| WAT PHRAYA TIKARAM (วัดพระญาติการาม) |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Wat Phraya Tikaram is located off the city island in the eastern part of the city. It can be a bit difficult to find. The best way to see this active monastery is to turn northward on Rojana Road at the busy intersection before Grand Street. It is easy to reach by boat via a canal flowing just north of it. Wat Phraya Tikaram is an active monastery. It has all the required structures for providing services to the lay community. Most of the buildings in situ appear to be designed in the Bangkok-Period. The ordination hall was built in an east/west axis. Its triple layered roof frames an intricately carved gable. This has been partially decorated with mirrored-tiles. The outer walls of the ubosot have been painted yellow, and sema stones (old and new) mark the boundaries. The ordination hall also has a number of votive tablets on display. Many Buddha images and Hindi deities had been placed in increments around this building. The images are in a variety of poses, but standing and walking Buddha images are a reoccurring theme at Wat Phraya Tikaram (which is uncommon in Ayutthaya). The bell tower is situated in front of the ordination hall. It has windows in each of its cardinal directions and is flanked by standing Buddha images. The principle chedi is bell-shaped and painted gold. A Buddha image sits beside this as an elephant and monkey offer praise. There are also multiple sermon halls in situ. Each has been constructed in the Bangkok style. One has a chedi on top of its three-layered roof. Naga serpents protect the entrances while slithering down the stair rails. However, it is the buildings beside the canal that offer the most interesting view at Wat Phraya Tikaram. The gables have been intricately crafted with mythological figures, Hindi Deities, and Buddha images. The background consists of blue mirror tiles. One of the most remarkable features of this monastery is a large outdoor Buddha image. This image reflects the Sukhothai style, as it is in a walking pose with right arm if blown by wind. There is not much known about this monastery’s history or its date of establishment. It was once located in a remote countryside area, so its former importance must have depended on the city’s waterways. Wat Phraya Tikaram is situated near the intersection of two canals. Khlong Hantra (the old Pa Sak River) flows north of this monastery meeting with Khlong Wat Krasang (which moves in an east/west axis). During the Ayutthaya period, this second canal connected Ayutthaya to Nakhon Nayok through various switchbacks. The canal’s name changes to Khlong Ban Bat as it passes beside Wat Phraya Tikaram, and this ultimately feeds into the new Pa Sak River beside the city island. Wat Phraya Tikaram may have been used by traders along this route or by local farmers involved in rice cultivation. The monastery’s name refers to a noble of somebody that is highly revered, but the Royal Chronicles do not mention anybody by this name. |
| Text & photographs by Ken May - September 2009 Maps & photo show by Tricky Vandenberg - March 2015 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| (View of the temple premises) |
| (View of the ubosot) |
| (Decoration of the gable) |
| (Detail of a 1993 Fine Arts Department map - Courtesy Khun Supot Prommanot, Director of the 3th Regional Office of Fine Arts) |
