AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



WAT LOKAYA SUTHA





Wat Lokaya Sutha is a restored temple ruin situated within the Ayutthaya Historical Park west of Bueng Phra Ram in the Pratu Chai Sub-district.


The ruin is south of Wat Worachettharam, while in the other directions, there are only built-up areas. The temple is part of a cluster of three restored temple ruins, Wat Rakhang and Wat Worachettharam.


We can access the cluster via Khlong Tho Road and a stretch known as Na Rong Mai Road, the latter referring to a wood factory on the site of today’s Wat Worapho. A small road leads to it, starting at the Grand Palace's south-west corner, passing Wat Rakhang and Wat Worachettharam to reach the reclining Buddha of Wat Lokaya Sutha. Field Marshal Plaek Phibun Songkhram ordered the construction of this road in 1949 CE. Another easy access route is via U-Thong Road, Soi 30, next to Wat Tuek, which also leads to Wat Lokaya Sutha.


Wat Lokaya Sutha, Wat Maha That, Wat Phra Ram, Wat Phutthaisawan and Wat Ratcha Burana follow the Khmer concept of temple construction. All are Temple Mountains, consisting of a central tower surrounded by a courtyard and a roofed gallery. A row of Buddha images lined the gallery.





(View of Wat Lokaya Sutha – Picture taken August 2022 CE)



In a booklet about Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom, the section of “Phraya Kong Phraya Phan” mentions that around the year 955 in the Year of the Cock, Sri Nanchai built Wat Lokaya Sutha. Whether we should interpret this as 955 Buddhist Era (BE) or Chula Sakarat (CS) is unclear. If around 955 BE, it means the temple’s construction dates back to 412 CE, which is impossible. If around 955 CS, it brings us to the year 1597 CE in King Naresuan's reign (1590-1605 CE), which would be more plausible. The exact year of construction is unknown. [1]


Wat Lokaya Sutha is likely deserted since the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 CE. The Fine Arts Department and the Alcoholic Beverages Factory, both in the same neighbourhood, joined hands in 1954 CE to maintain the area and search for the temple foundations within the massive brick mound.


Wat Lokaya Sutha has a typical east-west alignment. The Fine Arts Department restored nearly all the ruins on Ayutthaya’s city island, including this monastery, in a major effort. Construction companies, under the watchful eye of archaeologists, reconstructed the foundations of walls, floors and pillars.


The entrance of the complex is in the east. We find here the foundations of a large vihara with back and front porticos. To the left and right are two other vihara foundations nearly the same size.


The main vihara's back portico penetrated the square gallery, typical for the Ayutthaya period. The square gallery was 67.5 metres on each side. Today, we can only observe the brick foundations.


Inside the gallery stood the ordination hall or ubosot and the main prang. The prang stood east of the ubosot and west of the main vihara. The ordination hall is 33 x 17 metres, but only the foundations remain.





(View of Wat Lokaya Sutha – Picture taken August 2022 CE)



The main prang, representing the cosmic Mount Meru, stood 30 metres high at the centre of the sanctuary, symbolising the centre of the universe. Porches faced the four cardinal directions, but only the eastern porch led to the "cella," or small central hall inside the prang, via a short flight of stairs. The "cella" housed a Buddha image in earlier times.


Outside the gallery to the rear of the monastery stood a vihara with a reclining Buddha. Only the foundations of the vihara are visible as the structure collapsed in earlier times. Twenty-four octagonal brick pillars supported the roof.


The reclining Buddha, constructed of brick and mortar, is 42 metres long and 8 metres high, with the head facing north, the face looking west, and the feet facing south. The west was considered inauspicious and represented death, impurity, and the setting sun. The feet are stacked at right angles, with toes of equal length. A lotus flower supports the head in place of a pillow. The image has a long face. The arm supporting the head is vertical instead of being folded as in the early Ayutthaya and U-Thong periods, as can be seen at Wat Phutthaisawan and the reclining Buddha at the old town of Sing Buri known as Phra Non Chaksi. The vertical arm is a characteristic of reclining images made in the Middle Ayutthaya Period (1488 - 1629 CE).” [2]


Restoration of the reclining Buddha image occurred in 1956 CE during the term of Field Marshall Phibun Songkhram (Kasetsiri et Al, 2007). It is presumed that the Buddha image was originally unadorned, but during the restoration, the head was likely modified to resemble an adorned Buddha image.


