Wat Suwan Dararam Ratchaworawihan

Rating: 4/5 (5 votes)

Operating day: Daily

Operating time: 08.00 - 17.00

 

The temple is located inside the city wall to the southeast of the town island near Pom Phet. It was formerly known as “Wat Thong” and was constructed by King Rama I’s father since the Ayutthaya period. When King Rama I was crowned as the first king of the Rattanakosin period, he had the temple re-established and renamed it “Wat Suwan Dararam” to suggest his parents’ names.

 

The temple’s Phra Ubosot – Ordination Hall – is of the late Ayutthaya style, being situated on a boat-like concave foundation. Its gable depicts the God Vishnu on his mount Garuda. Inside, there are murals of angels on the upper parts and scenes from the Jataka stories on the lower parts of the side walls.

 

The front wall to which the principal Buddha image is facing depicts the scene of the Buddha Subduing Mara from the life of the Lord Buddha, with the Mother Earth Goddess in the centre. Unlike the Phra Ubosot, Phra Wihan – Lecture Hall – does not have a concave foundation and has pillars with a cap of elongated lotus petals. It was built in the reign of King Rama II. Inside, there are fine murals depicting the story of King Naresuan the Great painted in the reign of King Rama VII, which are the prototype of Don Chedi Monument in Suphan Buri.

 

Thaen Phra Si Maha Pho  A platform with lotus petals decoration supporting the sacred Bodhi tree, the shoot of which was brought from India by King Rama IV. There is a brick belfry of a western style nearby. The 2-tiered square structure with a pointed arch door downstairs and a bell tower upstairs is believed to have been built in the reign of King Rama IV during the major renovation.

 

How to get there Use the same route as Chanthara Kasem National Museum, turn right at the T-junction for another 1 kilometre.