AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



WAT PA MOK





The reclining Buddha at Wat Pa Mok one sen five fathoms long.


In the "Testimony of the King from Wat Pradu Songtham", there are eight sacred places listed outside the city of Ayutthaya, being the glory of the capital since olden times. [1] One of these eight places is Wat Pa Mok, which features a reclining Buddha 50 meters long. (1) [1]


Wat Pa Mok is on the right bank of the Chao Phraya in the Pa Mok District of Ang Thong. Pa Mok refers to an area with abundant Water Jasmine trees (Wrightia Religiosa). The city of Pa Mok is located 12 Km south of Ang Thong.


The area of Pa Mok is mentioned on different occasions in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya, mainly in preparation for or during warfare. Pa Mok must have been one of the strategic passageways for the Burmese, Lao (Chiang Mai) and Ayutthaya armies situated on a stretch of the present Chao Phraya River called at that time the Pa Mok Noi Canal [2]





(The vihara of the reclining Buddha at Pa Mok – Picture taken August 2013 CE)



Pa Mok was apparently in a strategic position because it was located near the confluence of a canal connecting the present Noi and Chao Phraya Rivers. Armies were used to establish their camps in this area during warfare.


It is said that King Naresuan (reign 1590-1605 CE) visited this temple to pay homage to the reclining Buddha of Pa Mok before going into battle with the Maha Uparacha of Burma - Minchit Sra - in 1592 CE. Still, I found no trace of such a record in Cushman's English translation of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. This battle is known as the "Battle of Nong Sarai" or the "Elephant Battle" (Yuddhahatthi). (2)


We read that Prince Naresuan established a military camp at Pa Mok and, during the night, got a prophetic dream in which he fought with an enormous crocodile on the flooded west side of Pa Mok and killed the beast. The Brahmins prophesied a victory for the king. A painting recalling this story can be found in the prayer hall of Wat Suwan Dararam. The story continues that when the prince mounted his elephant, he saw a relic of the Buddha, the size of an orange, appearing in the skies from the south to the west, and he prayed that he might be victorious in battle (3).


"At ten thum, the King dreamt a prophetic dream that a spate of waters flooded the forest to the west, that he went wading around in the water and met a large alligator, that they fought and that the King killed the alligator. When he awoke, the King immediately ordered the astrologers to interpret. Phra Horathibòdi prophesied, “This time, the armies are enormous and the fighting will culminate in a great elephant battle. Your Majesty, however, will be victorious, wading in pursuit of and killing Your adversaries and enemies just as in the dream You went wading around through the flowing water.” The King listened and was delighted. Having completed donning the ornaments reserved for royal battle, he proceeded to the platform for mounting elephants to await the auspicious moment and beheld a Great Holy Relic of the Buddha the size of a Seville orange perform a miracle by advancing from the south, rotating clockwise and passing on to the north. His Majesty was completely suffused with joy, raised his hands in veneration with his ten fingers joined together, and prayed for [the relic’s] blessing for victory against his adversaries." [3]





(Wat Pa Mok – Picture taken August 2013 CE)



The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya describe how the Buddha was moved from its original location. Around 1725 CE, the abbot of Wat Pa Mok contacted Phraya Racha Songkhram to inform him that the river had eroded its banks in his area, and the west bank collapsed already in front of the vihara of Phra Phuttha Saiyat, making the image tumble in the water within one year. (4) Phraya Ratcha Songkhram informed on his tour King Phumintharacha (reign 1709-1733 CE). (5) The Phraya went to investigate the situation himself and, on his return, offered the king to take care of the movement of the Buddha image.


The Uparacha, also present, asked the Phraya how he would proceed, and the latter explained the course of action. The Uparacha was somewhat sceptical about the feasibility of the works and suggested destroying the image and building a new one. Finally, the Buddhist Sangha was consulted and decided it was inappropriate to raze the image. Phraya Ratcha Songkhram guaranteed the work of moving the image, on failure, losing his life. King Thai Sa ordered the preparations to move forward. During five months ropes, pulleys and windlasses were made.


The work itself started in 1726 CE, and the king ordered a Tamnak (Royal pavilion) built in the vicinity of Ban Chi Pha Khao and went from time to time to stay at the pavilion together with the Uparacha to survey the works. At first, the vihara was taken down, and then it took about five months to prepare the statue for movement. After the image was lifted and deposed on lorries, a three-day festivity was held. On an auspicious moment somewhere between mid-1726 and begin 1727 CE, the reclining Buddha was moved to its final location. The Buddha image was lifted 50 centimetres higher than its original position, and a new base was constructed underneath. (6)





(Illustration of the translocation of the Buddha of Pa Mok at Wat Pa Mok)



"They had holes bored in the base to make fish tooth serrations and then [had] lorries brought forward to support [the crosspieces], inserted the crosspieces and clamped them tightly [to the lorries]. Then They had holes bored in the remaining spaces and then [had] other crosspiece timbers inserted. Then, the figure of the Holy Reclining Buddha ascended onto the backs of the lorries. Then they had the path along which it would be pulled to [its new site] prepared for [a distance of] four sen and ten wa. Pools were filled in in two places, elephants were brought to trample it so it was compacted, and it was beaten flat so it was level. Then boards two niu wide were laid down on it, and three kam and three wa posts were brought and rolled along [on top of them] to make them roughly even with each other." [4]


When all the works on the image were completed, a new vihara was built over it, and several monastic constructions were added to the site, such as a long covered passageway, a scripture hall, a seminary, a funeral monument, etc. This additional work took another five to six years. The temple was not yet dedicated when King Thai Sa became ill and died in 1733 CE.


