The Kingdom of Ayuthaya

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The Kingdom of Ayuthaya

The royal chronicle of Ayuthaya (see map) records: "712, the Year of the Tiger, second decade, on a Friday, the sixth day of the waxing moon of the fifth month, at three nalika and nine bat, after the break of dawn, the capital city of Ayuthaya (see History) was first established [ie Friday March 4 1351, about 0900]." quoted from: Jushua Eliot/ Jane Bickerstech/ Georgina Mathews: Thailand & Burma Handbook.The name Ayuthaya comes from Sanskrit: ayodhya means "unassailable fortress," the name given to the residence of Prince Rama, the hero of the Indian epic the Ramayana.

This foundation date proved auspicious for the city, which developed into a glittering metropolis that astonished the world for more than 400 years from 1351 to the fall of the city in 1767. European merchants, travelers, and ambassadors described in the most glowing terms the multicultural seat of the Siamese kings, often called the "Venice of the Orient," which in the 16th century had a population larger than that of London.

In the 17th century the French visitor Jean de Lacombe noted that the palace of Ayuthaya, in "the richness of its materials, transcends every other building of the World, [and] renders it a Dwelling worthy of an Emperor of the whole World."

Innumerable architectural forms that had their origin in the Sukhothay period were taken up and developed by the artists of Ayuthaya. The chedi, the distinctive, bell-shaped Thai stupa, was repeated in countless variations, and the Khmer prangs were also very much en vogue. One of the most impressive examples of successful "Khmer adaptation" is the Wat Chay Vattanaram. In this temple, which was restored only recently, the special ability of Thai architects to create an individual form of expression from the amalgamation of various styles and iconologies becomes very evident; the cosmology of the temple, a blending of Hinduism and Buddhism, is particularly striking. The temple complex, built in 1630 at the command of King Prasat Thong (1630-1656), is conceived as a magic diagram set within a square. At one time a seated Buddha, today headless, looked out across the river over which the wat was sited in a commanding position. The apparently weightless central prang or Mount Meru is surrounded by two rows of smaller chedis and a gallery of Buddhas sculpted in stucco and now reduced to shattered torsos.

Wat Chay Vattanaram - 1630, temple complex, Ayuthaya, Thailand.

Wat Pra Sri Sampet - 1491, temple complex, Ayuthaya, Thailand.

Apart from this architecturally unusual wat, the Wat Pra Sri Sampet is the most astonishing of the many "living ruins," largely because of its vast dimensions. Begun in 1491, it was continued under the rule of a number of kings. Lying near the Wang Luang, the royal palace, the Wat Pra Sri Sampet is dominated by three chedis in the Ceylonese style, bounded by smaller chedis and vihans (assembly halls). Countless remaining fragments of columns and walls give a powerful impression of the former greatness of the wat.

Pra Sri Sampet means "to have pity". This wat is at the Wang Luang (The royal palace) and is the largest and most impressive complex of its kind in Ayuthaya. It was used only for religious-royal ceremonies and, in contrast to other wats, had no accomodation for monks.

As a rare secular building to have survived, the palace of Candra Kasem deserves mention. It was built by king of Ayuthaya Maha Thammarat (known as the "law hing",1569-1590) for his son Prince Naret (Sanskrit: nareshvara, "lord of humanity", 1555-1605), who repulsed the Burmese in the famous elephant battle of Nong Sarai in 1593. Today the palace is used as a museum.

Candra Kasem palace - about 1580, Buddha heads and torsos, Ayuthaya, Thailand.

Buddha Shakyamuni - 8th/9th century, Mon Dvaravati period, bronze, Thailand, The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Winnetka, Illinoois.

The Thai kings were keen collectors of their traditional art and their collections offer a broad history of the development of Thai art, revealing both its variety and exquisite quality. A delicate bronze from the Mon Dvaravati period bears witness to the early flowering of Buddha sculptures in Thailand. The Mon kingdom of Dvaravati is an enigma for the historian, but has left behind outstanding works of art in central Thailand.