraya Kaeo and Phraya Thai and all of
the images brought to Ayutthaya.] [BCDF: The King then had Phraya Kaeo,
Phraya Thai, and their families, as well as all the images of sacred oxen and all
the images of lions and other creatures, brought along. When they reached
Ayutthaya, the King therefore had all of the animal images taken and presented
as offerings, some at the Phra Si Ratana Maha That Monastery and some at the
Phra Si Sanphet Monastery. [4]
Wat Maha That was one of the most important monasteries of the Ayutthaya kingdom,
not only because it was the religious centre and enshrined relics of the Buddha, but also
because of its proximity to the Grand Palace. It was a royal monastery and the seat of
the Supreme Patriarch of the City Dwelling sect till the end of the Ayutthaya period - at
par with the Supreme Patriarch of the Forest Dwelling sect, which had its seat at Wat
Yai Chai Mongkhon (called Wat Pa Kaeo in earlier times). Van Vliet wrote in 1638 in
his “Description of the Kingdom of Siam” that from the highest ecclesiastic regents,
namely the four bishops of the principal temples of Judia, “The bishop of the Nappetat
(2) has the supreme dignity” [5]
In the past, it was the venue of important royal ceremonies and celebrations. Van Vliet
describes the splendor of yearly Royal procession to Wat Maha That on the occasion of
Kathin, where the Ayutthayan Kings “made their offerings to the gods and prayed for
the welfare of the country”. An excerpt from “The Description of the Kingdom of
Siam” of 1638 can be read here [7].
Some sources state that during King Songtham’s reign (r. 1610/1611-1628) the prang
fell in decay and the upper part of the main prang came down. Van Vliet although wrote
in “The short History of the Kings of Siam” (1640) that the tower collapsed in the third
year of King Prasat Thong’s reign (r. 1629-1656), thus being 1632.
In the third year of his reign the golden tower of the Nopphathat suddenly
collapsed without a crosswind, thunder, or lightning. He had it quickly erected
again, but before this tower was totally restored, the scaffolding (beautifully
durably made of bamboo) also collapsed unexpectedly during a rain to
consequence, strange omens were seen but were kept secret by the soothsayers.
[8]
Prasat Thong restored the stupa in 1633 and increased it considerably. The prang was
raised to 44 meters and reached at that time, with its finial, a height of 50 m.
In 995 (1633 AD), a year of the cock, the King in His holy compassion had the
holy stupa of the Monastery of the Great Relic, which had been destroyed
earlier, restored. Originally the main section had been nineteen wa, with a sky
trident spire of three wa, so the King said, “The original form was extremely
squat. Rebuild it so it is a sen and two wa high but retain the sky trident spire
so that together they equal one sen and five wa.” When it was built it looked
conical and it was ordered that makha wood be brought and added to the brick
and that mortar be taken and added to it. In nine months it was completed and a
ceremony to dedicate it was ordered to be held on a grand scale. [9]
Wat Maha That was restored again in King Borommakot’s reign (r. 1733-1758). Four
porticos were added to the prang, which was restored at the same time as the royal
vihara and the ordination hall. No evidence of restoration of the monastery could be
found after. Obviously chedis, prangs, and viharns were added on several occasions in
time. At the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the monastery was set on fire in the Burmese
attack.
Wat Maha That housed before an unusual Buddha image of green stone believed to be
made in the Dvaravati style (Mon) dating from 707 - 757 AD. A governor of Ayutthaya
got this statue moved to Wat Na Phra Men during the reign of King Rama III, where it
still resides in a small vihara next to the ubosot.
The main prang of Wat Maha That survived until the reign of King Rama V, as seen in a
photograph taken in 1903, early 1904. On 25 May, 1904, at 0500 Hr in the morning,
the main prang collapsed at the level of the niche. The prang fell further apart in 1911
during the reign of King Rama VI. The Fine Arts Department restored it partially. The
symmetrical base with staircases on the four sides is all what remains of the once
majestic prang.
Wat Maha That was certainly not exempted from looting. From its destruction in 1767
until its restoration by the FAD last century, the temple has been prone of severe looting
and damage by illegal excavation.
From the collection of the aerial photograph Peter Williams-Hunt, who took pictures
during reconnaissance missions of Royal Air Force in the 2nd World War, I choose two
photographs to indicated the state of the ruins of Wat Maha That in the year 1946
(photo 1 - photo 2). It is obvious that quite a bit of restoration had been undertaken by
the Fine Arts Department (photo 3).
Excavations
In 1956 the Fine Arts Department started excavations at Wat Maha That. At first
workers, found in the main chamber of the principal prang, half buried in the sand under
the pedestal of the pagoda, a solid gold lion, sitting in a fish-shaped container decorated
with a gilded motif and filled with other gold accessories.
