Wihan Phra Mongkhon Bophit

Phra Mongkhon Bophit or the "Buddha of the Holy and Supremely Auspicious Reverence", was sculpted in 1538 CE in the reign of King Chairatcha (1534-1547 CE) at Wat Chi Chiang Sai. 1538 CE is generally accepted as the year that the image was built.

As at the beginning of the reign of King Songtham (1610/1611-1628 CE), Wat Chi Chiang lay in ruins, hit by lightning; the king had the large bronze cast Buddha image moved westwards and had a mandapa (mondop or square roofed structure) built over the structure to house it. Later the open place in front of the mandapa was leveled and reserved for royal cremation ceremonies.

During the reign of King Sua (1703-1709 CE), lightning struck the spire of the mondop. The building caught fire, and the burned roof fell on the Buddha image. The neck of the image broke, and the head came down. King Sua had the mandapa demolished and ordered the construction of a new tall preaching hall. It took the Siamese artisans two years to build the vihara.

The vihara and the image were badly destroyed by fire during the fall of Ayutthaya in April 1767 CE. The roof of the vihara was damaged and the head and the right arm of the image were broken. Restoration of the Buddha image - in which Phraya Boran Rachathanin repaired the broken head and right arm - occurred in 1920 CE (reign of King Rama VI).

In 1931 CE, another restoration took place with the financial support of Khunying Amares Sombat. During restoration works on the statue in 1955 CE, a quantity of Buddha images were found on the left shoulder of Phra Mongkhon Bophit. These images can now be seen at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.

The Prime Minister of Burma, on an official visit to Ayutthaya in 1956 CE, donated to the restoration of the vihara. The vihara was finalised in 1957 CE, but not with the same beautiful craftsmanship as the former.
The statue of Phra Mongkhon Bophit was covered with gold leaf in 1992 CE by the "Mongkhon Bophit Foundation" in celebration of H.M. Queen Sirikit's 60th birthday. Phra Mongkhon Bophit is one of the largest bronze Buddha images in Thailand, measuring (approx) 9.5 meters across the lap and 12.5 meters (without the pedestal).

Ayutthaya Historical Research