A ''prasat'' ( th, ปราสาท, from Sanskrit: ), or more accurately, ''kudakhan'' (, from Pali/Sanskrit: ) or ''rueanyot'' (), is a Thai architectural form reserved for royal palaces of the monarch or for sacred religious structures. It is a building featuring an ornate roof structure, usually multi-tiered, with one or more

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

s. The form symbolizes the centre of the universe, which is traditionally associated with the monarch or 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 tradition, he was born in ...

. ''Prasat'' forms are widely used in the buildings of the

Grand Palace The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of B ...

, and are also found in some Buddhist temples ('' wat'') and in the architecture of the temporary crematoria used for

royal funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

s. Architectural historians have classified ''kudakhan'' into several categories, according to the shape of the spire: ''

mondop The ''mondop'' ( th, มณฑป, from Pali/Sanskrit ) is a building form in traditional Thai religious architecture featuring a square or cruciform building with a usually pointed roof. In the narrow sense, it refers to an enclosed square buildin ...

''-shaped, ''

prang Prang may refer to: Places * Prang, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a town of Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan * Prang Besar, an old name for Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia * Prang Ghar Tehsil or Pran Ghar Subdivision, a subdivis ...

''-shaped, ''

mongkut Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathib ...

''-shaped, and others (including stupa-shaped and '' phra kiao''–shaped, depending on the author).

Gallery

''Mondop''-shaped

File:Phra Thinang Sutthai Sawan Prasat.jpg, Sutthaisawan Prasat Throne Hall,

File:Gran Palacio, Bangkok, Tailandia, 2013-08-22, DD 66.jpg, Aphon Phimok Prasat Pavilion, Grand Palace File:พระที่นั่งอนันตสมาคม เขตดุสิต กรุงเทพมหานคร (13).jpg, Rueanyot Borom Mangkhalanusorani,

Dusit Palace Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King C ...

File:พระที่นั่งไอศวรรย์ทิพยอาสน Bang Pa-In Palace - panoramio - CHAMRAT CHAROENKHET.jpg, Aisawan Thipphaya-at Pavilion, Bang Pa-in Palace File:พระเมรุ เจ้าฟ้าเพชร 3.jpg, Royal crematorium of Princess Bejaratana File:Loha Prasat Wat Ratchanatda.jpg, Loha Prasat, Wat Ratchanatdaram

''Prang''-shaped

File:Phra Thinang Wechayan Wichien Prasat.jpeg, Wetchayan Wichian Prasat Throne Hall, Phra Nakhon Khiri File:Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram 11.jpg, Prasat Phra Thep Bidon,

Wat Phra Kaew Wat Phra Kaew ( th, วัดพระแก้ว, , ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex c ...

File:Watpichayart.jpg,

Wat Phichayayatikaram Wat Phichaya Yatikaram Worawihan, also referred to as Wat Phichai Yat ( th, วัดพิชยญาติการาม, วัดพิชัยญาติ) is a Thai Buddhist temple in Bangkok, regarded as one of the most beautiful and ...

''Mongkut''-shaped

File:วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม Temple of The Emerald Buddha (18).jpg, Wihan Yot, Wat Phra Kaew File:Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Bangkok) 02.jpg, Phra Mondop,

Wat Pho Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Recl ...

References

{{reflist Architecture in Thailand Traditional Thai architecture

Gallery

''Mondop''-shaped

''Prang''-shaped

''Mongkut''-shaped

See also

References