Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
as to Queen Somanas, his consort, who had died at the beginning of his reign aged only
17. Wat Somanas stands on twelve acres of land, with moats on three sides and the outer
city moat in front of the compound. Both of these temples have the same distinctive lay-
out, with the
ubosot
,
wiharn
, cloister and
chedi
located in the middle, and two clusters of
monks' dwellings one on each side.
Wat Ratchatiwat, where Prince Mongkut resided before he became Rama
IV
.
The murals at Wat Somanas omit the life story of the Buddha and instead depict a lit-
erary masterpiece from the time of Rama
II
, and are considered to be amongst the finest
works from the fourth reign, using European techniques to portray the sky, trees, and the
lives of ordinary people.
A little way further along the riverbank, on the other side of a small inlet that runs be-
side the National Library, is Wat Ratchatiwat, its magnificent teak sermon hall regarded
as being one of the finest examples of teak construction in Thailand. Originally an Ay-
utthayaera temple named Wat Samor Rai, this was a forest temple in the time when the
area was woodland and marshy ground, and Prince Mongkut came to reside here when
he was a monk. Mongkut began his reform movement known as Thammayut Nikaya at
this temple. He had entered the priesthood in 1824 and spent several years in different
parts of Siam, becoming aware that there were serious discrepancies between the rules
given in the Pali Canon and the actual practices of Siamese monks. Taking up residence
at this then-remote temple, in 1833 he founded the Thammayut movement that endeav-
oured to purify monastic discipline and remove all non-Buddhist elements, such as an-
imism and superstitious beliefs. Monks of this sect are expected to eat only one meal a
day, the food being gathered during the traditional alms round. The temple is regarded
as the birthplace of Thammayut, and Mongkut continued to promote the reforms when
he became abbot of Wat Bowon Niwet, in the northern part of Rattanakosin Island, in
1836. When he became Rama
IV
he founded the first new temple to be devoted to Tham-
mayut; named Wat Ratchapradit, it is a small temple in the corner of Saranrom Park, op-
posite the Grand Palace, and the king financed its construction from his own funds. The