The reclining Buddha image was restored again in 1989 CE as a merit-making offering to former Prime Minister Thawan Thamrongnawasawat (1901–1988 CE).


A large bell tower stands in the southwestern part of the monastery premises.


From the initial three chedis (as seen on the ground plan), two small chedis in the late Ayutthaya Period style still stand along the eastern outer wall (foundations visible). From the large chedi south of the two remaining chedis, only a portion of the spire remains.


Northwest of the reclining Buddha image stands an intriguing chedi with Lan Na characteristics. The chedi stands on a redented brick base and has an almost prang-like shape. The lower niches feature standing Buddha images, while the upper niches have sitting Buddha images. Some of the stucco seems to be well preserved.





(The bell tower of Wat Lokaya Sutha – Picture taken November 2008 CE)



Noh Na Paknam


Noh Na Paknam was a prolific writer, art historian, and preservationist who worked closely with Silpakorn University and the Fine Arts Department and wrote extensively on Thai temples, antiques, and murals. He spent five months in the Ayutthaya area visiting known temples and ruins from November 1966 to March 1967 CE. He visited Wat Lokaya Sutha on 9 and 22 November 1966 CE. Below are his findings.


"Wat Lokaya Sutha is completely dilapidated and not even the ordination hall remains, it is still better than others because of its flat terrain and lack of dense trees, as it is now a jujube orchard. He always kept the area clear. The remains of a small prang (tower) were visible nearby, with some stucco decorations remaining. A copy of its design was made. Behind the large reclining Buddha (a reconstruction) was the original ordination hall, with many boundary markers (sema) scattered around. These were early Ayutthaya-style markers, carved from fine-grained slate, measuring 1.32 x 0.91 x 0.15 meters, considered very ancient. To the east of the ordination hall was a small, old prang with a low base, believed to be from the early Ayutthaya period. A copy of its design was made." [4]


Wat Lokaya Sutha has a small prang (tower) almost identical in appearance to the small prang at Wat Phrao.


Large slate boundary markers, over a metre or one and a half metres high and almost a line thick, dating back to the early Ayutthaya period, were discovered at Wat Lokaya Sutha.


The reclining Buddha here, as with most reclining Buddha images in Ayutthaya, faces east.





(Stupa at Wat Lokaya Sutha – Picture taken October 2009 CE)



​Kaempfer’s map


Kaempfer's sketch and draft map show Wat Lokaya Sutha. Temple access was possible by water as well as by land—a short canal running towards the sanctuary diverted from the Khlong Chang Maha Chai. The latter branched off to the west from Khlong Pak Tho Canal through the Chang Maha Chai watergate near Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan. The short canal ended up in a kind of impoundment south of the sanctuary. The short canal ran under the bridge on the road, along the northern bank of Khlong Chang Maha Chai. Kaempfer's drawing of the temple shows three spires. To the east, he draws another spire. [4]


On the east side of Wat Lokaya Sutha runs a small canal called Thang Hua Phai Canal in the old documents, but this watercourse is absent from Kaempfer's sketch. In that area, the German doctor working for the Dutch United East-India Company draws a pond or marsh. South of this marsh on the other side of the Khlong Chang Maha Chai, he draws what looks like a stretch of water, maybe a part of the Thang Hua Phai Canal. There seems to be a small bridge over this watercourse on Kaempfer's draft map.


Kaempfer draws more temples opposite Wat Lokaya Sutha, on the other bank of Khlong Chang Maha Chai, on his draft map. A temple seemingly surrounded by a wall stands on the south side of a bridge over Khlong Chang Maha Chai. This temple sits more or less in the location of Wat Monthian today.

A 19th-century map shows Wat Lokaya Sutha and indicates the prang's existence. Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map (PBR), drafted in 1926 CE, shows the sanctuary in the same position.


On the 19th century map (วัดโลกย์สุธา) (1) and the PBR map (วัดโลกสุธา), the temple is called Wat Lok Sutha, translated as the “Monastery of the Celestial World”. At present, the ruin is called Wat Lokaya Sutha (วัดโลกยสุธา). Where this present name derivation comes from is not known to the author.

However, despite its massive size and prime location, little is known about the history of Wat Lokaya Sutha.

The ruins of Wat Lokaya Sutha are in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 20.19" N, 100° 33' 10.97" E.

Footnotes:

(1) โลก = world สุธา = celestial สุธรรม = Good Dharma.





