Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan วัดพระมหาธาตุวรมหาวิหาร , Ayutthaya, Thailand

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


[an error occurred while processing this directive] Wat Mahathat (GPS: 14.35694, 100.56751; วัดพระมหาธาตุวรมหาวิหาร ) is the ruins of the biggest Thai Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand. Today, it is all in ruins, having been destroyed by the Burmese. When I visited Wat Mahathat, I saw it to be a jumbled pile of rocks and bricks. No doubt, it was badly ruined. The Burmese torched it when they destroyed the city of Ayutthaya back in 1767. Nevertheless, its main chedi was still standing, way up till the time of King Chulalongkorn. Then on 25 May 1904, at 5:00 am, the main chedi fell to the ground and was left lying there in ruins since.

Wat Mahathat was built by King Borom Ratchathirat I in 1374, to serve as the sacred centre of the capital city. That's because the crypt within is supposed to enshrine the Buddha's relics (hence the name Mahathat, which means Great Relic). The crypt was unearthed in 1956, along with a recovery of a horde of gold dedication items. These are now on display at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.

Wat Mahathat is open from 08:30 am to 04:30 pm.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Headless Buddha statues in the inner courtyard of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


One of the many chedis at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Ayutthaya (30 December, 2002)


Ruins of various chedis and one prang at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan. (30 December, 2002)


Here I am, exploring the ruins of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, with a small booklet on Ayutthaya which I managed to obtain during that time. Larger books were to follow! (30 December, 2002)


[an error occurred while processing this directive] Various stupas of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (30 December, 2002)


Various stupas of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (30 December, 2002)

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan on Google Street View

Inner courtyard of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan (Apr 2015) [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahwihan is on the map of Ayutthaya

List of Wats in Ayutthaya and Wats in Thailand

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