Wat Krajom, or the Monastery of the Tent, was located off the city island in the eastern area of Ayutthaya in the Hua Ro Sub-district, just opposite Ko Loi.
The temple stood at the mouth of Khlong Wat Pradu (1) and Khlong Sai (2), a small canal linking earlier the old Pa Sak River (3) with the Lam Khu Khue Na (Front Moat), which became last century the new Pa Sak riverbed. Wat Nang Kha (defunct) stood north, Wat Khian (defunct) east and Wat Nang Chi (defunct) south.
Its period of construction is unknown.
Houses have been built in situ, on which premises we still find old scattered brick fragments. The only remnant is a small shrine encroached by termites. Under the termite hill sits likely an image. Local people refer to it as Phra Hin Kat (พระหินขาด) or the ‘broken stone Buddha.’ Pieces of Buddha images and the upper element of a 'Phra Nak Prok' (Naga Protecting the Buddha) lay around the shrine and broken boundary stones.
The monastery appears on Phraya Boran Ratchathanin’s map of 1926 CE and later on Fine Arts Department maps and is mentioned three times in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya.
In 1699 CE, King Phetraja (reign 1688-1703 CE) was called to interfere in the affairs of Luang Phrabang, which was disturbed for several years owing to the claims of various rival princes to the throne. One of the princes called in the help of Siam, offering to cement the alliance by the gift of his beautiful daughter. King Phetraja sent in his army, but before its arrival, all Lao parties reached an understanding. The beautiful Princess was sent to Ayutthaya as promised. [1]
She arrived in a barge by way of the Canal of the Ficus Rows, and at Wat Krajom, she ascended the embankment. Luang Sorasak, the Uparat, requested King Phetraja that the lady be kept at his palace, which was agreed upon. [2]
"When she arrived at the Monastery of the Tent, she would have turned and ascended towards the embankment, just then the Supreme Holy Lord Omnipotent, the Department of the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of Excellence, issued a holy command to have [His men] come to take the holy royal daughter of the Capital of Glorious Sattanakhanahut up to be kept at the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of Excellence. Then His Majesty came down in holy royal procession right to the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of the Crown, ascended for an audience with the Supreme Holy Buddhist Crown Lord and prostrated Himself to speak to His Holy Compassion and beg His holy royal permission to keep the lady at the Holy Royal Palace Enclosure of Excellence. The King thereupon manifested His holy compassion by being pleased to give her as a holy royal gift to the Supreme Holy Lord Child in accordance with His holy royal preference." [3]
While Uthumphon (reign 1758 CE) was still a monk at Wat Pradu, a rebellion was planned by Prince Krom Mun Thep Phiphit and four nobles. They went to his monastery, prostrated themselves to Uthumphon, and informed him of their plans. The former king told them that it was improper for him to consider such affairs as an ascetic. However, the next day Uthumphon visited his older brother, King Suriyamarin, and warned him of the upcoming rebellion - and asking that the rebels’ lives be spared. As a result, the four nobles were captured, flogged, and imprisoned. Prince Krom Mun Thep Phiphit fled from the Monastery of the Tent and escaped into monkhood at Wat Phanan Choeng – later to be exiled to Sri Lanka.
“About seven or eight days after His Holiness was able to rule the realm, the Department of the Fifth Rank Thep Phiphit accordingly spoke to the King to take His leave and go out to enter the monkhood and live at the Monastery of the Tent. This Department of the Fifth Rank Thep Phiphit was partial towards, and had aligned Himself with, the side of the Front Palace Enclosure. With the Palace Enclosure of the Crown He was not close at all. When the Front Palace Enclosure left to enter the monkhood, He accordingly felt lonely in His holy heart.
Caophraya Aphai Racha, the Phraya of Phetburi, Mün Thip Sena, Master Cui and Master Pheng Can betook themselves out to plot a rebellion with the Department of the Fifth Rank Thep Phiphit. The Department of the Fifth Rank Thep Phiphit, getting a hint [of their intentions], fled from the Monastery of the Tent. [Officials] followed Him and were able to capture Him at the Forest of the Happy Paddy Fields outside the borders. On only the three persons of Caophraya Aphai Racha, the Phraya of Phetburi and Master Cui, [the King] had the holy royal punishment of flogging inflicted and then had all [three] imprisoned. Mün Thip Sena and Master Pheng Can fled and their persons were not recovered at all.
Just at that time, the English ship of a merchant came into the Capital. The King thereupon issued a holy royal proclamation entrusting the Department of the Fifth Rank Thep Phiphit to the ship master to have him taken to be released on the Island of the Langka Continent.” [4]
During the last Burmese war (1766-1767 CE), Wat Krajom was one of the locations where the General of the Burmese armies, Nemiao, ordered the building of a stockade (fort) with bastions from where with large guns Ayutthaya was fired at, leading to the fall of Ayutthaya in April 1767 CE.
"Meanwhile, Nemiao, the general of the armies in the stockade at the Three Fig Trees, thereupon had the Burmese troops advance to set fire to and burn down that Palace at the Elephant Corrals. Then he had them set up stockades at the Elephant Corrals, at the Monastery of the Holy Red Funeral Monument, at the Monastery of the Three Preaching Halls, at the Monastery of the Spired Building at the Monastery of the Tent, at the Monastery of the Lady Nun, at the Monastery of the Jubilant Lady and at the Monastery of the Glorious Fig, and he had them erect bastions in each and every stockade, take large and small guns up into them, and fire them off into the Capital." [5]
The site is in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 49.52" N, 100° 34' 51.19" E.
Footnotes:
(1) Khlong Wat Pradu is a defunct canal once situated off the city island in the northeastern area of Ayutthaya in the Phai Ling Sub-district. The canal was named after the temple Wat Pradu, to which it connected. The mouth of the canal was at the Lam Khu Khue Na in between Wat Krajom and Wat Nang Chi. Based on Kaempfer’s maps, Khlong Wat Pradu linked up with a north-south canal that flowed west of Wat Kudi Dao and Wat Samannakot and connected with Khlong Kramang about 50 metres from its junction with Khlong Ban Bat and Khlong Dusit. The canal can be seen on a photo with references 4064 - BN 391 684 9 Jun 44//F/36 (043) in the Williams-Hunt Aerial Photos Collection. Khlong Wat Pradu ran parallel and north of a wooden bridge, starting at the Wat Pradu Boat landing and leading to the temple. Khlong Wat Pradu has been filled up today but ran earlier just north of the Wat Pradu Songtham premises.
(2) Khlong Sai is a defunct canal once situated off the city island in the northern area, in the Hua Ro Sub-district and today, a stretch of the Pa Sak River. Khlong Sai, or Sand Canal, was a small canal cutting through the eastern mainland, in front of Wat Khae and Wat Chong Lom, going south towards the present Ayutthaya Ship Building Industrial and Technology College, where it joined the Front Moat or Lam Khu Khue Na. (3) The old Pa Sak River ran through Khlong Om, Khlong Hantra, Khlong Dusit and Khlong Khao San. The river was deviated into Khlong Sai and the Front Moat at the beginning of the 20th century.
References:
[1] Wood, William, A.R. (1924). A History of Siam. Chalermnit Press. p. 222.
[2] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 330.
[3] Ibid. p. 365.
[4] Ibid. pp. 468-71.
[5] Ibid p. 517.
