Wat Phra Mahathat – Ayutthaya, Thailand
This temple, north of the former Grand Palace, was the ritual center of the city of Ayutthaya in Thailand. It was a royal monastery that served as the seat of the Sangaraja –the head of the Buddhist monks of the Kamayasi Sect.
Wat Phra Mahathat dates back to 1374 AD, but what we see today are the remnants of a 1663 restoration –done by order of King Prasatthong– which was later burned during the Burmese sacking of Ayutthaya in 1767.
By 1911 the main prang collapsed, giving looters the opportunity to dig for hidden treasures. It wasn’t until 1956 that the government undertook to restore all of Ayutthaya’s ruins. During the restoration, the Fine Arts Department excavated the main prang and found a buried treasure chest containing valuables like: a relic of Lord Buddha (placed inside a golden casket), several golden Buddha images, and many other gold, ruby, and crystal objects. These are now housed in Bangkok’s National Museum.
Wat Phra Mahathat’s biggest draw is the sandstone Buddha face enveloped in the roots of a bodhi tree. All that you can see of this statue is a head peering enigmatically from the roots, which is somewhat a surreal but beautiful image.
These are AMAZING photos!!!!!! I’m obsessed with Buddhas.
Thanks Andi. I too have a buddhas obsession. I find them so interesting and misterious. They were one of the reasons that made me want to go to Thailand in the first place.