WAT KONG JAK (วัดกงจัก)
Wat Kong Jak is located west of the main island, near the Chao Phraya River. It was
once situated within the
Khlong Maha Nak defensive system of canals. For the most
part, this ruin consists of a brick mound; however, a small shrine has been constructed
on site to protect the remains of several Buddha images. One image includes a head that
has survived. A large number of bricks, pottery shards, and roof tiles are scattered
around this site. Nevertheless, there are no surviving chedi, sermon halls, or boundary
walls. The area is prone to heavy flooding, which has taken its toll on the former
monastery.

There is not much history known about this ruin. It first appears on the
Phraya Boran
Rachathanin map drafted in 1926. Charnvit Kasetsiri and Michael Wright point out that a
Lao settlement was located in this area. They trapped and sold birds that were later
released for merit [1]. However, there is no clear connection between Wat Kong Jak
and a Laotian community. The impoverished neighborhood remains Buddhist for now;
however Muslim populations are rapidly growing in the vicinity.

References:

[1] Discovering Ayutthaya - Chranvit Kasetsiri & Michael Wright (2007) - page 139.
(Brick work in situ)
Broken Buddha image in situ
Text & photographs by Ken May - April 2009
Addendum

The defunct monastery is named after a disc-like weapon such as used by the Hindu
God Vishnu; the Sudarshana Chakra with 108 serrated edges. The Sudarshana Chakra
is considered to be one of the most powerful weapons in Hindu mythology.

The monastery is mentioned as
Wat Wong Jak on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map.

The site is located in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 36.81" N, 100° 32' 45.70" E.
Addendum & maps by Tricky Vandenberg
Updated March 2016
(Broken Buddha images in situ)
(Brick work in situ)
Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno 1926
Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map
(Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno
1926)
(Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map -
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region)