The ubosot, or ordination hall, is built in a mixed late Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin style. The roof is three-tiered, while the extended roof over the elevated porches is two-tiered. Two entries provide access to the hall from the west and east sides. The north and south sides have five windows. The hall's interior walls are beautifully painted with the "Jataka" tales (3).
The ubosot houses magnificent old Buddha statues dating from the Lopburi, Sukhothai, and Ayutthaya periods. A chedi stands in front of the ubosot rather than at the west end of the hall, indicating a late Ayutthaya style.
Wat Mai Sri Pho has a large surface area, indicating the former merging of Wat Sri Pho and Wat Phrom Kalayaram.
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 who wrote extensively on Thai temples, antiques, and murals. From November 1966 to March 1967 CE, he spent five months in the Ayutthaya area, visiting known temples and ruins. He visited Wat Sri Pho on 14 February 1967 CE. The following is a report from his site visit.
"Wat Sri Pho is located on the banks of Khlong Sa Bua. There is an inscription on a black slate stone attached to the wall in front of the ordination hall. It states that the temple was built in 1709 AD by villagers who requested the kindness of King Borommakot to build the temple. Krom Khun Surendra Phitak and Krom Khun Anurakmontri and Phra Mongkhon Thep were the presidents. They donated a large number of temple servants, along with a curse against anyone who would use the temple servants for their personal use. In front of the ordination hall is a small octagonal pagoda. The bell is tall and slender, like the pagodas of the time of King Borommakot in general. The fact that it was built as an octagonal pagoda is probably an imitation of the old pagodas in this area, because most people have seen pagodas from that time. Most of them are twelve-sided pagodas. However, even without prior knowledge, simply seeing the shape of this octagonal pagoda, one could guess that it was the work of craftsmen from the time of King Borommakot because of its delicate bell-shaped form and the clearly visible outer structure resembling a fishing net. Similar to the style of the time of King Narai, this indicates that the boundary markers found there, made of reddish-brown slate and broken in half, retain the same form and style as those of the reigns of King Narai and King Phetracha, without significant alterations." [1]
The site appears on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map, drafted in 1926 CE, at the geographical coordinates 14° 22' 12.31" N, 100° 33' 27.65" E.
Footnotes:
(1) Khlong Sra Bua, or the Lilly Pond Canal, is a canal situated in the northern area, off the city island, in the Khlong Sra Bua District. The waterway splits from Khlong Hua Ro between Wat Ngio (defunct) and Wat Si Liam. The canal has its mouth at the City Canal (Khlong Mueang) between Wat Na Phra Men and Wat Mai in front of the northeastern corner of the Grand Palace. The canal was a shortcut in the old Lopburi River.
(2) Thung Khwan or "Field of Fumes" is an area north of the city of Ayutthaya bordered on the north by Thung Lum Phli, on the east by Khlong Sra Bua and Thung Kaeo, in the south by the old Lopburi River and in the west by Thung Phukhao Thong.
(3) The Jataka tales (Th: chadok) refer to a voluminous collection of folklore-like literature native to India concerning the previous incarnations of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, both in human and animal form. The tales were originally written in Pali and date from 300 BC to 400 CE. The canonical book comprises 547 poems, arranged roughly by an increasing number of verses. Many tales are set in or near Benares (Varanasi), a city in north central India on the Ganges River. One of the world's oldest cities, Varanasi, is the most sacred place for Hindus. Buddhists and Muslims also have important religious sites nearby. According to tradition, Buddha began his teachings at Sarnath, a short distance from this city.
