WAT KASATRATHIRAT (วัดกษัตรา) |
Wat Kasatrathirat is a monastery still in use by the Buddhist clergy. It is located off the city island along the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, north of the road No 3263 leading to Suphanburi. It is situated in Ban Pom and lies at the edge of a large field called Thung Prachet or Thung Worachet. Besides the ordination hall and the relatively small prang, most of the monastic buildings are from recent times. Although the history of this temple remains hazy, it is presumed built in the Middle Ayutthaya period (1488 - 1629 AD). The principal prang is thick and round in shape and not as streamlined as the other prangs in Ayutthaya. There are no stairs to access the niche inside the prang. Traces of restoration are for example the bell- shaped chedis in the niches, which earlier contained Buddha images. The temple was renovated in the first reign of the Ratanakosin Period (1782-1809) by Prince Khrom Khun Isranurak, a nephew of King Rama I. The renovation was, in essence, a complete overhaul of the temple. The temple at that time changed the name from Wat Kasatra to Wat Kasatrathirat. In the reign of King Rama IV, Pra Kru Winyanuwattikhun added more monastic buildings. These new buildings included a new chapel sponsored by Khrom Mun Ayulyaluksa Sombat (Prince Urai). The new chapel took 14 years to be finished in 1879. Wat Kasatrathirat is classified as a third-class Royal temple of the 2nd grade - Voraviharn, following a ranking system for royal temples initiated in 1913 and consequently has beautiful carved double bai sema around the ordination hall (ubosot). [1] The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya recount that Posuphla, the General of the Burmese Armies, at the end of 1766, sent soldiers to establish a stockade at the Village of the Fort (Ban Pom) so that they could fire their large guns on the City of Ayutthaya. [1] Wat Kasatra was badly destroyed and deserted during the last siege of Ayutthaya by the Burmese. Near Wat Kasatra was one of the former four western ferries across the old Lopburi River - at present the Chao Phraya River (1) - linking the monastery with the Dan Lom Landing. (2) [3] The site is indicated on a mid-19th century map as Wat Krasattraram (วัดกระสัตตราราม) and on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926 as Wat Kasatra (วัดกษัตรา). On the oldest map we find the presence of a prang still in existence. Wat Kasatrathirat is located in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 7.56" N, 100° 32' 39.08" E. Footnotes: (1) The Chao Phraya River has been deviated into the river bed of the old Lopburi River in the post-Ayutthayan era anno 1857. See the essay: Ayutthaya's ever-changing waterways. (2) In Ayutthayan times there were twenty-two ferry routes. In the western area, the three other crossings were: from Wat Chayaram to Ban Chi, from the Rear Palace to Wat Lot Chong and from Chao Phraya Phonlathep’s residence to Wat Thamma. [3] See "The Boat & Ferry Landings of Ayutthaya". References: [1] Website www.dhammathai.org/watthai/listroyalwat1.php - data retrieved 14 Dec 09. [2] The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya - Richard D. Cushman - page 511 / Source: Phan Canthanumat, British Museum, Reverend Phonnarat, & Royal Autograph. [3] Explanation of the map of the Capital of Ayutthaya with a ruling of Phraya Boran Rachathanin - Revised 2nd edition and Geography of the Ayutthaya Kingdom - Ton Chabab print office - Nonthaburi (2007) - page 92. |
Text, maps & photographs by Tricky Vandenberg - May 2009 Updated June 2020 |
(View of the ubosot and adjacent vihara) |
(Prang of Wat Kasatra) |
(Vihara and outer wall) |
(View from the opposite side of the river) |
(Detail of a 19th century map - Courtesy Sam Chao Phraya Museum) |
(Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno 1926) |
(Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region) |