The temple was finally dedicated in 1734 CE by King Borommakot (reign 1733-1758), who came that year in the month of May in military formation along the river to Pa Mok. He stayed at the Royal Pavillion in Ban Chi Pha Khao. For three days in a row, he went up in the afternoon in procession to listen to the Buddhist prayers. Three hundred monks gathered for the inauguration were offered food, cloth and other items as alms. The king staged a 3-day long festival in the area in celebration of the reclining Buddha. On the last day of the festivities, there was an elephant tusk-toughening. In the evening, a heavy storm developed, and the king returned to Ayutthaya in military formation.





(The reclining Buddha at Wat Pa Mok – Picture taken February 2018 CE)



Additional information found in situ

On an inscription stone on the south side of the covered passageway, we read the following additional information. The image of Phra Phuttha Saiyat contains 36 relics. The Buddha image was moved by King Thai Sa to the location of Wat Talat (Monastery of the Market) and renamed Wat Pa Mok. In 1863 CE, King Mongkut (Rama IV - reign 1851-1868 CE) ordered the repair of the Pa Mok Monastery and one year later held a Royal Kathin ceremony at the place. Twenty years later, in 1833 CE, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V - reign 1868-1910 CE), on his turn, held here a Royal Kathin.

On a frame of a picture of Phraya Boran Ratchathanin (Phon Dechakhup) at the backside of the image sits an information board which recounts to us that on a visit of King Chulalongkorn and his retinue on an inspection round to the north, they came to greet Phra Phuttha Saiyat in Wat Pa Mok Woravihan in 1901 CE. He found the Buddha image damaged on the backside where some carved historical stone slab was removed scratches and scrapes were visible. The king ordered the image to be repaired and better cared for. Later, Phraya Boran Ratchathanin (Phon Dechakhup) discovered an old text, a royal poem regarding Phra Phuttha Saiyat Wat Pa Mok, underneath the scripture hall Udom Wachirayan on the premises. The text in 69 chapters dated from the period of King Thai Sa, when his younger brother Prince Phon (later King Borommakot) was Minister of the Palace and Auspicious Places. Prince Damrong Rachanuphap (1862-1943 CE) got the 69 steles incorporated in the framework of Wat Phra Phuttha Saiyat in 1917 CE.

On a drawing featuring the displacement of the image in 1726-7 CE, there is a text which states the image dates from the Sukhothai period. (7) It was made of brick and mortar and covered with gold. Phra Maha Thera Lailai offered 36 relics, being what I understood old sacred Buddha images, to Maha Phuttha Sakhon named Kasetriya (presumably the King) to be incorporated into Phra Phuttha Saiyat.

The site is in geographical coordinates: 14° 28' 55.88" N, 100° 26' 54.30" E.





(The reclining Buddha at Wat Pa Mok – Picture taken August 2013 CE)



Footnotes:

(1) The "Testimony of the king from Wat Pradu Songtham" gave a length of 1 Sen and 5 Wa, which is about 50 meters (1 Sen = 40 meters, 1 Wa = 2 meters). The image is, in fact, only half that size. Some sources give 22.58 meters precisely.
(2) Nong Sarai was a sub-district which merged with Don Chedi Sub-district (Suphanburi), and the merged district received the latter's name. The battle allegedly occurred in Phang Tru, an area in Nong Sarai Sub-district. King Naresuan ordered a funeral monument built to depose the remains of the slain Burmese crown prince. [5] The said monument was in the place of the present Don Chedi Memorial. I said allegedly because some sources stated the above as being incorrect. In the Burmese Chronicles, it is written that the Crown Prince died of a stab wound three years after the battle. Some historians refer to Phukhao Thong as the victory monument built by King Naresuan to commemorate the battle, which is said to have taken place in the Phukhao Thong Plains instead of Phang Tru. [6]
(3) Likely, he saw Venus, the Morning Star.
(4) The Phan Canthanumat Chronicle states 1714 CE [1076 CS + 638] as the year the work of demolishing the old vihara to move the Buddha image was started. In fact, 1724 CE would have been closer to the exact date. It took Phraya Ratcha Songkhram five months of preparation prior thus, the abbot's warning regarding the collapsing of the river bank must have been given in 1723 CE following this source. The British Museum, Reverend Phonnarat & Royal Autograph Chronicles give 1725 CE [1087 CS + 638] as the year the abbot warned Phraya Ratcha Songkhram. The last chronicles have been followed here. [4]
(5) Also called King Thai Sa.
(6) The Phan Canthanumat Chronicle states 1727 CE [1089 CS + 638] as the date the reclining Buddha was moved to its new position. The British Museum, Reverend Phonnarat & Royal Autograph Chronicles give April 1726 CE [1088 CS + 638] as the date when everything was ready for the statue to be moved but did not indicate the exact moment of the movement (after a propitious period, day and time …..). [4]
(7) Apparently referred to in the Northern Chronicles (not checked as not in my possession)

References:

[1] Pongsripian, Vinai, Dr. (2007). Phanna phumisathan Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya: Ekasan jak Ho Luang. Geographical description of Ayutthaya: Documents from the palace. Bangkok: Usakane. p. 107.
[2] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 106.
[3] Ibid. p.126.
[4] Ibid. pp 409-413.
[5] Ibid. p. 131.
[6] Krairiksh, Piriya (1992). A Revised Dating of Ayudhya Architecture (II). Journal of the Siam Society. Vol 80.2. p. 15.





(Wat Pa Mok on Google Earth - Digital Globe 2013 CE)



Selected PICTURES



Pictures taken August 2013 CE



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