At a later stage the smell of sandalwood oil hung in the air and the upper ventilation hole
of the crypt was found. A shaft was discovered in September, when a vertical
excavation from the floor of the relic chamber was performed.
Aphivan Saipradist recounts the story of one of the workers, Mian Youngpradit, digging
for the crypt in its analysis as follows:
It was both exciting and tiring. We had only a crow bar and a basket. And we
had to dig just a big enough hole to go through, layer by layer, until we reached
the main crypt 17 meters underneath. We had to use a lantern. But the
ventilation was so poor that breathing became more difficult. We had to lower
leafy guava branches down the hole to help with the ventilation. The noise of
the crow bar touching the stone in the tiny hole was heart wrenching. When it
hit the box, the compressed air suddenly burst out of the tiny hol
Wat Maha That or the “Monastery of the Great Relic” is located on the city island
in the central part of Ayutthaya in Tha Wasukri sub-district. The temple is situated on the
corner of the present Chikun Road and Naresuan Road. The monastery stood on the
west bank of Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak, an important canal, which has been filled up
somewhere in the early 20th century. In ancient times the temple was likely fully
surrounded by canals and moats. The structure has been registered as a national historic
site by the Fine Arts Department on 8 March 1935 and is part of the Ayutthaya World
Heritage Historical Park.
History
The exact date of the establishment of Wat Maha That is difficult to assess.
The Luang Prasoet version of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya put its construction in
736 Chula Sakarat (CS) or 1374 of the Christian Era, during the reign of King
Borommaracha I (r. 1370-1388), somehow 23 years after the establishment of
Ayutthaya. The chronicles mention that the central prang had a height of 46 meter.
In 736, a year of the tiger, King Bòromracha I and the Venerable
Thammakanlayan first erected the great, glorious, holy jeweled reliquary,
towering one sen and three wa, to the east of the royal lion gable. [1]
Later versions of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya state that Wat Maha That was
established by King Ramesuan (r. 1388-1395) after his attack of Chiang Mai in 1384
(746 CS). But this date is not corroborating with his period of reign.
Then the King went out to observe the precepts at Mangkhalaphisek Hall. At
ten thum he looked toward the east and saw a Great Holy Relic of the Lord
Buddha performing a miracle. Calling the palace deputies to bring his royal
palanquin, he rode forth. He had stakes brought and pounded into the ground
to mark the spot. The great holy reliquary which he built there was nineteen wa
high, with a nine-branched finial three wa high, and named the Maha That
Monastery. Then the King had the Royal Rite of Entering the Capital
performed and festivities were held in the royal residence. [2]
In general, historians bet on the two horses and take as granted that the construction of
the monastery was started by King Borommaracha I and completed in King Ramesuan’s
reign. In the second version the prang was 38 meter high with on top, a finial of 6 meter.
An earlier source (1), Jeremias Van Vliet, a chief merchant of the Dutch East India
Company in Ayutthaya, wrote in his “Short History of the Kings of Siam” in 1640, that it
was Prince U-Thong, the later King Ramathibodhi I, who built Wat Maha That.
Then Thao U Thong began to re-establish the city on the fifth day of the
waxing fourth moon (in our reckoning being the month of March) in the Year
of the Tiger and called it Ayutthaya. He also built three temples which are still
considered to be the most important in the whole kingdom: the Nopphathat, the
most holy; Ratchaburana, the same size and shape as the Nopphathat but not
visited by the kings because of a prophecy that the first king who goes in there
will die shortly thereafter; and Wat Doem still the foremost [monastic?] school.
After Thao U Thong had built the aforementioned city, he had the entire
population called together and declared himself king. [3]
The chronicles mention that King Borommaracha II (r. 1424-1448) attacked Angkor
in 1431 and had a large number of sacred images of oxen, lions and other creatures
removed from the temples there. These images were brought to Ayutthaya and installed
as offerings at Wat Maha That.
In 793, a year of the boar King Bòromracha II went and seized Nakhòn Luang.
He then had his son, Prince Nakhòn In, ascend the royal throne of Nakhòn
Luang. At that time the King then had Phraya Kaeo and Phraya Thai and all of
the images brought to Ayutthaya.] [BCDF: The King then had Phraya Kaeo,
Phraya Thai, and their families, as well as all the images of sacred oxen and all
the images of lions and other creatures, brought along. When they reached
Ayutthaya, the King therefore had all of the animal images taken and presented
as offerings, some at the Phra Si Ratana Maha That Monastery and some at the
Phra Si Sanphet Monastery. [4]
Wat Maha That was one of the most important monasteries of the Ayutthaya kingdom,
not only because it was the religious centre and enshrined relics of the Buddha, but also
because of its proximity to the Grand Palace. It was a royal monastery and the seat of
the Supreme Patriarch of the City Dwelling sect till the end of the Ayutthaya period - at
par with the Supreme Patriarch of the Forest Dwelling sect, which had its seat at Wat
Yai Chai Mongkhon (called Wat Pa Kaeo in earlier times). Van Vliet wrote in 1638 in
his “Description of the Kingdom of Siam” that from the highest ecclesiastic regents,
namely the four bishops of the principal temples of Judia, “The bishop of the Nappetat
(2) has the supreme dignity” [5]
In the past, it was the venue of important royal ceremonies and celebrations. Van Vliet
describes the splendor of yearly Royal procession to Wat Maha That on the occasion of
Kathin, where the Ayutthayan Kings “made their offerings to the gods and prayed for
the welfare of the country”. An excerpt from “The Description of the Kingdom of
Siam” of 1638 can be read here [7].
