Wat Si Sawai - Sukhothai - Thailand
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Alfouine
N 17° 00.805 E 099° 42.138
47Q E 574751 N 1881173
Situated among magnificent scenery southwest of Wat Mahathat is Wat Si Sawai. Three prangs (pagodas) are surrounded by a laterite wall. Wat Sri Sawai is one of the oldest in Sukhothai, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
Waymark Code: WM1BJ4T
Location: Thailand
Date Posted: 02/16/2025
Views: 0
Inside the wall, the viharn in the west, built of laterite, is separated from the main prang which was constructed in the Lop Buri or Hindu-style, but the other also constructed beside the prangs are Buddhist viharns.
Wat Si Sawai
Credits
Wat Si Sawai is located about 350 meters south of Wat Mahathat. It's an important ancient site in the wall, consisting of 3 prangs in the Lopburi artistic style. The shape of the prang is rather slender. It rests on a low base with stucco motifs similar to those found on Chinese porcelain from the Yuan dynasty. A lintel was found carved with the image of Narayana reclining on the ocean. Pieces of an idol and lingam show that it was once a Hindu temple, then transformed into a Buddhist temple by the addition of a temple at the front. It later became a Buddhist temple. Wat Sri Sawai was originally a Brahman or Hindu temple. It is a three-tiered prang in the Khmer style. A moat surrounds the three prangs. This ancient site is derived from the Khmer castle style. But it has been modified differently from the original. For example, the decorative part of the Khmer castle called Ban Thalang took the shape of a jackfruit petal. and stucco decorations on jackfruit petals in the shape of Garuda fighting Naga and angels The prang of Wat Sri Sawai is therefore different from the prangs of the Ayutthaya period, which were originally derived from The prang in Khmer art is closer to the Khmer style than the Sukhothai-style prang.
During the reign of King Rama VI Visit to Sukhothai He found a statue of Lord Shiva and an ancient stone carved into a lintel with the image of Narayana lying on the ocean. Statue of Narayana with four arms And the idol and lingam parts are made of bronze. He therefore assumed that this Sri Sawai temple must have been a place where Brahmins used to do things. Swing ceremony (Triyampawai) but later, when the Thais came to occupy Sukhothai This temple was therefore transformed into a Buddhist temple.cape.