(The reclining Buddha of Wat Lokaya Sutha – Picture taken November 2011 CE)



References:


[1] Krom Sinlapakorn (1968), Phra Rachawang lae Wat Boran nai Jangwat Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya (Fine Arts Department).

[2] Amatyakul, Tri (1957). Guide to Ayudhya and Bang-Pa-In. Prachandra Press, Bangkok.

[3] Kasetsiri, Charnvit & Wright, Michael (2007). Discovering Ayutthaya.Toyota Thailand Foundation.

[4] Uluchada, Prayoon aka Noh Na Paknam (2527). Five Months in the Midst of Ayutthaya's Brick Rubble. (Hā Dư̄an Klāng Sākʻit Pūn Thī ʻAyutthayā). Bangkok.

[5] Kaempfer, Engelbert - Werke 4. Kritische Ausgabe in Einzelbänden. Herausgegeben von Detlef Haberland, Wolfgang Michel, Elisabeth Gössmann - Engelbert Kaempfer in Siam. – Iudicum Verlag GmbH, München, 2003 – edited by Barend Jan Terwiel.



Selected PICTURES



Pictures taken November 2008 CE



Pictures taken October 2009 CE



Pictures taken Augustus 2022 CE



MAPS



Map 1 - Detail of a 19th-century map. Courtesy of the Sam Chao Phraya Museum. Remark: the map is oriented south.
Map 2 - Detail of Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map, 1926 CE. Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya.
Map 3 - Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map. Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department 3rd Region.
Map 4 - Google Earth.



BUDDHA HEAD IMAGES



Archaeologists found many heads of sandstone Buddha images of the Ayutthaya period on the premises of Wat Lokaya Sutha. Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit displays some of these heads.



GROUND PLAN OF WAT LOKAYA SUTHA



Reference: Krom Sinlapakorn (1968), Phra Rachawang lae Wat Boran nai Jangwat Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya (Fine Arts Department).





No. 1: The reclining Buddha image, dating back to the Ayutthaya period, sits in front of the temple and is built of brick-and-mortar. The image was 42 meters long, 8 meters high, with lotus flowers supporting the Buddha's head. Fingers and feet were of the same length. The government repaired to the damaged parts in 1956 CE and plastered them in a yellowish colour. In the centre of the front, there is a masonry base for offerings, 1.39 meters long and 84.50 meters wide. Twenty-four octagonal brick pillars remained with a vihara covering the Buddha image. But after the vihara crumbled, there remained a large carved stone reclining Buddha in the Polonnaruwa style of Sri Lanka, dating back to the same era of the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 - 1438 CE).


No. 2: The outer brick wall is gone, but its foundations remain. The wall had a length of 120.90 meters and a width of 71.10 meters.


No. 3: Only the foundation of the gallery remains. The gallery was 67.50 meters long and 6.30 meters wide.


No. 4: A angulated chedi built in brick and plastered, located on the four corners of the Ubosot. The chedis had a circumference of 7.20 m and a height of 6 m.


No. 5: Bai Sema or boundary stones made of slate, all broken and damaged.


No. 6: The ordination hall is 33 meters long and 14.70 meters wide. Only the foundations are left. A porch protrudes in the front and back.


No. 7: The main prang stood behind the ordination hall and consisted of bricks and cement. The Khmer stupa is about 30 meters high but is damaged and leaned slightly to the north. The hall is 14.10 meters long and 11.40 metres wide.


No. 8: A vihara located on the north side of the main vihara with a length of 36.30 meters and a width of 14.50 metres. Only the foundations of the building are left.


No. 9: The main vihara standing in the middle is 49.50 meters long and 20.10 meters wide. Only the foundations of the building and the base of the main Buddha image are left.


No. 10: A vihara located on the south side of the main vihara with a length of 35.40 metres and a width of 13.20 metres. Only the foundations of the building are left, and the Buddha image is damaged.


No. 11: A damaged rectangular chedi situated slightly away from the outer wall. It is a square pagoda standing in a row of 3 chedis with a circumference of 8.70 meters.


No. 12: A damaged large chedi built with brick-and-mortar and situated south of the three small chedis.


No. 13: A damaged chedi situated northwest of the reclining Buddha image is 3.30 meters wide.


No. 14: Slightly damaged brick-and-mortar bell tower in Ayutthaya style about 15 meters away from the reclining Buddha image. No bell present.


To the south was a Thai commemoration inscription on a marble stone dedicated to "Luang Bannakorn Ratchataphan" (Tian Unananon),” the Director of the Liquor Factory.



When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



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