Some sources state that during King Songtham’s reign (r. 1610/1611-1628) the prang
fell in decay and the upper part of the main prang came down. Van Vliet although wrote
in “The short History of the Kings of Siam” (1640) that the tower collapsed in the third
year of King Prasat Thong’s reign (r. 1629-1656), thus being 1632.
In the third year of his reign the golden tower of the Nopphathat suddenly
collapsed without a crosswind, thunder, or lightning. He had it quickly erected
again, but before this tower was totally restored, the scaffolding (beautifully
durably made of bamboo) also collapsed unexpectedly during a rain to
consequence, strange omens were seen but were kept secret by the soothsayers.
[8]
Prasat Thong restored the stupa in 1633 and increased it considerably. The prang was
raised to 44 meters and reached at that time, with its finial, a height of 50 m.
In 995 (1633 AD), a year of the cock, the King in His holy compassion had the
holy stupa of the Monastery of the Great Relic, which had been destroyed
earlier, restored. Originally the main section had been nineteen wa, with a sky
trident spire of three wa, so the King said, “The original form was extremely
squat. Rebuild it so it is a sen and two wa high but retain the sky trident spire
so that together they equal one sen and five wa.” When it was built it looked
conical and it was ordered that makha wood be brought and added to the brick
and that mortar be taken and added to it. In nine months it was completed and a
ceremony to dedicate it was ordered to be held on a grand scale. [9]
Wat Maha That was restored again in King Borommakot’s reign (r. 1733-1758). Four
porticos were added to the prang, which was restored at the same time as the royal
vihara and the ordination hall. No evidence of restoration of the monastery could be
found after. Obviously chedis, prangs, and viharns were added on several occasions in
time. At the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767, the monastery was set on fire in the Burmese
attack.
Wat Maha That housed before an unusual Buddha image of green stone believed to be
made in the Dvaravati style (Mon) dating from 707 - 757 AD. A governor of Ayutthaya
got this statue moved to Wat Na Phra Men during the reign of King Rama III, where it
still resides in a small vihara next to the ubosot.
The main prang of Wat Maha That survived until the reign of King Rama V, as seen in a
photograph taken in 1903, early 1904. On 25 May, 1904, at 0500 Hr in the morning,
the main prang collapsed at the level of the niche. The prang fell further apart in 1911
during the reign of King Rama VI. The Fine Arts Department restored it partially. The
symmetrical base with staircases on the four sides is all what remains of the once
majestic prang.
Wat Maha That was certainly not exempted from looting. From its destruction in 1767
until its restoration by the FAD last century, the temple has been prone of severe looting
and damage by illegal excavation.
From the collection of the aerial photograph Peter Williams-Hunt, who took pictures
during reconnaissance missions of Royal Air Force in the 2nd World War, I choose two
photographs to indicated the state of the ruins of Wat Maha That in the year 1946
(photo 1 - photo 2). It is obvious that quite a bit of restoration had been undertaken by
the Fine Arts Department (photo 3).
Excavations
In 1956 the Fine Arts Department started excavations at Wat Maha That. At first
workers, found in the main chamber of the principal prang, half buried in the sand under
the pedestal of the pagoda, a solid gold lion, sitting in a fish-shaped container decorated
with a gilded motif and filled with other gold accessories.
At a later stage the smell of sandalwood oil hung in the air and the upper ventilation hole
of the crypt was found. A shaft was discovered in September, when a vertical
excavation from the floor of the relic chamber was performed.
Aphivan Saipradist recounts the story of one of the workers, Mian Youngpradit, digging
for the crypt in its analysis as follows:
It was both exciting and tiring. We had only a crow bar and a basket. And we
had to dig just a big enough hole to go through, layer by layer, until we reached
the main crypt 17 meters underneath. We had to use a lantern. But the
ventilation was so poor that breathing became more difficult. We had to lower
leafy guava branches down the hole to help with the ventilation. The noise of
the crow bar touching the stone in the tiny hole was heart wrenching. When it
hit the box, the compressed air suddenly burst out of the tiny hol
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