Wat Lokayasutharam, Ayutthaya

Wat Lokayasutharam is assumed to have been built in the middle Ayutthaya period during the reign of King Nakharinthrathirat, the father of Chao Sam Phraya, around 1995 B.E. This temple has the largest reclining Buddha in the island of Ayutthaya. It is enshrined in the open air, made of brick and mortar, 42 meters long and 8 meters high. The head faces north, the face faces west, the feet face south, and the back faces east. There is a lotus flower supporting the head. The feet are stacked at right angles. The toes are of equal length. There are lotus flowers supporting the head instead of the knees. It is assumed that it was originally an unadorned Buddha image, but during the restoration in 1956 B.E., the head was changed to look like a Buddha image in royal attire. Around the Buddha image, there are 24 octagonal brick pillars. Originally, there must have been a chapel built to cover the reclining Buddha, but there is no evidence of when it collapsed. This reclining Buddha image was excavated by a distillery. Together with the Fine Arts Department in 1954 and later in 1989, Khunying Rabiab Thamrongnawasawat and her family restored the reclining Buddha to dedicate merit to Mr. Thamrong and Rear Admiral Thawan Thamrongnawasawat, former Prime Ministers. #Places to visit near Bangkok