Wat Intharawihan or Wat Intharavihan (, ) is a Third Class Royal

wat A wat (, ; , ; , ; ; , ) is a type of Buddhist and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State (Myanmar), Yunnan (China), the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Etymology The word ''wat'' is borrowed from the Sanskrit ''v ...

(temple) located in the Phra Nakhon District of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

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 ...

. It is noted for its high standing Buddha statue known as Luang Pho To or "Phra Si Ariyamettrai" that was erected on the inspiration of the still highly revered abbott

Somdej Toh Somdet To (1788–1872; Buddhist Era, B.E. 2331–2415), known formally as Somdet Phra Buddhacarya (To Brahmaramsi) (; ), was one of the most famous Buddhist monks during Thailand, Thailand's Rattanakosin period and continues to be the most widel ...

Location

The Wat is at the northern edge of the Banglamphu area of Phra Nakhon, Bangkok. Access to the temple is by boat along the Chao Praya River close to Wisut Kasat Road. Road access is through local transport. The northbound Samsen Road leads to this wat, which is hidden below the elevated expressway. Also called Wat In, of the late

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 ...

, when it was called Wat Bang Khunphrom Nok for the name of the suburb where it is located.

History

The Wat is a royal temple categorized as Class III, which was built at the beginning of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, and was originally called Wat Rai Phrik "Vegetable fields Wat". It was so named as it was surrounded by vegetable gardens. The land where the temple is situated was provided by

Rama I Phutthayotfa Chulalok (born Thongduang; 20 March 1737 – 7 September 1809), also known by his regnal name Rama I, was the founder of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (now Thailand) and the first King of Siam from the reigning Chakri dynasty. He asc ...

to accommodate prisoners of war. During the reign of King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

it was refurbished by Chao Inthawong, whereafter it was known as Wat Intharavihan. Chao Inthawong also brought a priest from Vientiane to preside as the abbot of the temple.

Luang Pho To Buddha statue

The Wat's main architectural depiction is a high, wide standing

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

referred to as Luang Pho To or "Phra Si Ariyamettrai" (

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

). Building the Buddha statue was started in 1867 and it took sixty more years to complete it in 1927. The image is made of brick and stucco.

, the then Abbott of the temple was the inspiration to build it. He died at the foot of the image in 1871 when it was being built. A gilded bust of this abbot is enshrined at the temple entrance. The Buddha image is carrying bowl and stairways at the sides to the back behind the statue provides access for devotees to paste gold leaf on the statue. The image is called Luang Phor To. In 1982 during 200th anniversary of the establishment of Bangkok city the image was refurbished and fitted with Italian golden mosaic tile. The statue which is decorated in glass mosaics tiles is gilded with 24-carat gold. The topknot, called

ushnisha The ushnisha (, Pali: ''uṇhīsa'') is a protuberance on top of the head of a Buddha. In Buddhist literature, it is sometimes said to represent the "crown" of a Buddha, a symbol of Enlightenment and status the King of the Dharma. Descripti ...

, of the Buddha statue contains a relic of

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

that was given as a gift by the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...

. The enshrinement of the relic in the ushnisha was done by Prince

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn (born 28 July 1952) is King of Thailand. He is the tenth Thai monarch of the Chakri dynasty since ascending the throne in 2016 with the regnal name Rama X. The only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirik ...

, the knot was placed in 1978.

Features

Temple

The temple has an

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

hall called the

Ubosot The ordination hall (Pali: ''sīmā'') is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual (''upasampadā'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha. ...

(prayer hall) also known linguistically as Bod. Its architecture reflects the style followed during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It was refurbished in 1982. Italian marble is used to decorate the lower part of the hall and the walls are decorated with traditional paintings. The

sema Sama (; ) is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sama" Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Ed. P. Bearman, T. B ...

boundary posts marking the limits of the Ubosot are mounted over small naga images. The murals on the walls have the theme of the daily life. There is also a practice at this venue to make and sell

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s. An image of Phra Puttahachan, who was an abbot in the temple is enshrined in a separate newly constructed chamber in the temple. The image is made of wax and is placed over a spring of water. Water collected from various regions of Thailand is preserved in containers placed in the shelves in the chamber. Air conditioning is provided to preserve the wax image. The same is dimly lighted and devotees do meditation here as it has a special ambiance.

Guanyin shrine

There is another shrine here dedicated to

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

, a female form of

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 ...

, a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

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 ...

Worship

Devotees who visit the temple for worship offer

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

, a boiled egg and a garland of flowers which they place with reverence at the foot of the Buddha image.

Gallery

Image:Wat Intharawihan - Temple front.jpg, Detail on the front of the wat Image:Wat Intharawihan - Statue.jpg, An ornamental statue Image:Wat Intharawihan - Statue 2.jpg, ''Luang Pho To'' or ''Luang Phaw Toh'' Image:Wat Intharawihan - Buddha 2.jpg, A woman prays at Buddha's feet

References

Bibliography

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