What’s in a name?
There seems to be confusion regarding the position and the name of King Chakkrapath’s funeral monument for his Chief Queen Wat Sop Sawan, Wat Suan Luang or Wat Suan Luang Sop Sawan.
Phraya Boran Ratchathanin, the Superintendent Commissioner of Monthon Ayutthaya from 1925 till 1929 CE and Prince Damromg Rajanuphab believed that Wat Sop Sawan must have been a small temple in existence before King Maha Chakkraphat’s reign located adjacent to Suan Luang. Queen Suriyothai was cremated in the location where her body was brought during the war, whereafter a temple was established called Wat Suan Luang Sop Sawan. Both agreed the chedi of the monastery contained the ashes of Queen Suriyothai. [3]
Prince Damrong Rajanuphab confirms the above in his book ‘Our Wars with the Burmese.’
"The dead body of Somdet Phra Suriyothai was placed at Suan Luang (Government Garden), the place where Wang Lang was built. At the present day it is to the south of barracks of the soldiers. When the war ended, Somdet Phra Maha Chakkraphat built a temporary structure for the cremation of the body of Somdet Phra Suriyothai in Suan Luang, which adjoins the boundary of Wat (Monastery) Sop Sawan. He built a monastery at the place of cremation where a large pagoda, (Phra Chedi) is a landmark existing at present and the monastery is known as “Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan.” [4]
Amatyakul, in his booklet ‘Guide to Ayudhya and Bang-Pa-In’, also speaks of Wat Suan Luang Sop Sawan.
"Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan is situated in the western part of the city (on the premises of the old cantonment). It was built by King Maha Chakraphat on the premises of the royal garden (Suan Luang) near Wat Sopsawan which was there already. Hence the name was Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan." [5]
The Fine Arts Department (FAD) mentions on their information board that Chedi Suriyothai is situated on the premises of Wat Sop Sawan, but this is incorrect as Wat Sop Sawan was located adjacent and north of Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan, as explained by Phraya Boran Ratchathanin and Prince Damrong Rajanuphab.
Chedi Suriyothai stands on the premises, or at least near the premises, of the former Rear Palace. The palace was first mentioned in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya during the reign of King Chakkraphat (1548-1569 CE). End 1565 CE, King Chakkraphat appointed his son, Prince Mahin, to be regent, and retired to the Rear Palace.
"In 914, a year of the rat, during the twelfth month, King Cakkraphat, Lord of the White Elephant, raised Prince Mahin, the Nò Phraphutthacao, to rule the realm as its supreme sovereign, observe the royal traditions and govern the Kingdom of the Capital City of Ayutthaya. King Cakkraphat, Lord of the White Elephant, went out to occupy the Rear Palace." [6]
Old maps indicate that Suan Luang and Wat Sop Sawan were divided by a canal called Khlong Chang Maha Chai. Wat Sop Sawan stood on its north bank, while Wat Suan Luang was on its south bank.
It was more or less customary in the early Ayutthaya period that on the location of the funeral pyre of a royal, a monastery was built and a commemoration chedi erected.
King Rama VI (reign 1910-1925 CE), under the influence of Phraya Boran and Prince Damrong, realising the importance of the site, re-established the memorial of Queen Suriyothai and named the chedi Phra Chedi Si Suriyothai. [7]
The Thai Army and the Fine Arts Department restored Phra Chedi Si Suriyothai and landscaped its surroundings in 1990 CE. During excavations in the area around the chedi, brick foundations of a monastic structure (vihara or ubosot) were discovered on the north side of the chedi. There was a path made of bricks linking the structure and the chedi, while there was also evidence of a wall around the perimeter. A large chedi, a vihara or ubosot and a wall, hence all indications for Wat Suan Luang. [8]
Wat Suan Luang was mentioned in the chronicles as one of Ayutthaya's defence positions during the siege by the Burmese in 1760 CE. Ex-King Uthumpon (reign 1758 CE) left the monkhood to assist in the defence of the city. The chronicles recall him doing an inspection of this position and others and the giving of specific instructions after the Burmese fired their canons on the city, damaging buildings and wounding and killing people. King Suriyamarin ordered to answer the Burmese fire with the large guns in this position and others on the opposite banks of the river.
"When it was the fourteenth day of the waning moon in the fifth month, the Burmese brought up great guns, positioned them at the Monastery of the Royal Gift and at the Monastery of the Ruler, and fired them into the Capital. His Majesty the Holy Lord Omnipotent rode the premier bull elephant Defeater of a Hundred Thousand Troops to look with His holy eyes at, and to give specific instructions to, the positions at the Monastery of the Crown Garden, the Monastery of the Corpses of Heaven and the Fort of Grand Victory." [9]
After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 CE, the Rear Palace and Suan Luang were deserted. Somewhere in the 19th century, the Army department settled in the area, and the remaining buildings of the palace, except for the large chedi, were destroyed. Later the Ayutthaya Distillery was established next to the army cantonment. The distillery ceased its operation in 1996 CE because it was located within the area designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Previous attempts to preserve the chedi were discovered: boundary stones from other temples were placed around the chedi a torso of a Buddha image and a partly destroyed sandstone Buddha head were placed in the pedestal of the chedi and covered with bricks and cemented all over.
On 20 May 1990 CE, during the FAD excavation and restoration works at the chedi, several valuable objects were found. These findings included a quartz Buddha image, a miniature quartz bell-shaped chedi, a gilded terracotta cup, beads, gems, and gold leaves. The Chao Sam Phraya National Museum has these items and a 17th-century sema stone from Wat Sop Sawan on display. [10]
The FAD restored the chedi by removing the existing plaster and re-plastering using a traditional technique. During the first phase of restoration, gold leaf was applied at the top of the stupa only. HM Queen Sirikit requested, on the occasion of her 60th birthday, the construction of a life-size Buddha image (163 cm high) to be placed inside a niche of the stupa. The queen gave this image, decorated in the queen’s ornaments, the name of Phra Phuttha Suriyothai Sirikit Thikhayu Mongkhon. In 1991 CE, renovation finished, the spire and dome were covered with golden porcelain fragments, while the drum was white-washed. [11]
The chedi is very similar in style to chedi Phukhao Thong, but the first has small chedis atop the inter-cardinal niches, forming a quincunx to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru. The entry to the relic chamber is in the east. The Si Suriyothai Chedi served as a prototype for the chedi constructed at Wat Pho in Bangkok by King Mongkut (reign 1851-1868 CE) next to the three chedis built by the previous kings of the Chakri dynasty. (Kasetsiri &Wright, 2007).