Money Town - 22 Walks in Bangkok - page 43

Rama III completed construction, and although there is some dispute as to how high the
prang actually is, the generally accepted figure is 67 metres (219 ft), with a circumferen-
ce around the base of 234 metres (767 ft). Whatever the height, it is the highest prang
in Thailand. A prang symbolises Mount Meru, the mountain that stands in the middle of
Hindu-Buddhist cosmology, and in the case of Wat Arun it rises from the fabulous region
of Himavant, which is covered in forests and lakes and is the home of sages, imps, demons
and dragons, represented here by carved and moulded figures against a background of
porcelain flowers and leaves. The main prang is called the phraprang , and there are four
smaller prangs at the base, known as prangthit , symbolising the four continents and hous-
ing statues of the gods within alcoves. The phraprang has four terraces, and four mon-
dops , or pavilions bearing images, are located on the second terrace.
There are sixteen structures of importance within this large site, which covers thirteen
acres, and many of them have been built or changed during successive reigns. The wiharn
was built in the reign of Rama I , and rebuilt in the reigns of both Rama II and III . Inside
the wiharn is the principal Buddha image, brought from Vientiane in 1858 and named
Phra Arun. he ubosot dates from the time of Rama II and is distinctive with its yellow
and green tiled roofs, with the eight metal statues of elephants near the entrance having
been cast in 1846. Seated inside the peripheral gallery are 120 Buddha images, and there
are 144 stone lions, 112 soldiers, and 16 noble-men, all Chinese in style. The eight bound-
ary markers, the sema , are housed in marble porches and intricately carved. There are six
riverside pavilions, all Chinese in style, built from green sandstone and dating from the
reign of Rama III , and the mondop housing the Buddha footprint also dates from this peri-
od and was designed with a Chinese-style roof.
Those in search of history rather than symbolism should visit the old ubosot , which
dates back to the earliest days of the temple and is located in front of the prang . he Siam
Chronicles record that King Taksin lived in this ordination hall for a brief period before
his execution, and his bedstead, a modest teak slab, can be seen there today. Near to the
old ordination hall is the original chapel, dating back to the same era. Near here is a gilded
statue of Nai Raung, a monk who burned himself to death in 1790 in front of the sermon
hall, promising that if he achieved Nirvana, he would make a nearby lotus bloom. he
lotus duly bloomed and when the monk was properly cremated his ashes turned green,
white, yellow and purple. The ashes were kept in the hall for sermons. Another pavilion
honours in a similar way Nai Nok, a monk who burned himself to death in 1861 in front of
the old ordination hall. A small area in the garden, under a bodhi tree, has become a shrine
with decapitated figures placed here in commemoration of the death of King Taksin.