WAT MUANG





Wat Muang, or the Purple Monastery, is an active monastery north of Ayutthaya in the Pho Sam Ton fields of Pho Sam Ton Sub-district of Bang Pahan in Ayutthaya Province.


The temple was called after the old location "Ban Muang" and is located on provincial Road No2003, 500 meters below the Asian Highway.


Wat Muang was established around 1812 CE and received its boundary stones two years later (1814 CE). It is thus a Rattanakosin period construction. [1]


The temple stood on the right bank of the old Lopburi River (1), in a location where the river made a bend and went straight towards Hua Ro. Due to the construction of the Asian Highway, the stretch of water between Wat Muang and Wat Pa Fai was cut by the road and silted up over time. Locals confirmed there was until the end of the 1980s, a dry canal, which was used as a track on which even cars drove down. It was used before by buffaloes to drink in the river. The canal held only water in the monsoon period. The canal was filled up, and a road was built on top. [2]


Some traces of what was once the Lopburi River still can be found in front of Wat Muang. The remaining stretch of water running from Wat Muang towards Wat Dao Khanong is called Khlong Ban Muang. The stretch from Wat Pa Fai to Hua Ro was known as the Pho Sam Ton River in the early Rattanakosin period. Wat Muang features the classic monastic structures in situ.


The monastery is in geographical coordinates: 14° 25' 42.58" N, 100° 32' 47.21" E.





(View of the premises of Wat Muang)



Footnotes:


(1) The old Lopburi River entered the Bangkok lowland in the Bang Pahan District. The waterway meandered in front of Wat Khao Din (Wat Wara Nayok Rangsan) in Pho Sam Ton Sub-district towards Wat Muang, passing Wat Pa Fai, likely located on its right bank. The area here was altered mainly by the construction of the Asian Highway in the second part of the 20th century, which cut through it. Near Wat Muang, we can find the remnants of the old river bed again. The waterway ran between Thung Ban Lao and Thung Pho Sam Ton towards Wat Tha Yak, near the northern royal tax station (both defunct). The stretch between Wat Muang and Wat Dao Khanong includes numerous old temple sites. Stretches of the old river can be seen left and right of the Wat Muang Canal, but much of the landscape has been altered due to landfilling. The old Lopburi River was, until the early years of the 20th century, an important and heavily used waterway. The river connected the northern area of Ayutthaya with the Hua Ro Market on the northeastern corner of Ayutthaya City Island. The waterway between Wat Muang and the Hua Ro Market, sometimes called the Pho Sam Ton River, consists of three connected canals: Khlong Wat Muang, Khlong Bang Khuat and Khlong Hua Ro.


References:


[1] http://www.watkhok.com - retrieved 21 December 2012.

[2] Interview with locals near Wat Pa Fai - January 2013.





(View of the premises of Wat Muang)