Wat Samphanthawongsaram Worawiharn ( th, วัดสัมพันธวงศาราม วรวิหาร), also known in short Wat Samphanthawongsaram is a
third grade royal Buddhist temple of Worawihan in
Dhammayuttika Nikaya
Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (monk ...
sect. It is situated in the area of
Sampheng, also known as
Bangkok's Chinatown.
The monastery is an ancient temple, which was built in
Ayutthaya period
The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is conside ...
. It was formerly surrounded by natural
khlong
A ''khlong'' ( th, คลอง, ), alternatively spelt as ''klong'' () commonly refers to a canal in Thailand. These canals are spawned by the rivers Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, and Mae Klong, along with their tributaries particularly in the low-ly ...
(canal) bridging to
Chao Phraya River
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
Et ...
which brought its local name ''Wat Ko'' (the island temple). In the beginning of
Rattanakosin in 1796,
King Rama I renovated the entire temple and made it a royal temple with the name ''Wat Ko Kaew Langkaram''. Later on, in the reign of
King Rama IV, the name was changed to Wat Samphanthawongsaram Worawiharn in present, to honour Prince Samphanthawong (Chui), King Rama I's nephew who was the head of major temple restoration (its name also became the name of the
district later).
The principal Buddha image inside the
ordination hall
The ordination hall is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual ('' upasampada'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Patimokkha. The ordination hall ...
is a seated
Buddha in Maravijaya attitude, made of hollow log with lime covering. The image's arms are made of wood with gold application. Inside the image and under its base contain numbers of silver and lead votive tablets.
The area of the temple was once the first lodging in
Dan Beach Bradley's country of Siam (Thailand in those days), an American physician and Protestant missionary who came to Siam to evangelize. He was also the founder of the first printing house in Siam. For this reason, there were many printing houses around the temple in those days.
In the reign of
King Rama V
Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร ...
, he presided over the
Thot Kathin ceremony at this temple along with nearby temple
Wat Pathum Khongkha.
Moreover, in the
1932 Siamese revolution. The naval faction of
Khana Ratsadon (People's Party), they have mobilised about 500 armed sailors occupying the
Royal Plaza in the dawn of June 24, 1932, claiming to suppress the Chinese uprising at this temple.
References
Samphanthawong district
category:Buddhist temples in Bangkok
category:Unregistered ancient monuments in Bangkok
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