“There is no solemnity so deep, to a right-thinking creature, as that of dawn.”
John Ruskin
Temple of Dawn, Bangkok, Thailand
Before the Rattanakosin Kingdom, King Taksin established the Kingdom of Thonburi (1767-1782) on the other side of the Chao Phraya. Though short-lived, they brought the Emerald Buddha from Ayutthaya to Wat Makok. King Taksin called it Wat Chaeng or the Temple of Dawn and later, King Rama II renamed it Wat Arun. Arun refers to the Hindu Sun God. King Rama the Third restored this ancient temple and raised the tower (Prang) to an astonishing height of around 79 m, the tallest in Thailand. Chinese porcelain mosaics embellish the entire temple and surrounding structures giving it a pearly white shine.
Shining in the Sun
👆1. To reach Wat Arun, one needs to take a ferry from the Tha Tien pier on mainland Bangkok. As we approach the west bank, the milky white main prang looms in front of us. Prang is a Khmer style multi-tiered tower receding in size. Resembling the ear of corn, a seven pronged Trishul (Trident), the symbol of Shiva The Destroyer, tops it.
👆2. A steep climb from the first deck takes you to the two terraces at the base of the tower. They are held together by demon guards. From there, you can see the royal elephant, Erawan on which Indra, the God of Lightning and Cloud sits.
👆3. There are four temples dedicated to the guardian gods of the four directions.
👆4. In each corner surrounding the central Prang, are four small towers which house the God of wind. Together, the central tower and the four surrounding Prangs symbolise the thirty-three heavens.
👆5. The Ordination Hall is a part of the Wat Arun complex. You get to the main hall, home to the Niramitr Buddha, through two entrances. There is a dominating Chinese architectural influence on these edifices.
The Cosmic Collage
Altogether, Wat Arun is symbolic of the Buddhist cosmology. It depicts the single-pointedness of mind being at the centre of the universe. This further resonates with the Hindu belief of the victory of gods over demons for possession of the nectar of immortality. The nectar came out of churning the seas with Mount Meru and the serpent Vasuki.
From this ancient culmination of cultural confluence, get ready to be surprised with a recent architectural wonder from Thailand.
