The monastery is known for its Phra Kring amulets. A model of the Phra Kring amulet stands behind the old ubosot. It is an image of Buddha under Naga, popularly created in Khmer art. In Thai art, the Buddha under Naga generally refers to an episode from the Life of Gautama Buddha after He had attained Enlightenment. That is, in the sixth week after His Enlightenment, He moved from the place called Ajapalanigrodha to sit under the Mucalinda tree (Chik tree). While He was meditating there, a storm arose. The king of Nagas (Nagaraja) named Mucalinda came up from the pond beside and coiled itself around the Buddha in seven coils and spread its seven-headed hood over Him to prevent the stormy rain from touching His body. This seated Buddha attitude is conventionally believed to be the particular image of the one born on Saturday. [1]
Its lower part of the body below the navel is coiled like a snake. The image has a canopy of hoods in the form of Bodhi tree leaves over its head. Commonly, Mucalinda is depicted with seven heads, but sometimes with nine. The Phra Kring amulets contain the seeds of the Canna Lilly (Phuttharaksa) and, when shaken, make a sound.
Wat Khok Jindaram symbolises the multi-cultural harmony in Ayutthaya and the ability for a mixed religious neighbourhood to function peacefully.
Wat Khok Jindaram is in geographical coordinates: 14° 19' 28.20" N, 100° 33' 51.64" E.
Footnotes:
(1) 'Khok' translates as 'mound', 'Jinda' as 'precious stone' while the 'ram' comes from a derived form of the suffix "tharam" used in Sanskrit for a comparative and superlative form (great - greater, strong - stronger).
(2) Khlong Takhian is a still existing canal south of Ayutthaya's city island, running mainly through Pak Kran and Khlong Takhian sub-districts. The canal is named after the Malabar Ironwood, a tree often used for making boats and ship masts. The canal originates at the Chao Phraya River near the St Joseph Church in the former Cochin Chinese Settlement. It has its mouth further south, back in the Chao Phraya River, below the former Portuguese settlement and opposite the northern tip of Rian Island (Ko Rian). The canal was a man-made shortcut or 'Khlong lat' between two stretches of the old Lopburi River at a time the waterway was surrounding Ayutthaya, used by boats to avoid the heavy current of the river and the turbulent waters near the Bang Kraja confluence. Thakhian originates from the former village called Ban Tha Khia near the mouth of the canal.
References:
[1] Intralib, Sontiwan (1991). An outline of the History of Religious Architecture in Thailand. Third Edition December 1991. Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University.
