| WAT DAWADUNG 1 (วัดดาวดึงส์) |
| Wat Dawadung or the Monastery of the Heaven of Indra was located on the city island of Ayutthaya in the Historical Park in Pratu Chai sub-district. The monastery was The name of the temple is derived from the Traiphum (1). There are no visual traces of the monastery left at ground level. Wat Phra Ram was on its north and Wat Saphan Nak on its east. The "Master Plan for Tourism Development of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and the Neighbouring Provinces" mentions that the area of Wat Dawadung was turned into a tennis court. [1] This tennis court still can be seen on a 2003-2005 digital orthophoto - sheet 51371Vsw. Today the sport installation has been removed in the execution of the "Master Plan on the Conservation and Development of the Historic City of Ayutthaya" dating from 1993, in order to improve the view on the majestic Wat Phra Ram. Its historical background and period of construction are unknown. A mid-19th century map shows Wat Pa Nai on the west bank of Khlong Pratu Thep Mi and south of the canal connecting the latter with Khlong Chakrai Noi. This does not match with Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 which situates Wat Dawadung northeast of Wat Pa Nai and north of the canal connecting Khlong Chakrai Noi and Khlong Pratu Thep Mi; south of old Talaeng Kaeng Street. The former monastery was situated in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 9.66" N, 100° 33' 44.20" E. Footnotes: (1) The Traiphum or the "Three Worlds" consists of the Immaterial World, the Fine Material World and the Sensuous World. The latter consists of eleven realms, dominated by the five senses. Four realms are states of deprivation (which include the animal and hell realms - the underworld), one is the world we presently live in (human beings) and six are happy destinations - the dewa heavens. Dawadungsa is the second tier of the dewa heavens, reckoned from the earth. Dawadungsa was located above the peak of Mount Meru (Phra Sumeru) the centre of the universe. In the Dawadungsa Heaven is the palace of Indra (Wechaiyanta) where Indra resides and where the Kalpa trees flourish (Th: Kamaphruk), whose branches furnish everything that the angels can desire. [1] References: [1] Master Plan for Tourism Development of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya and the Neighbouring Provinces - Tourism Authority of Thailand - 6 August 1988 - page 4-58. [2] The Wheel of The Law - Henry Alabaster (1871) - page 82, 171. |
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| Text & maps by Tricky Vandenberg - January 2009 Reviewed February 2011, January 2013 |
| (Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno 1926) |
| (Detail of a 19th century map - Courtesy Sam Chao Phraya Museum) |
| (Former tennis court in location) |
| (Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region / the location of Wat Dawadung on this map is in my opinion not correct) |