Wat Rachaburana

Located beside Wat Mahathat, it was built during the reign of King Boromrachathirat II (Chao Samphraya) in 1424 at the cremation site of his elder brothers, where Chao Ai and Chao Yi engaged in single – handed combat on elephant’s back (to compete) for the throne, but both were killed. This combat ground is near Pa Than bridge between Wat Mahathat and Wat Ratchaburana .Two pagodas were built there and only foundation stones remain now.

WatRatchburana1L.jpg (21716 bytes)

WatRatchburana2L.jpg (21265 bytes)

Wat Ratchburana

In 1424 A.D. King Intharachathirat passed away. His two sons,
Chao Aye Phraya who reigned over Suphanburi, and Chao Yi
Phraya who reignned over Sanburi, met in battle as each desired
the throne. This took place at the approach to the Pa-Than bridge
and ended with the death of both sons. A third son, Chao Sam
Phraya came down from Phitsanulok and acceded to the throne
where upon he declared his intention to organize a funeral for
his father and his two brothers. Afterwards he ordered the building
of a wat, namely Wat Ratchaburana, at the site of the cremation
and at the place where his brothers fought and died. He has two
chedis created in which to keep their ashed.

In September of 1957 A.D. looters dug into a two-level crypt
inside the main prang (Khmer-type tower) and stole a great
quantity of material. Police arrested some of these looters. The
Fine Arts Department proceeded to excavate the site and found
Buddha images and many artifacts made of gold. Among these
were a large number of votive tablets made of gold and lead. In
1958 A.D. the Fine Arts Department built a stairway so that one
could go down into the crypt and look at the paintings which
were also found there. Since the Buddha images and votive
tablets discovered in the crypt were very numerous, the ministers
of the government approved giving some of them to people who
had contributed to the building of the Chao Sam Phraya National
Museum, much of the collection in which was found at Wat
Ratchaburana.

Wat Ratchaburana in Ayutthaya

Chedi at Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya Historical Park

View of Stupa from the prang at Wat Rachaburana in Ayutthaya.

Wat Ratchaburana was built by King Borom Ratchathirat II at the place where both his brothers died (they killed each other) during a fight for the vacant throne of Ayutthaya. After both his brother had died, King Borom Ratchathirat II became the King. As such, Wat Ratchaburana was built during the early Ayutthaya period. The prang was the centerpiece at the temple compound.
The vault of Wat Ratchaburana became known to the public some decades ago, and looters broke into the vault in 1957. The looters were apprehended, but a lot of the stolen goods were never recovered. Later on more than 100,000 votive Buddhist tablets were found, as well as gold jewelry with a combined weight of more than 100 kilograms.
The vaults inside the main prang also displayed mural paintings, depicting the previous lives of the Buddha. Unfortunately, over the last few years these images have deteriorated a lot. Only very few visible images are left.

A large amount of the golden artefacts and treasures found at Wat Ratchaburana are displayed in the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum. This museum also houses a nice collection of Buddha images in different styles, and wooden door panels from different temples in Ayutthaya.

View of the Ubosoth from the Prang at Wat Ratchaburana in Ayutthaya.

Mural Painting at Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya

Mural Painting in the vault at Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya.