Wat Na Phra Men

Wat Na Phra Men, or the Monastery in Front of the Funeral Pyre, sometimes called Wat Na Phra Meru, is located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in the Tha Wasukri Sub-district. The temple is situated along Khlong Sra Bua (1) and the north bank of the Khlong Mueang (2), just opposite the ancient Grand Palace. It was registered as a National Historic Site with the Fine Arts Department on 25 February 1935 CE.

In front of Wat Na Phra Men and opposite the Grand Palace grounds was a cremation ground - hence the temple's name - used for the high-ranked. Simon de La Loubère, the French Envoy to Siam in 1687-8 CE, wrote that the king lighted a torch along a rope to fire the funeral pyre from his palace. The king was at that time King Narai (reign 1656-1688 CE). The palace building could only have been the Suriya Amarindra Maha Prasat (3), situated opposite the cremation ground.

Ayutthaya Historical Research