Wat Rajapradit Sathit Mahasimaram

King Rama IV had the temple built near the Grand Palace. It was built to be the first Dhammayuttika Nikaya temple.

There are a lot of important architecture styles inside Wat Rajapradit Sathit Mahasimara, both for the temple area and the area for the monks. In the temple area, there is a royal monastery in a traditional Thai style. The building is decorated with marble. The wooden roof is decorated with Lam Yong decorative tile. The gable is the picture of Maha Makut and Phra Khan placed on an ornate tray. Below the gable is a picture of an important elephant with tiered umbrellas on both sides. Behind the vihara is Pasana Chedi which is the principal pagoda of the temple. It is a bell-shape pagoda made of marble. Phra Jom Tower is another important building in the temple. The temples with only temples and pagodas can be found in the temple built according to the wishes of King Rama IV. The monk’s area of this temple is prohibited for women.

King Rama IV had Wat Rajapradit Sathit Mahasimaram built to be one of the three important temples of the reign; Wat Maha That, Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Ratchapradit. At that time, Wat Ratchapradit was still missing. The temple was built on a small area where it used to be a coffee garden of King Rama III. The King wanted this temple to be the first Dhammayuttika Nikaya. It was very convenient to make merit because it was close to the palace. When King Rama IV passed away, King Rama V had put the ashes of the King Rama IV into the base of the principal Buddha image inside the chapel of the temple according to the wish of King Rama IV . The temple has since become the temple of the reign. The temple is surrounded by boundary stones called sima or Maha Sima and this is where the last part of the temple’s name “Sathit Mahasimaram” is from.

พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงรัตนโกสินทร์ รัชกาลที่ 4 ของเจ้าพระยาทิพากรวงศมหาโกษาธิบดี. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2548.

พิชญา สุ่มจินดา,บรรณาธิการ.ราชประดิษฐพิพิธบรรณ.กรุงเทพฯ : วัดราชประดิษฐสถิตมหาสีมาราม, 2553.