Phra Prang Sam Yot, also known as Phra Prang Sam Yod, is a 13th-century

Angkorian Khmer architecture (), also known as Angkorian architecture (), is the architecture produced by the Khmer during the Angkor period of the Khmer Empire from approximately the later half of the 8th century CE to the first half of the 15th century ...

temple in

Lopburi Lopburi (, , ) is the capital city of Lopburi Province in Thailand. It is about northeast of Bangkok. It has a population of 58,000. The town ('' thesaban mueang'') covers the whole ''tambon'' Tha Hin and parts of Thale Chup Son of Muea ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The temple is currently a popular tourist destination.

Description

The temple was built by King

Jayavarman VII Jayavarman VII (), known posthumously as Mahaparamasaugata (, c. 1122–1218), was king of the Khmer Empire. He was the son of King Dharanindravarman II (r. 1150–1160) and Queen Sri Jayarajacudamani. He was the first king devoted to Buddhism, ...

of the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

in the early 13th century. Jayavarman intended for the temple to be an important location in the royal cult surrounding himself, as it would increase the legitimacy of his rule. In addition, the temple served to showcase the prestige of the Khmer Empire in Lopburi (then known as Lavo) as it had only recently captured the city from its

Cham Cham or CHAM may refer to: Ethnicities and languages *Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia **Cham language, the language of the Cham people ***Cham script *** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script * Cham Albani ...

and Mon rivals. One prominent statue in the temple was dedicated by Jayavarman to "Jayabuddhamahanatha", which is translatable to "Victorious Buddha, the Great Protector" - further evidence of the temple's martial origins. Built along the lines of contemporaneous

Khmer architecture Khmer architecture (), also known as Angkorian architecture (), is the architecture produced by the Khmer during the Angkor period of the Khmer Empire from approximately the later half of the 8th century CE to the first half of the 15th century ...

, the temple is made from brick with a stucco exterior, the latter possibly being inspired by

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

architectural tradition. The structure has three towers, each with a corresponding deity; the north tower is dedicated to

Prajnaparamita file:Medicine Buddha painted mandala with goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th century, Rubin.jpg, A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Trans ...

, the central tower to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, and the south tower to

Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...

. The temple is furnished with art depicting Buddhist iconography. Originally dedicated to

Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

, the temple survived the end of the Khmer influence over Lavo, and the temple was later rededicated to

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

when Lopburi came under the control of the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

. During the reign of

Narai the Great King Narai the Great (, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the Prasat Thong dynasty. He was the king of Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1656 to 1688 and arguably the most famous king of the ...

(1656-1688) of Ayutthaya, a prayer hall (''Wihar'') was added to the temple complex. Phra Prang Sam Yot became a registered historical site by the

Fine Arts Department The Fine Arts Department (, ) is a government department of Thailand, under the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is managing the country's cultural heritage. History The department was originally established by King Vajiravudh in 1912, split o ...

on 2 August 1936. An image of Phra Prang Sam Yot is featured on a

Thai baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

note, and the temple is featured prominently on both the provincial seal and flag of Lopburi Province. The temple is often studied by Thai students. While it remains the site of active prayer, several sources have noted the temple is more popular as a tourist destination due to its resident population of monkeys. The temple itself however is in relatively poor condition.

Monkeys

The temple is famous for its large population of

crab-eating macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque or cynomolgus macaque, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. As a synanthropic species, the crab-eating macaque thrives near human settlem ...

monkeys, which live in and around the temple grounds. The monkey population has always been present in Lopburi, but the start of the locally-held Monkey Buffet Festival in 1989 led to a dramatic increase in their population. The festival serves a dual purpose, drawing in tourists while also honoring the traditional Lopburi belief that monkeys are disciples of ''Jao Paw Phra Kan'', a spirit which protects the city. While the monkeys provide a valuable boon to local tourism, their activities have caused some damage to the temple's exterior (they are prevented from entering the temple).

References

{{Lopburi Angkorian sites in Thailand Lopburi province Temples in Thailand

Description

Monkeys

See also

References