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A ''prasat'' ( th, ปราสาท, from Sanskrit: ), or more accurately, ''kudakhan'' (, from Pali/Sanskrit: ) or ''rueanyot'' (), is a Thai architectural form reserved for royal palaces of the monarch or for sacred religious structures. It is a building featuring an ornate roof structure, usually multi-tiered, with one or more
File:Phra Thinang Sutthai Sawan Prasat.jpg, Sutthaisawan Prasat Throne Hall,
File:Phra Thinang Wechayan Wichien Prasat.jpeg, Wetchayan Wichian Prasat Throne Hall,
File:วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม Temple of The Emerald Buddha (18).jpg, Wihan Yot, Wat Phra Kaew
File:Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Bangkok) 02.jpg, Phra Mondop,
A ''prasat'' ( th, ปราสาท, from Sanskrit: ), or more accurately, ''kudakhan'' (, from Pali/Sanskrit: ) or ''rueanyot'' (), is a Thai architectural form reserved for royal palaces of the monarch or for sacred religious structures. It is a building featuring an ornate roof structure, usually multi-tiered, with one or more spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
s. The form symbolizes the centre of the universe, which is traditionally associated with the monarch or the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
. ''Prasat'' forms are widely used in the buildings of the Grand Palace
The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Ban ...
, and are also found in some Buddhist temples (''wat
A wat ( km, វត្ត, ; lo, ວັດ, ; th, วัด, ; khb, 「ᩅᨯ᩠ᨰ」(waD+Dha); nod, 「ᩅ᩠ᨯ᩶」 （w+Da2)) is a type of Buddhist temple and Hindu temple in Cambodia, Laos, East Shan State, Yunnan, the Southern Provi ...
'') and in the architecture of the temporary crematoria used for royal funerals.
Architectural historians have classified ''kudakhan'' into several categories, according to the shape of the spire: ''mondop
The ''mondop'' ( th, มณฑป, from Pali/Sanskrit ) is a building form in traditional Thai religious architecture featuring a square or cruciform building with a usually pointed roof. In the narrow sense, it refers to an enclosed square buildin ...
''-shaped, ''prang
Prang may refer to:
Places
* Prang, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a town of Charsadda District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan
*Prang Besar, an old name for Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia
* Prang Ghar Tehsil or Pran Ghar Subdivision, a subdivisi ...
''-shaped, ''mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...
''-shaped, and others (including stupa-shaped and '' phra kiao''–shaped, depending on the author).
Gallery
''Mondop''-shaped
Grand Palace
The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Ban ...
File:Gran Palacio, Bangkok, Tailandia, 2013-08-22, DD 66.jpg, Aphon Phimok Prasat Pavilion, Grand Palace
File:พระที่นั่งอนันตสมาคม เขตดุสิต กรุงเทพมหานคร (13).jpg, Rueanyot Borom Mangkhalanusorani, Dusit Palace
Dusit Palace ( th, พระราชวังดุสิต, RTGS: ''Phra Ratcha Wang Dusit'') is a compound of royal residences in Bangkok, Thailand. Constructed over a large area north of Rattanakosin Island between 1897 and 1901 by King Chu ...
File:พระที่นั่งไอศวรรย์ทิพยอาสน Bang Pa-In Palace - panoramio - CHAMRAT CHAROENKHET.jpg, Aisawan Thipphaya-at Pavilion, Bang Pa-in Palace
Bang Pa-In Royal Palace ( th, พระราชวังบางปะอิน), also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. It lies beside the Chao Phraya River in Bang Pa-in District, Phra Nakhon Si ...
File:พระเมรุ เจ้าฟ้าเพชร 3.jpg, Royal crematorium of Princess Bejaratana
File:Loha Prasat Wat Ratchanatda.jpg, Loha Prasat, Wat Ratchanatdaram
''Prang''-shaped
Phra Nakhon Khiri
Phra Nakhon Khiri ( th, อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พระนครคีรี) is a historical park in Phetchaburi, Thailand on a hill overlooking the city. The name ''Phra Nakhon Khiri'' means 'holy city hill', ...
File:Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram 11.jpg, Prasat Phra Thep Bidon, Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew ( th, วัดพระแก้ว, , ), commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex co ...
File:Watpichayart.jpg, Wat Phichayayatikaram
''Mongkut''-shaped
Wat Pho
Wat Pho ( th, วัดโพธิ์, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Grand P ...
See also
*Pyatthat
Pyatthat ( my, ပြာသာဒ်, ; from Sanskrit ; mnw, တန်ဆံၚ် ; also spelt pyathat) is the name of a multistaged roof, with an odd number of tiers (from three to seven). The pyatthat is commonly incorporated into Burmese B ...
– Burmese equivalent
References
{{reflist Architecture in Thailand Traditional Thai architecture