The main chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet

The royal chronicles of Ayutthaya, for example the Phan Chantanumat (Choem)’s version, the Phra Chakkraphaddiphong (Chad)'s version and the Phra Racha Hatthalekha version state that upon his accession to the throne in 1448, King Borommatrailokkanat built a new palace to the north on the riverbank and consecrated the old palace grounds to Buddhism through which he built Wat Phra Si Sanphet as quoted here: “…converted the palace to Wat Phra Si Sanphet then he moved to reside by the river.” However, it is still unclear whether the three main chedi should be built in the reign of King Borommatrailokkanat.

Recent theory discussing the construction of the three main chedis was built around a paragraph concerning certain event in the reign of King Ramathibodi II noted in the royal chronicles such as the Krung Kao chronicle: Luang Prasert Aksonnit's version: “In 1492, the Year of the Rat the ashes of King Borommatrailokkanat and of King Borommarachathirat Chao were interred in the great stupas.” The Royal Chronicle: Phra Ratchahatthalekha version similarly states that “[I]n 1474, the Year of the Goat the ashes of King Borommatrailokkanat and of King Inthaaracha were interred in the great stupas.” (however, the Phan Chantanumat (Choem)’s version and the Phra Chakkraphaddiphong (Chad)'s version alternatively refers to only the ashes of King Borommatrailokkanat was interred in the great stupa.)

In accordance to these documentations, Prince Damrong Rajanubhap proposed that these two great stupas should be the main chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet, originally comprised two chedis. Later the third chedi was built for interring King Ramathibodi II’s remains.

Following Prince Damrong Rajanubhap’s proposal, Luang Boriban Buriphan furthered this hypothesis by which he suggested that the last chedi, the one with King Ramathibodi II’s ashes was built by Phra Borommaracha No Phuttangkun (King Borommarachathirat IV)

Recently, some scholars believe that the three main chedi should be built at the same time. For example, Santi Leksukhum suggests that this paragraph “…the ashes of King Borommatrailokkanat and of King Borommarachathirat Chao were interred in the great stupas…,” could mean that one chedi was built for King Borommatrailokkanat and another one was built for King Borommarathirat III.

Constructed with brick and plaster.

The site was listed and declared an ancient monument in the Government Gazette no. 52, part 75, on 8 March 1935.

The three round chedis stand on the same Phai Thi base, all of which are parted by mandapas. These buildings had been restored by the Fine Arts Deparment. These chedis, from top to bottom, comprise the plain square base, triple rings moulding, lotus base of the dome, a bell-shaped dome, a pillar or the shaft of a spire (symbolizing multi-tiered umbrella or chatra), multi-tiered spire, top spire and a sphere finial. Moreover, a unique characteristic of Wat Phra Si Sanphet is porticoes projecting from all four cardinal directions with a decoration with small or miniature chedi on their roofs ridge.

1. The significance of Wat Phra Si Sanphet lies in its status of the royal temple within the royal palace compounds in which it serves as a model for Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, the royal temple of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

2. The main chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet are an important example of the round chedi of Ayutthaya art.

2. The use of round chedi as a principal edifice of the temple compound might have related to Sukhothai temples. From this point onward, the popularity in the round chedi as a main chedi had increased, contrary to the use of prang which was popular in the early period had gradually fallen out of favor.

ประภัสสร์ ชูวิเชียร. “เจดีย์ประธานวัดพระศรีสรรเพชญ อยุธยา ข้อสันนิษฐานใหม่บนหลักฐานเก่า” ใน สรรพศาสตร์ประวัติศาสตร์ศิลป์. กรุงเทพฯ : ภาควิชาประวัติศาสตร์ศิลปะ คณะโบราณคดี มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร, 2557.

ศิลปากร, กรม. พระราชวังและวัดโบราณในจังหวัดพระนครศรีอยุธยา. พระนคร : สำนักทำเนียบนายกรัฐมนตรี, 2511.

ศิลปากร, กรม, ทะเบียนโบราณสถาน. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2532.

สันติ เล็กสุขุม. ศิลปะอยุธยา งานช่างหลวงแห่งแผ่นดิน. กรุงเทพฯ : เมืองโบราณ, 2542.