What Phanan Choeng

History of Wat Phanan Choeng

Its history remains largely unknown. The temple is believed to have been founded in 1324, more than two decades before Ayutthaya officially became the capital of the new kingdom founded by King U-Thong (Ramathibodi I by his dynastic name).

According to legend, the king Phra Chao Sai Nam Phung, who ruled the region before the founding of Ayutthaya as a new kingdom, was to marry the daughter of a Chinese emperor to seal an alliance.

When the princess, named Soi Dok MakShe arrived by boat to meet the king, but he was not there to greet her. After waiting in vain for the king's return, the princess is said to have killed herself in despair by simply holding her breath (I'm not here to judge the logic of this legend...). When the king finally returned, he was overcome with grief and built Wat Phanan Choeng on the spot where she had been cremated.

Architecture of Wat Phanan Choeng

The temple cannot be said to be architecturally interesting, at least not in its visible exterior. The central building is surrounded by a wall, while a space covered by a corrugated iron roof hides the entire pediment.

1- The Sanctuary of Lady Soi Dok Mak

I'll start with an annex to the Buddhist temple. Heading towards the banks of the Pa Sak River, you'll come across a shrine displaying the characteristics of a Chinese temple, colorful and adorned with dragons. It's easy to make the connection with the legend involving a Chinese princess.

This small complex comprises two buildings. One of them is guarded by painted Chinese warriors. The first building is dedicated to Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, often depicted with multiple arms, said to have a thousand, allowing her to help a large number of people at the same time.

The other building contains the shrine dedicated to Lady Soi Dok Mak, with a statue symbolizing the Chinese princess for whom the temple was built.

2- A 19m Buddha

As I mentioned in the introduction, the main attraction of this temple is its imposing statue of Buddha. Made of brick and mortar, this representation of Buddha, called Phra Chao Phanan Choeng (which gives its name to the temple, as is often the case) is in the classic sitting position known as the submission of Mara (god of death and illusion), or more commonly known as "calling the Earth to witness". Sitting next to him are two statues of two of his closest disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana.

This statue is believed to date back to the temple's founding and therefore recently celebrated its 700 years As an interesting side note, it spent its first years outdoors since it was completed before the viharn was built.

Today,  Phra Chao Phanan Choeng It is well protected in a large hall, simply called Viharn Phra Phanan Choeng. A small peculiarity concerns the interior of this building, since it contains hundreds of small niches each housing a Buddha statuette, instead of the "usual" mural paintings.

3- The other buildings comprising the temple

The temple's layout is quite unusual. As I mentioned earlier, the viharn is completely surrounded by annex buildings, giving the impression of a single block composed of several rooms. In reality, it consists of several independent rooms connected by a network of roofs.

There is a covered walkway leading to the main viharn, which is itself flanked by two annexes. The one to the north is a small viharn containing a seated statue and murals. Parallel to it on the south side is the temple's ubosot. This houses three statues, all in the seated pose of Mara's submission, two of which are believed to be 650 years old, and one in particular, measuring nearly 2 meters, made entirely of gold.

I conclude by mentioning the presence in the monks' residential area, next to the Chinese sanctuary, of a beautiful teak wood building on stilts, characteristic of the opulent houses of the Ayutthaya era.